Nude Tuesday Could Be New Zealand’s Next Big Hit
“Imagine writing a film. Rehearsing it in English and then performing it in gibberish. Then, you get someone else to write the subtitles, so even you don’t know how the film will end. Anything…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Amazing Hotels Host Monica Galetti Prefers Boutique
New Zealand chef and co-presenter of Amazing Hotels, Monica Galetti, tells The Sunday Times about her favourite places to stay, and how she brings back ingredients from her travels. “I always return with a suitcase…
Pop Idol Benee Voice of Pandemic Generation
Fresh off a world tour, in an interview with Dazed magazine, New Zealand singer Benee, 22, opens up about her viral rise to fame on TikTok, writing about Gen Z anxieties via her 2022…
Washington D.C. Out in Numbers for Aldous Harding
New Zealand singer-songwriter Aldous Harding, who is currently on tour in the United States, performed songs from her latest album Warm Chris, to a capacity crowd at Washington D.C.’s Miracle Theatre. The show is…
Met’s Arts of Oceania Has Maia Nuku in Charge
New Zealander Dr Maia Nuku is showcasing Oceania to the world at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas Bywater writes in a story for The New Zealand Herald. Curator of Arts of Oceania,…
Ghosts Rose McIver Stands Out in Ensemble Comedy
Rose McIver, the 33-year-old New Zealand native who began acting as a child, recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about her interest in finding the emotional relatability in flamboyant characters and situations and the…
Country Queen Tami Neilson at Her Imperious Best
“She’s laden with every music award her adopted homeland New Zealand can muster, but the queen of Kiwi country deserves a wider audience,” The Observer’s Neil Spencer writes in a review…
Emotional Homecoming for Tami Neilson
Canada-born, New Zealand-based singer and songwriter Tami Neilson is back in Ontario to tour new album Kingmaker, her first visit since the pandemic began. She talks to Toronto Star journalist Nick Krewen about being…
Adam Christopher Discusses His Star Wars Novels
In an interview with American media website CNET, Auckland-born UK-based author Adam Christopher, 44, reveals how he came up with Rey’s parents’ names and how his latest Star Wars novel, Shadow of the Sith,…
Looking at the Origins of Shanty The Wellerman
The sea ballad, “The Wellerman”, the meaning of which is both curious and historical, was born in New Zealand 150 years ago. Jacob Uitti investigates its catchy origins for American Songwriter magazine. “Known as ‘Soon…
Barden Party Born in a New Zealand Backyard
Shakespeare in the backyard? At the height of New Zealand’s Covid-19 restrictions, American-New Zealander Laura Irish had an idea. Sarah Yamanaka Waipahu investigates for Spectrum News 1. “I had just experienced being let go from…
London-Based Finnegan Tui on His Unique Sound
New Zealand singer-songwriter and producer Finnegan Tui discusses his new nature-inspired EP Zephyr and how he developed his unique sound with Wonderland magazine journalist Britany Josephs. “ a kind of meditation where I am…
High Praise for Lorde’s London Night Out
Lorde is Kitty Empire’s ‘Artist of the Week’, The Guardian reviewer deeming the pop singer’s sold-out Alexandra Palace concert a “magnificent night out”. “By turns tearful and rocking out, the New Zealand star is on…
What Makes Taika Waititi Run and Run and Run?
The Thor: Love and Thunder director, New Zealander Taika Waititi, can’t say no – to starring in Our Flag Means Death, making a soccer movie, writing a Star Wars idea, adapting Roald Dahl. For…
Bottled Ocean 2122 by George Nuku Shows in Vienna
New Zealand artist George Nuku (Ngāti Kahungunu and Tūwharetoa) has presented his latest work, dubbed Bottled Ocean 2122, as an installation that imagines the state of the world’s oceans 100 years in the future…
Studiocanal CEO Anna Marsh Awarded at CineEurope
Studiocanal CEO New Zealand-born Anna Marsh has been named International Distributor of the Year at CineEurope, the exhibition conference which took place in June, in Barcelona. Andrew Sunshine, president of CineEurope organiser Film Expo Group,…
Peter Jackson Talks Getting Back The Beatles
There can be no doubt that New Zealand director Jackson, after his intensive review of 130 hours of audio and 57 hours of long-hidden video of the band at their career hinge point of…
Susan Te Kahurangi King’s Reputation Rising
In an article on the Christie’s website, specialists Anna Touzin and Isabel Millar select five abstract artists whose reputations are on the rise, all with works coming to auction in the British auction house’s…
Behind the Mic with Groundbreaker Rikki Swannell
World Rugby talks to New Zealander Rikki Swannell about becoming the first female lead commentator on the men’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and her life in sports broadcasting. As an experienced sports broadcaster, Swannell…
Taika Waititi on TIME’s 2022 Most Influential List
