A few takeaways from the Arts Laureates and the week’s news

On Friday a full Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre celebrated this year's cohort of eight new Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureates. You’ve probably heard who they are already, but if not, put your hands together for musician Victoria Kelly, multi-disciplinary artist Sriwhana Spong, Anapela Polata'ivao, actor and comedian Madeleine Sami, designer Tyrone Ohia, artist collective et al., painter Emily Karaka, and author Catherine Chidgey. The awards have been running since 2000, and this year each laureate received a $50,000 gift thanks to philanthropic donors, as well as a trophy made by Terry Stringer. I was there, in an aisle seat near the front, jotting down details you might find interesting, and munching on cheese from a little cardboard box. Here’s what I can make out of my fragments of notes.

Good will for Jessica Palalagi is strong and well-distributed

The cheers when she entered stage-left came from artists, art leaders, philanthropists and art-adjacent people in the room.

There’s more philanthropists than you might think

For a brief moment, perhaps a second or five, during Jessica Palalagi’s welcoming speech, a slide, absolutely chocka with names in a relatively small font size, was projected behind her. There was a murmur of surprise amongst the seated crowd, I squinted to try to make out a few names, and suddenly it was gone. The visual presentation was onto partner logos. The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi always stresses the importance and generosity of its donors, but I think when you’ve got no idea of the scale, it's easy to underestimate how many people and businesses are contributing. Being as nosey as I am, I looked into the financial statements that are publicly available, on account of the organisation being a charity. The most recent statement, for the year ended 30 June 2025, shows that there were 259 Kotahi giving collective members, who donate at least $42 a month each. This only scratches the surface – for example, each of the eight laureate awards has a sponsor, and if you were there on the night you will surely be wondering just how much the Principal Partner, Hummingbird Coffee, is giving. Palalagi sang their praises, the logo was everywhere, the espresso martinis were on them, and if you were lucky, you got to take home a branded tote with a bag of beans inside. 

Art has been funded by philanthropy for thousands of years, and yet it's a topic that not much light shines on. There’s no public lists of who got what, like there is with government grants, and far less formal structures that highlight how to access that money. It is perhaps something the sector could benefit from talking more openly about.

The definition of arts is expansive

In her surprisingly serious acceptance speech, Madeleine Sami said she’s been running into walls to entertain people since she was two years old. “Now you guys are calling it an artform and I’ll take it.” This year's laureates feel like a particularly joyous, varied collection. The inclusion of a comedian and a designer among more traditionally recognised artforms like theatre and painting seem to shift the focus from what we might think of as ‘arts’ towards a more expansive field we might associate with ‘culture’. There’s plenty of baggage around the distinction, but I’d personally argue that we could have more fun and more impact in that more expansive field. Tyrone Ohia, whose work in graphic design almost always sits outside of arts institutions, spoke about creating mana and educating people through his work. He says he constantly considers how design can serve culture, uphold te ao Māori, and connect more people with its richness. The perfect example is the hongi tohu he designed for the Toitū Te Tiriti movement.

Catherine Chidgey will be getting double-glazing, and suffers the wobbles

The beloved, bestselling author revealed that her prize will be going towards double-glazing all the windows in her house. “You have no idea what a difference it will make,” she said, and it was easy to picture her with cold hands at a writing desk. The less material, and just as important, effect of the award, she says, will be to her confidence. “Writing is a solitary business, and the self-belief often wobbles.” The award, “feels like a vote of confidence and a generous reminder to keep going.”

Anapela Polata'ivao never once heard the words “get a real job”

Polata'ivao’s parents arrived in Aotearoa from Samoa 47 years ago, she told us in her acceptance speech. They worked in factories, and Anapela was their eldest. When she told them she wanted to be an actor, it was unheard of. She explained theatre as being akin to sunday school as a way of explaining. Though it was so far from their understanding, her parents never once told her to get a real job, and she says it was their trust in her that has kept her in the game all these years. Heartwarming!

