Feature
Deep dives into issues & ideas shaping our creative world.
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Learning from Venice: What happens when early-career practitioners encounter the world?
Angela Bishop reflects on the impact and outcomes of taking eight early-career practitioners to experience the Venice Biennale. -
Why public funding for NZ’s live music scene needs retuning
The numbers suggest benefits attributable to the Events Attraction Package outweigh the costs, despite MBIE’s advice to the contrary. -
How are independent presses changing our publishing landscape?
A quietly ambitious wave of small presses is changing what gets made, who gets published, and what ends up on our bookshelves. -
'Closing the pipeline but still expecting water': Development spaces are feeling the pinch
Sam Brooks talks to the directors of four arts development spaces across both form and geography about their vital work, and how they could be better supported. -
On performing authentically, and protecting the human behind the art
Where is the line between private and public identity, and how do artists establish healthy lives for ourselves when we share so much? -
Irirangi: The recurring calls of toi Māori
In an excerpt from Te Tuhi's new book, They covered the house in stories: 50 years of exhibiting contemporary art, Karl Chitham asks questions about Māori exhibition-making and representation in our cultural institutions. -
Does the Welsh music scene offer a glimpse of te reo Māori’s future?
The journey of Cymraeg feels familiar and aspirational. It's also supported by policy. -
Everything we learned at WORD Christchurch 2026
Shanti Mathias explores romantasy, zines, music and stories at WORD Christchurch 2026. -
'A vision for how to programme the city': A conversation on Nighttime Governance
A discussion between HALFQUEEN and Mirik Milan proved that a thriving nightlife isn’t a force of nature, but an outcome of intentional public policy. -
Omissions, inconsistencies, and red flags: Inside CNZ’s AOG assessment process
A dive into documents released under the Official Information Act show the steps and shortcomings behind the allocation of the arts biggest fund. -
The bard is immortal, but is he faring well?
Sam Brooks checks in with a renowned scholar, an actor in a production of Macbeth, and a high school teacher about the state of Shakespeare in 2026. -
The costly gamble of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Even the Fringe Society makes it clear that expenses will outstrip revenue, but is it worth the chance at a big breakthrough? -
If you don’t look you can’t see, or, the consequences of Southern invisibility in national arts funding
Under austerity, funding decisions are especially consequential, so it’s concerning that South Island orgs received less than 10% of the funding offered in the highest AOG tiers. -
An analysis of CNZ’s strategy for ngā toi Māori, Toi Ora, and the path to its inception
Strategies have the ability to imagine new futures, which can be really exciting until you gaze into one and see how unwieldy it is. -
The Southern Hemisphere Fiction 100
The rest of ‘the greatest literature ever published in English’. -
Massive Theatre Company at 35
Sam Brooks looks at the company’s history and talks to the founder and participants about what keeps it special. -
Can a venue operate without relying on bar sales? Notes from a community hui
Last weekend a hui at Neck of the Woods gathered people from across the music community to discuss operating models. -
MATA
A poem to observe Matariki. -
‘Taonga pūoro... is through everything’
A haerenga into the world of taonga pūoro and a birds eye view of recent resonations. -
The kids are alright: What the all-ages music scene has to show us
What if we decentred alcohol from our social infrastructure, and encouraged intergenerational unity? -
What Auckland grassroots venues need most right now
Rosetta Stone talks to Chlöe Swarbrick, Taylor MacGregor and Savina Fountain about the future of music infrastructure in the city. -
Seeing ourselves elsewhere: Unexpectedly familiar art in Shanghai
Gabi Lardies visits Shanghai to see NZ artists on a global stage, and is surprised by the similar concerns echoed in contemporary Chinese art. -
One company dominates NZ’s live music scene – how do we encourage competition?
A US court found Live Nation and Ticketmaster used their monopoly to overcharge. Those same giants control major parts of Aotearoa’s ticketing, festival and events sectors.
