Kimbra on the Ups and Downs of Fame
At just 21, the New Zealand musician Kimbra became famous for her part in smash-hit duet Somebody That I Used to Know. So what happened after? The Guardian’s Katie Cunningham checks in with the…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Why Katherine Mansfield Still Divides Opinion
In an edited extract from her foreword to Wild Places: Selected Stories by Katherine Mansfield, English author Helen Simpson asks: “How and why did Katherine Mansfield provoke such violent extremes of admiration and hostility, both…
Killer Doll Movie M3GAN Reviews Well in US
New Zealand director Gerard Johnstone’s latest film, the comedy horror M3GAN, is well reviewed in Variety, with critic Owen Gleiberman describing it as “creepy, preposterous and diverting”. “Gemma (Allison Williams), a robotics engineer, works for…
Lynley Crosswell Creates Experiences in Victoria
New Zealander Lynley Crosswell took over as chief executive of Museums Victoria which includes the Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks, Immigration Museum, IMAX and the Royal Exhibition Building, in 2017. She is the first woman chief…
The Beths Gifted Fans an Outstanding 2022 Album
In a round-up of the year’s most outstanding albums, the Boston Herald’s Jed Gottlieb includes Auckland indie band The Beths’ Expert in a Dying Field in his top five. Other albums making the cut are…
Mansfield Left Other Modernists in the Dust
“This year, we celebrated the annus mirabilis of literary modernism, whose greatest novel, Ulysses, and greatest poem, The Waste Land, both turned 100 … This year will see another modernist milestone. 9 January 2023 will…
TikTok for Good Award Goes to Jazz Thornton
It’s not quite the silver screen, but for the savants of the 16×9 phone screen, TikTok’s second annual For You Fest held in Sydney celebrates the top tier of talent to trends, including New…
Jazz Pianist Mike Nock Relearns Seminal Album
At 82, the exuberant Christchurch-born, Sydney-based pianist Mike Nock has a lifetime of stories to share, and an abundance of insights to accompany them, Jessica Nicholas writes for The Age. She speaks with Nock…
Violinist Bryony Gibson-Cornish Appointed at RCM
New Zealand-born violist Bryony Gibson-Cornish is one of five new professors appointed to the String Faculty at the Royal College of Music (RCM), London. Gibson-Cornish, who performs as part of the Marmen Quartet, will…
New Zealand’s Indy Forging Own Pop Path
Last month, a new indie pop star emerged – and she’s making the main character anthems of everyone’s dreams, according to Brittany Spanos writing for Rolling Stone. After nearly four years of writing, workshopping,…
Dancer Lance Savali Never Misses a Beat
Lance Savali is a Wellington-born dancer, who shot to stardom after beginning his career with compatriot Parris Goebel’s dance crew, The Royal Family. Speaking to Complex AU, Savali chats about working with some of…
Literary Review Looks at Mansfield and the Movies
“One of Katherine Mansfield’s defining characteristics was her restlessness, both personal and artistic: she was always most at home when on the move,” Claire Harman writes for the Literary Review. “It helped that she…
Crafting Savage x Fenty with Parris Goebel
In-demand New Zealand choreographer Parris Goebel talks with Harper’s Bazaar about shaping the annual fashion spectacle Savage x Fenty and her longstanding creative friendship with Rihanna. While Rihanna is the mastermind behind the Savage x…
Artist Francis Upritchard Shows in Switzerland
New Zealand-born artist Francis Upritchard, 46, has had her first solo show in Switzerland at Biel’s Kunsthaus Pasquart, exhibiting over 100 works. “Upritchard’s sculptures represent a striking amalgamation of fantasy and reality. Incorporating a wide…
Anything’s Possible for Choreographer Parris Goebel
From Justin Bieber to Rihanna, the entertainment industry’s elite all want to work with Parris Goebel, Grace O’Neill writes for Harper’s Bazaar Australia. The New Zealand-born choreographer seems to be at the height of…
Cult Guitarist Roy Montgomery Records New Music
Beloved by the likes of Dry Cleaning and Grouper, New Zealand guitarist Roy Montgomery’s life has been hit by more than one tragedy, stories he traces in meditative instrumentals, Stevie Chick writes in a…
Kate Newby’s NY Art Rose Through Cracks
In New York, on the Lower East Side, Laurel Gitlen gallery features two tile works that Kate Newby, the sculptor and ceramist, calls “murals”. Hung like paintings, they incorporate found objects, specifically glass, gathered from…
Artist Hannah Jensen Reveals Magic in Carving Paint
Christchurch-based artist Hannah Jensen speaks to Forbes contributor Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle about painting in reverse, where all the layers of paint are applied first, then carved to reveal what’s in her heart. “After carving on wood,…
Juliette MacIver Writes Romping Rhyme for Kids