NZ farmers were won over by yodelling lesbians in the 80s

If there were ever a sign to never lose hope, let it be the existence of the Topp Twins. As Madeleine Sami pointed out, “we had yodelling lesbians in the 80s that won over conservative farmers”. Anything is possible then. As a queer brown woman, Sami said “representation was hard to come by” when she was growing up in Onehunga, and that in the course of her career she has seen identity used to divide people. It seems that the Topp Twins were, and continue to be, a symbol that it doesn't have to be this way. When Lynda Topp got her turn on stage as the closing address, she pointed out that as “young radical lesbians and entertainers, we never got a laureate, and now they give them to queer people!” The awards weren’t around back in the day, but this year the twins were given the Arts Foundation Icon Whakamana Hiranga honour. “Which means I have attained greatness – all the laureates tonight have a long way to go.” Once an entertainer, always an entertainer.

TBI launches new election series, Arts Policy Briefing

Yesterday we published the first in a new series which will cover what each political party is offering the arts in the lead-up to the election. A few weeks ago we sent a series of 15 questions covering funding, council rates caps, the donation tax credit cap, copyright and AI, the Amplify strategy, employment protections for freelancers and contractors, sustainability in the arts, and more, to the parties likely to be in parliament next term. We’re grateful that National, Labour, ACT, the Green Party, and Opportunity Party have taken the time to answer. Each has provided detailed, in-depth answers, and we are letting those speak for themselves by publishing the Q&As in their entirety. The first, from Todd Stephenson of ACT, is on our site now, and the second, from Labour’s Rachel Boyack, will be published tomorrow morning. Keep an eye out for the rest in the next couple of weeks, and don’t forget you must enrol, or update your details, by midnight Saturday 25 October. 

APRA AMCOS announces record revenue of AU$857.4m 

The 100-year-old music rights management organization that represents over 135,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers across Australia and New Zealand has announced its revenue is up 8.8% from last financial year. Even better is that the money that has gone, or will go out to members and rightsholders (Total Net Distributable Revenue) is up 10.6% on last year at AU$755.7m. The organisation says the growth is thanks to strong digital, international and OneMusic growth. Digital continues to dominate as the largest revenue source and biggest category increase – 53% of the overall share, and up 12.5% from last year. Subscription Video on Demand (Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+ etc.) continues to grow at a strong rate, up 25.7%.  

Still, 96% of the music streamed in Aotearoa FY26 was imported. Over the last five years, local content has seen a startling 28.6% decline to just 4% on streaming. The data shows that this trend could be shifting, but it’s too early to say for sure. The live scene isn’t kind to locals either, with audiences continuing to spend on large-scale, high-priced international events, leading to softer sales and greater price sensitivity for mid-tier tours and smaller festivals. 

Anthony Healey, Head of Operations at APRA AMCOS Aotearoa, says “the continued decline in NZ’s share of digital music is catastrophic. If we can’t increase discoverability, audience demand, and market access, then we can’t compete against the volume of global music and algorithms that actively works against us. This needs decisive action from industry and government now, because without it, a whole generation will miss hearing themselves reflected and represented on these platforms – and the ability of local artists to foster audiences through touring at home will continue to disappear."

Theatreview facing an uncertain future with CNZ funding declined 

The platform which has existed for over 20 years to create and publish reviews and archival records of the performing arts has announced that its application to the Arts Organisations and Groups Fund was unsuccessful. The Theatreview Trust and its editorial team are deeply disappointed, and now face uncertainty. It may no longer be possible, they say, to continue their work. In recent years sustained support from Wellington City Council for the Wellington Theatre Editor position has helped keep the lights on, but this leaves nationwide coverage of dance and theatre productions to unpaid volunteers. Essential overheads like website maintenance and hosting, domain name registration, emails, and accounting are being covered by donations. 

