New Zealand Festival of the Arts

The Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts is a special celebration of music, dance, theater, and literature that happens every two years in Wellington, New Zealand. It began in 1986 and has had several names over time, including the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts and the New Zealand Arts Festival.

The festival lasts for three weeks and takes place in many venues in Wellington City, with additional performances and activities in nearby areas. Each festival features exciting artists and performers from around the world and from New Zealand itself.

Along with music and performances, the festival also includes a program of books and stories, bringing together writers and readers for a wonderful mix of arts and culture.

History

The festival began in 1986 in Wellington, New Zealand, and was first called the New Zealand International Festival of the Arts. It was inspired by the Adelaide Festival in Australia. Important people, including former Prime Minister Jack Marshall, helped start the festival. The Wellington City Council and its mayor, Ian Lawrence, supported it from the beginning and still do. At first, the festival lost money for four years, but it began making a profit in 1994.

Because some people were unhappy about money being spent on international artists in the first festival, they created an event called Flying Kiwi to showcase local artists. This event later grew into the New Zealand Fringe Festival. In 2012, a music critic named John Button said the festival helped make Wellington known as the cultural capital of New Zealand.

Wellington has also had its own festival every three years since 1959. There was another arts event in 1977 organized by the NZ Student's arts council, featuring film, music, dance, theatre, and more.

Programme

The New Zealand Festival of the Arts offers many kinds of shows, such as dance, theatre, music, and outdoor events. Some shows are free for everyone to enjoy. The festival also includes a special event for writers and readers. In 1986, famous writer Janet Frame joined this event.

The festival brings in performers from other countries who have never performed in New Zealand before. For example, the Staatskapelle Berlin State Orchestra played at the very first festival in 1986, and they were the first orchestra from another country to play in New Zealand in twelve years. Other popular shows have included dances by Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan, and a long play called The Dragons' Trilogy by Robert Lepage in 2008.

The festival also helps create new plays and works with local artists. Playwright Hone Kouka has had several of his plays, like Waiora and Home Fires, shown for the first time at the festival.

In 2020, the literary part of the festival was made longer, lasting three weeks. In 2022, the literary programme was organized by Claire Mabey, and it was held online. It featured talks with authors like Mariana Mazzucato, N K Jemisin, and Clementine Ford. There was also a celebration of 30 years of HUIA publishing.

Some parts of the 2022 festival had to be changed or cancelled because of COVID-19 health rules.

Organisation

The New Zealand Festival is a charitable trust with a board of trustees. It is funded by groups like Creative New Zealand and the Wellington City Council. The festival has a small team of staff, and more people help when events are being prepared.

In 2014, the festival became part of a larger group called Tāwhiri: Festivals and Experiences. This group also organizes other events such as the Wellington Jazz Festival, the Lexus Song Quest, and Second Unit. In 2020, the festival used three curators to plan the three weeks of events. In 2022, the festival featured many works by Māori and Indigenous artists.