“‘When darkness falls in rising mist, Beware the gruesome grizzled grist.’ Watch little smiles light up when they get their hands on this fun-filled picture book featuring a school trip that turns into a…
New Taika Waititi Film Stars Michael Fassbender
In 2001, the American Samoa football team were thrashed by Australia and recruited the services of a coach named Thomas Rongen in an attempt to reverse their on-the-field misfortunes. The story has now been…
Gemma New Makes Houston Symphony Debut
Gemma New has studied under conductors whose names are familiar well beyond the cloistered halls of classical music: Dudamel, Salonen, Michael Tilson Thomas. The 35-year-old New Zealand native, recently made her Houston Symphony debut,…
Inside the Secretive Gloriavale Christian Community
Like many New Zealanders, Fergus Grady knew about the disturbing stories that were coming out of the Gloriavale Christian Community. This secretive group, located in one of the most isolated parts of the country,…
Anna Fifield Returns to The Washington Post
For the past two years, Anna Fifield, 46, has been editor of the Dominion Post, New Zealand’s capital city newspaper. In January 2023, she returns to The Washington Post, where she worked as Tokyo…
Discovering New Zealand Crime Fiction
Waitara-born writer Jacqueline Bublitz discusses New Zealand’s “significant contribution to the cannon of popular crime fiction” and recommends four authors “you should be reading now” in an article for CrimeReads. They are: Rose Carlyle…
Amyas Connell-Designed Modernist UK Home for Sale
High and Over is no ordinary home. This legendary concrete, Y-shaped building, designed by New Zealand-born architect Amyas Connell, is the UK’s first modernist house, deemed to be “of outstanding importance” by English Heritage….
Poūkahangatus by Tayi Tibble a New Yorker Fave
Wellington-born Tayi Tibble’s poetry collection Poūkahangatus has been included in the New Yorker’s ‘Best Books of 2022 So Far’ list. The influential magazine writes: “Our editors and critics choose this year’s most captivating, notable, brilliant,…
Poet Hera Lindsay Bird Rides Wave of New Platforms
In an article about 30-year-old Russian-born British poet Arch Hades, “the highest paid living poet of all time” and the “new meta verse”, Financial Times Baya Simons mentions Wellingtonian Hera Lindsay Bird, 35, part…
Tayi Tibble’s Poūkahangatus Reviewed in New Yorker
Wellington poet Tayi Tibble’s award-winning first collection Poūkahangatus has been described by The New Yorker magazine as “smart, sexy … fanciful and dramatic”. “This collection’s title poem, which describes itself as ‘An Essay About Indigenous…
Titan to Tachyons’ Sally Gates Talks Surrealism
New Zealand-born composer Sally Gates, a member of New York experimental metal band Titan to Tachyons, has been described by renowned musician John Zorn as “a powerful young guitarist with a striking compositional…
Studio Kind of Green Performs for Scotsman Sessions
With the performing arts sector still impacted by the pandemic, The Scotsman is commissioning a series of short video performances from artists all around Scotland and releasing them online, with introductions from their critics. For…
Inside Emilia Wickstead’s Elegant West London Home
With a fittingly fastidious approach to interiors, Auckland-born designer Emilia Wickstead, 38, brings her signature blend of proportion, colour and classicism to a family home in West London, finds British Vogue fashion features editor…
Maxine Funke’s Pieces of Driftwood Appraised
“Over a decade and four extraordinary albums, Maxine Funke has established herself as New Zealand’s premier purveyor of lightness, of songs whose beauty and mystery are only sharpened by their apparent ephemeral qualities,” Folk…
Alex Liu Receives MGM Film Script Deal
MGM and The Black List have named Auckland-based Alex Liu, 30, as the third recipient to receive a two-step Guild minimum open script deal as part of their two-year feature film script writing partnership,…
Pandemic Responses to Music from The Beths
“Thanks in large part to an early 80s explosion of talent centred on Dunedin, and shared with the world via the Flying Nun label, New Zealand played a pivotal role in the evolution of…
Emmy Haul for Peter Jackson’s Beatles Doco
The Beatles: Get Back producer-director New Zealander Peter Jackson has shared the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction series with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and fellow producers Yoko Ono Lennon, Olivia Harrison, Clare Olssen,…
Singing Shared Just How Marlon Williams Likes It
Group singing has been central to New Zealander Marlon Williams’ life, journalist and author Jenny Valentish writes for The Guardian. He likens it to a spiritual practice, “without the theory or having to worry…
Class Consciousness in Mansfield’s Classic Story
In a recent Forbes column, usually “devoted to Western (and sometimes Eastern) ‘Great Books’ or ‘Classics”’, contributor David Bahr this time examines the “minor Classics”. “These books or authors are not quite in the…
Jane Campion Cinema Appeals for Autistic Cipher