Trustees are considering what is sustainable without long-term funding. They acknowledge the extraordinary commitment of everyone who has contributed to Theatreview over the past two decades. While editors and writers are willing to continue their work voluntarily, the consideration is whether a national arts reviewing and archival service can, and should, survive on that basis. 

The Lumière Reader is back!

For a decade, one of New Zealand’s first and longest-running arts and culture websites has been mostly offline. On Sunday, Tim Wong, the founding editor of The Lumière Reader announced that it is back. It's an archival project – there’s no new writing, but now 13 years of arts and culture coverage is available to read on a lightweight, no-frills, and accessible website. It's thanks to a grant from the Asian Artists’ Fund that this has been possible.

An excellent entry point is the first anthology of 100 articles, chosen by Wong and Editors-at-large Alexander Bisley and Brannavan Gnanalingam. There’s a range of reviews, interviews, and long-form pieces. Or, if you prefer to watch beautiful films, three essay films / documentaries from 2015 have been remastered are are available to watch: Out of the Mist, An Alternate History of New Zealand Cinema, written and directed by Tim Wong; Land of the Long White Stain, A Love Letter to Music on the Margins, written and directed by Frances Libeau; and Paper Boat, Moments in the Life of a Book, directed by Alex Mitcalfe Wilson.

Queenstown Lakes has more creative potential than infrastructure

A new report, Creative and Cultural Spaces and Places Evidence Report, has found that the district has strong participation in the creative sector, but access to affordable, suitable spaces and support is constraining what communities and businesses can achieve. The report was ​​prepared by Three Lakes Cultural Trust and calls for cultural infrastructure to be embedded in the district’s long-term planning. It notes that the creative sector contributes $234 million annually to the district's economy

The report identifies eight priority actions to inform the Queenstown Lakes District Council Long-Term Plan 2027–2037 and infrastructure planning: recognising creative and cultural infrastructure within the Long Term Plan work programme; preparing a district-wide Creative and Cultural Infrastructure Plan; establishing a cross-Council working group; protecting future opportunities through planning and property decisions; expanding creative space activation and brokerage models; exploring alternative funding and investment mechanisms; embedding cultural outcomes into capital projects and procurement processes; and developing a shared evidence and monitoring framework. It posits that the council can’t afford not to do these.

Researcher in the UK seeking survey participants

Martín Deutsch, an MA Innovation Management student at Central Saint Martins, London, is exploring how creative practitioners work with deadlines, shifting schedules and moments when they don't know how to move a project forward. His survey, which can be done anonymously, takes about five minutes, and he’d love practitioners from Aotearoa to form part of his research. 

Ana Chaya Scotney and Julie Zhu win Best New Zealand Film at Show Me Shorts

The award went to producer Julie Zhu and writer-director Ana Chaya Scotney for their emotional coming-of-age drama Kurī. The film follows a young woman returning to Te Urewera after her father’s death. The lead, Keporah Torrance, won Toi Whakaari Best Actor Award with a “gut-wrenching” performance according to Jury member Carol Hirschfeld.

The documentary A Good Way to Start the Day, directed and produced by Anna Frances Pearson won the DEGANZ Best Editor Award. Tom Noakes won DEGANZ Best Director for The Worm. Tim Flower won Kōawa Studios Best Cinematographer for Socks. Jack Woon won Script to Screen Best Screenplay for 埋單Let’s Settle This! French drama Soleil Pâle (Pale Sun), directed by Adrian Moyse Dullin and Jawahine Zentar, received the Best International Film Award.

Cavemen win 2026 Rockshop Bandquest

A band from South Wellington Intermediate School, Cavemen, won first place at the 2026 Rockshop Bandquest National Final. Tarn, Theo, Axel, Yohann, all in year 8, performed an indie-rock original called ‘Scars’ and ‘Sweet Child O’Mine’ by Guns N’ Roses. They will receive $2,000 of equipment from the Rockshop and the opportunity to record a song. The Reset from Rangikura School came second, winning $1,500 of musical equipment from the Rockshop, and No Way Out from Te Atatu Intermediate came in at third, winning $1,000 of musical equipment from the Rockshop. Judge and artist Riiki was awed by the level of talent. “In particular, the drummers really stole the show for me this year! The level of songwriting is also very impressive – very much that of musicians much older than them. I am very excited for these young tamariki to keep developing their music and to watch them grow through their musical journey.” 

