Auckland Pride, once a month-long festival, is now much more. It's an organisation that provides support and advocacy for Takatāpui and Rainbow artists year-round. The festival, though, remains a cornerstone, and one of Tāmaki Makaurau’s biggest, warming the year up in February. In June, Hāmiora Bailey handed the Executive Director reins to Blaise Clotworthy, who first marched in the 2014 Auckland Pride Parade, and has stayed close since.
With the 2027 festival fast approaching, it's time for artists to think about, and start making plans for participating. We asked Blaise all the technical and nosy questions. Here’s what she had to say.
Why be part of the Pride festival?
Being part of the festival gives you the opportunity to share your work with thousands of festival-goers who are passionate about queer art and culture, be part of a city-wide celebration that centres Takatāpui and Rainbow people, access resources, marketing support, and the mana of being under the Pride banner, and join a movement that’s not just a festival, it’s year-round advocacy and community organising.
As part of the festival, your event will be listed on the Auckland Pride Festival calendar, featured in our printed publication, distributed city-wide in January, included in our Festival publicity pitches for media opportunities, and a part of an interconnected community of events, grounded in our annual festival theme.
Will the 2027 festival have a theme? Do you expect work to fit neatly inside the theme?
Each festival has had a theme that guides how we create and curate programmes within it. We do not expect work to fit neatly in the theme for people who want to register events as part of the festival, the theme is more of a guiding light and resource for our Artists and Open Access event producers to engage more meaningfully in the curatorial approach of the festival. Stay tuned for the theme announcement…
What kinds of artists and works are you looking for?
We have strands of programming at different levels and with different aims.
- Pride Elevates is for works that are ready to stage, centered in queer storytelling, and that have a producer.
- Pride Empowerment is for Kaupapa that bring our communities together, strengthen identity, provide opportunities for visibility and deepen our sense of connection and belonging.
- Te Tīmatanga this is for our toi Māori Takatāpui arts practitioners
- Open Access is for literally anyone, with any LGBTQIA+ idea
- Proud Centres is for people or groups who want to produce meaningful, accessible, free programming in their local communities and grow their event producing experience and expertise.
What changes can we expect now that you are in charge?
Having been part of Auckland Pride for the last two years as Partnership Manager alongside Hāmiora as Executive Director and Vic as (Operations Manager and now Executive Producer), we have been building this journey over a sustained period of time. Our aim is to ensure that this work continues to develop and we remain on the course we have been charting. Stability is important to us, especially in a world where our communities continue to experience growing sociopolitical violence and unpredictable funding landscapes. It is important that our communities continue to gather, connect, be visible, and experience collective joy in our resistance.
What are the important dates I need to note down?
There are a few!
- Expressions of interest go live in mid-September. This is a chance to share ideas and aspirations with us about what you want to do in the 2027 Auckland Pride Festival, so we can help you find venues, resources, etc.
- Registrations open in early-mid October. This is where you submit your events to be a part of the Festival, and need your key details sorted.
- Registrations of Proud Centre events and Open Access events to be included in the Print Programme close on 22 November. Registrations received after will be promoted digitally.
- Festival Dates: 1 – 28 February 2027
- For the lovebirds, Big Gay Out will be on 14 February (thanks to Burnett Foundation Aotearoa)
- Our major closing event will be on the last weekend of February. Keep your eyes peeled!
Are there costs involved?
Yes, and the costs depend on a few details, like ticket prices and whether you are a Pride member.
- If the event is free or koha the Event Organiser will pay a registration fee of: $50+GST
- If the event has a ticket cost of $29.99 or less, the Event Organiser will pay a registration fee of $140+GST
- If the event has a ticket cost of $30 or more, the Event Organiser will pay the registration fee of $270.00 + GST
- If the event is produced in an Auckland Council library or community centre under the Proud Centres umbrella, you get FREE registration.
- If the Event Organiser is a member of Auckland Pride upon registration a 20% discount will be applied.