“In the complex, full-formed characters of Jane Campion’s cinema, I found connections with my own recent autism diagnosis,” Lexie Corbett writes in an article published by bi-monthly magazine, Little White Lies. “I was looking for…
Choreographer Parris Goebel Honoured to Win Emmy
Auckland-born Parris Goebel, 30, has won big at the 2022 Emmy Awards, 1 News reports. She took out the award for Outstanding Choreography for Variety Or Reality Programming for her work on Savage X…
Famed Manager Alan Niven recalls G N’ R Days
Former Guns N’ Roses manager Wellington-born Alan Niven, who ushered the band through their Appetite for Destruction era, has shared his first thoughts on meeting the band in 1986, Scott Ng reports for Guitar…
Around the Back of the World Tall Dwarfs Alchemised
“The New Zealand duo of Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate have influenced generations of lo-fi rockers. This 55-track box set reminds us why,” Louis Pattison writes in a Pitchfork review of Unravelled:…
Perth’s Co3 to Perform Douglas Wright’s Gloria
In September, Perth’s contemporary dance company Co3, will bring the late New Zealand choreographer Douglas Wright’s “much hallowed work” Gloria “back to life”, Dance Australia editor Karen van Ulzen writes. “Wright was a uniquely gifted…
Author Janet Frame On Cover of Turkish Newspaper
A portrait of Janet Frame by American celebrity photographer Jerry Bauer recently featured on the front page of Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet Kitap. Several of Frame’s titles are currently being reprinted in Turkish, her official…
Marlon Williams Finds a Sunnier Mood
On his new album My Boy, New Zealand singer-songwriter Marlon Williams experiments with electronic flourishes in search of a lighthearted groove, Rumaan Alam writes in an article published in The New Yorker. “In 2018, Williams…
Melanie Lynskey Finds Light in the Dark
After nearly two decades of critically acclaimed performances, Yellowjackets star New Zealander Melanie Lynskey lands her first Emmy nod, Brooke Marine reports for W magazine. Ever since she starred in the psychological drama Heavenly Creatures…
Cheil’s Malcolm Poynton Talks Ideas That Move
Regarded as one of the world’s top digital minds when it comes to advertising creativity, New Zealand-born Malcolm Poynton, global chief creative officer at Cheil Worldwide, has built teams responsible for campaigns like British…
Inspirational Dancer Rodney Bell Tours Meremere
The love of Rodney Bell’s life is his lightweight titanium wheelchair. It is his partner in dance and an extension of his body, allowing him to weave into his performances the elements of earth,…
Conchord Bret McKenzie on His Serious Solo Debut
He has written duets for man and Muppet, parodied Morrissey in The Simpsons, and become Hollywood’s go-to for bringing ‘heart’ to the movies. Now Academy Award-winning Wellington musician Bret McKenzie, 46, is ready to…
Haunting Black Grace Dances Different Kind of Buzz
In a New York Times review of their recent Joyce Theater show, Gia Kourlos describes Black Grace’s two Big Apple premieres as at times, “moody” and “breathtaking”. “This was especially true in ‘O Le Olaga…
Charlotte Rampling at Centre of Likeable Juniper
“Juniper is a drama with black comic edges about a fragmented family, and the unexpectedly life-affirming influence of its particularly tetchy matriarch. In the lead role is Charlotte Rampling, an actor blessed with an…
Sharing Taonga at The Pacific Virtual Museum
Tim Kong, director of The Pacific Virtual Museum, describes how the project is making the cultural heritage of the Pacific visible and accessible to all, in a perspective piece published on The Met’s website. “The Pacific…
Coast House a Minimalist Retreat in Southland
“ Stacey Farrell’s contemporary retreat is a stealthy passive design that keeps a low profile amidst the natural splendour of New Zealand’s wild south coast,” Jonathan Bell writes for design magazine, Wallpaper. “This low-energy retreat,…
Ruined Christchurch Houses Released with Light
“For centuries, crosses and circles have been used to mark houses either visited by disease or targeted for burglary. This act of externalising the interior life of a home is something that artist Ian…
Black Grace Profiled Ahead of US Shows
“The formidable New Zealand national rugby union team performs a Māori war dance known as the haka before every match. Black Grace, the dance company created by Neil Ieremia, a New Zealander of Samoan…
Dwell Loves this Cosy Wanaka Holiday Home
US-based Dwell magazine features a Condon Scott Architects-designed Wanaka home in their daily series, ‘Houses We Love’. “It was on a Japanese ski trip that the owners of this house in Wanaka came to appreciate…
Sam Neill and Friends Return to Jurassic Park
Though nearly three decades have passed since New Zealander Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum starred in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 dinosaur epic, that series-starter still manages to resonate in impressive ways. Now, five…