Lawrence Patchett is the NZSA Peter and Dianne Beatson 2026 Fellow

The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) has announced Lawrence Patchett as the winner of the fellowship, which this year comes with $12,000. “This fellowship will allow me to dedicate time to the hard work of writing a novel that has new technical challenges for me,” says Patchett. “The novel explores the struggle of a Waitaha Canterbury man to save his community newspaper, his sports club, and his family from collapse. In doing so it asks questions about how we make community and how it can sustain us.”

Theia receives two prestigious University awards 

Em-Haley Kukutai Walker (Ngaati Tiipaa, Ngaati Kaiaua), also known as Theia, is adding two University accolades to an already impressive collection of music awards. At Auckland University’s Blues Awards, she received the Arts and Culture Award and the Major Māori Award, recognising her contributions to Indigenous music, scholarship and advocacy. “It’s our responsibility to be fearless in our art, because there are so many people around the world who don’t have that choice,” she says – it's a point of view that she has argued in a Soapbox on The Big Idea.

Giordano Bellincampi announces his final season as the APO’s Music Director

Auckland Philharmonia has announced that its 2027 season is Bellincampi’s 12th and final. The season revisits many of Bellincampi’s signature works and stand-out soloists from his tenure. “Throughout this very special season, we celebrate Giordano Bellincampi’s legacy and his immense impact on our orchestra’s growth in artistic excellence, culminating with a magnificent two-week BrahmsFest,” says Diana Weir, Auckland Philharmonia’s Chief Executive. There is also the addition of special events headlined by a 50th anniversary New Zealand exclusive screening of the multi-generational cinematic classic Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert, with John Williams' original score performed live by the Auckland Phil. 

John Linker stepping down from his role as Music Director at Christchurch City Choir

Dr Linker, who has led the choir since 2016 (officially appointed in 2017), is stepping down, effective 6 December 2026. Over his decade-long tenure, Dr Linker conducted and prepared the Christchurch City Choir for more than 50 major performances and concert projects. In his resignation letter to the Board, Dr Linker wrote, “It has been the pleasure of a lifetime... I will be forever grateful to the membership of Christchurch City Choir for giving of their time and talents... I will always treasure these memories.” He believes it is the right moment for a new leader to bring fresh ideas and an original vision to the choir.

Artspace Aotearoa welcomes new Research and Archive Management Assistant

Zach Muir, who has volunteered at the gallery for several years, will be the new Research and Archive Management Assistant for the next year. Zach will help make more of the gallery’s history visible and accessible on its website, bringing together information about past exhibitions, publications and public programmes.

Our first Arts Policy Briefing is essential reading for those who want to vote with the arts in mind! Come back tomorrow to hear from Labour’s Rachel Boyack.

At the start of October, we held a hui for theatre practitioners in Tāmaki Makaurau with Alice Canton at the helm. She reports back with the main themes, discussions and calls to action that emerged.

Mark Williams founded CIRCUIT in 2012 with the goal of creating an international audience for Aotearoa artists working with the moving image. In an excerpt from a beautiful new book, he reflects on ten years of CIRCUIT’s Artist Cinema Commissions.

Last week’s Artswire included the news that Bernie Haldane is the new Festival Director and CEO of Auckland Arts Festival, in a new combined role. An arts sector leader wrote in, concerned that rolling two jobs into one is becoming a trend, perhaps as a result of financial pressure. “In a past world where CEO’s like David Inns worked alongside superwomen like Carla van Zon, one brought the money and operations, the other artistic acts we are still talking about. Surely in this new world we are missing out on something.”

My email is editor@thebigidea.co.nz as always!