We encourage people to reach out if the pricing isn’t accessible, we can typically make something work!
I have an idea, but no funds. Are there any routes to access funding?
Yes, a few we can recommend looking into areL Creative Communities Schemes, local boards, Umbrella support, Pride Empowerment, and Rule Foundation. Artists that fit into our Pride Elevates scheme are supported with artist fees, production manager, marketing campaign and venue hire, and Pride Empowerment recipients receive seed funding from the Rule Foundation and marketing support.
What support do you give artists?
We support artists at a few different levels and stages.
- Event ideation: If people are wanting to brainstorm ideas, or have ideas and need connecting to others to bring it to life, they can come to us for support.
- Funding support: Through Pride Empowerment (delivered in partnership with The Rule Foundation), we can offer direct seed-funding support for Open Access events. We can also direct event producers to available funding opportunities that they can apply for.
- Pride Elevates: In partnership with Q, this programme offers theatre-makers and performing artists the opportunity to present a work in Q Loft, with artist fees paid for by Auckland Pride and free-venue hire from Q.
- Proud Centres: These are local Auckland Council community centres and libraries throughout Tāmaki Makaurau that our communities can programme events in for free. Alongside Auckland Council, this has been a cornerstone of Auckland Pride programming over many years.
- Pride Develops: We run this programme year-round as an opportunity to build capacity and capability within our communities. We look for partnerships to deliver these as wānanga, workshops and other community-building initiatives.
Are all registrations accepted?
Organisers must agree that they support Auckland Pride’s values and purposes under our Constitution. At Auckland Pride’s discretion, Event Organisers whose past actions are contrary to these purposes may have their Event Registration cancelled and any registration fees refunded.
Can you tell me everything I need for my registration?
When registrations open in October, you will need:
- Venue
- Date
- Imagery
- Eventotron account
Registration fee
What is Eventotron?!
It’s a platform that many festivals use. If you haven't used it before, I promise it's not hard! When you create an account you will be able to create a profile for your show, and use it to apply to multiple festivals, manage schedules, and keep details updated. On our end, it allows us to review registrations, shape the programme and coordinate scheduling.
What makes a strong event listing?
In some ways, doing the basics well: clear event information; compelling graphics (that are not AI generated); details about the accessibility of your event i.e. wheelchair accessibility, sign language interpreters, audio description, and including where your event may not be accessible.
Who can I ask for help?
You can contact our team at Auckland Pride by emailing us at kiaora@aucklandpride.org.nz Otherwise, light a candle to Dolly Parton and send your manifestations.
What have artists said about being in past festivals?
“I don’t think we’ve ever experienced this level of artist care in a festival environment before... this is a very rare experience for us as diaspora of the Pacific.”
— Corin Ileto, ANITO
I'm feeling shy. If I have a show, who is likely to come?
Just the coolest people in Tāmaki. Pride events are events people can show up alone to and know they’re going to make a new friend.
It's good to be strategic about when you programme your show. February is the shortest month of the year (we get it!), so ensuring that you plan your event at a time when people aren’t attending other events could help your audience numbers. Come have a chat with us and we can support you in timelining.
Oh my god. Should I use social media to promote my event? Got any hot tips?
YES! Social media is a great tool to promote your event. Hop on those social trends, think outside the box when it comes to how you promote your event? How does doing the ‘scuba’ or ‘sitting down to do your Netflix documentary’ help you promote your event on Tiktok? Have fun with it!
I don’t want to run my own event, but I’d love to be part of the festival. How can I take part?
You can become a member to shape our organisation at our AGM on 10 October and be more in-the-know. You can volunteer with us! We would be nowhere without the incredible support and dedication of our incredible volunteers! You can support your friends kaupapa! Head along to their events. You can try something new – with over 200 events in the festival, there are always a wide variety of activities you can be involved with, and who knows, you might even make a new friend or two on the way.