New Zealander Taika Waititi, 46, makes TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022. American actor and screenwriter Sacha Baron Cohen explains why. “You can tell that a film was made by Taika Waititi the…
The Boys Star Karl Urban On New Superhero Status
Although Amazon’s The Boys is an ensemble show, Stuart Heritage writes for The Guardian, with a sprawling collection of superheroes and antihero vigilantes, New Zealander Karl Urban has emerged as the show’s lead. His…
New Doco Explores Jane Campion’s Filmography
Drawing upon interviews from throughout the New Zealander’s career, Julie Bertuccelli’s documentary Jane Campion: The Cinema Woman, which premiered at Cannes, explores the process and philosophy of the Power of the Dog helmer. Sheri…
Substack’s Hamish McKenzie Always Has Big Ideas
Newsletter company Substack, co-founded by San Francisco-based New Zealander Hamish McKenzie (pictured right), is on a mission to disrupt the attention economy away from “cheap outrage and flame wars,” drawing in literati from Patti…
Auē a Striking Tapestry of Fierce Love
Coming-of-age novels set among the Métis community in Canada, the Māori population in New Zealand and the Crow Nation in Montana were recently reviewed by The New York Times. According to Gregory Brown writing…
Peter Jackson Has Hand in Beatles Duet
Paul McCartney and his late Beatles songwriting and singing partner John Lennon haven’t sung together in 53 years, but thanks to New Zealand film director Peter Jackson, they got the next best thing recently…
Andrew Dominik’s Latest Nick Cave Doco Transcends
“In his 2016 film One More Time With Feeling, Dominik documented the creative process behind the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds album Skeleton Tree, a record forged in the wake…
Taika Waititi Portrait Wins Packing Room Prize
Sydney-based artist Claus Stangl has taken out one of Australia’s top art honours with his portrait of Academy Award-winning director Taika Waititi, The Guardian reports. Stangl won the packing room prize, a sub-category of the…
Jurassic Park’s Sam Neil Reunites with Co-Stars
Thirty years is nothing in terms of geologic eras, but it’s a large swath of a lifetime. In 1992, Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum first gathered in Hawaii to make Steven Spielberg’s…
Michael Braithwaite Builds Story of Military Tattoo
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has revealed it wants to attract more local audiences to and transform “elitist” perceptions under a new direction for the annual cultural showpiece, arts journalist Brian Ferguson reports for…
How Chelsea Jade Joined a Dazzling Constellation
With her second album Soft Spot released, Chelsea Jade, 32, is firmly established as a bright star in a constellation of dazzling New Zealand musicians chasing pop careers far from home, Cat Woods reports…
Author Meg Mason in Running for Women’s Prize
Sydney-based New Zealander Meg Mason, American Louise Erdrich, and Turkish-Briton Elif Shafak are among the contenders for this year’s Women’s Prize for Fiction, offering an ‘escape’ from global crises, Lucy Knight reports for The…
In San Francisco Lorde Shines Like the Sun
It’s been nearly a decade since New Zealand pop star Lorde rocketed to stardom at the age of 16, propelled initially by the chart-topping single “Royals” and then a steady stream of other terrific…
Singer-Songwriter Emma G Specialises in Empowerment
When Covid-19 closed venues and cancelled concerts, Waikato-born Emma Ghaemmaghamy, like many of her peers, took to new avenues to connect with audiences, including live-streaming and podcasting, Chris Kelly writes in a story for…
Yuki Kihara Celebrates Samoa’s Third Gender
Representing New Zealand at the Venice Biennale, the Samoan-New Zealand artist is foregrounding Samoa’s fa’afafine and transgender communities, and the climate crisis hidden from tourists, Jinghua Qian writes for The Guardian. Curated by Natalie…
Life After Life’s Thomasin McKenzie is Otherworldly
At just 21, Thomasin McKenzie, who plays Ursula in the four-part BBC series Life After Life, already has a list of impressive credits including Leave No Trace and Last Night in Soho. BAFTA winning…
Joel Little’s Big Fan a Gift to the Music Industry
Walk into the unembellished black building tucked away in Morningside, Auckland, later this year and there’s no telling what musical superstars one might find, Leena Tailor writes in an exclusive story for Variety. The…
Yuki Kihara Launches Solidarity Network at Biennale
The New Zealand Pavilion has announced the launch of the ‘Firsts Solidarity Network’, which seeks to support artists and pavilions making historic breakthroughs at the 59th Venice Biennale. The idea was conceived by Yuki…
Photographer Cody Ellingham Wanders Japan at Night
The latest project by New Zealand photographer Cody Ellingham and British composer and sound artist Simon James French is Wander the Night Japan which will be launched as a limited-edition 12″ vinyl record featuring…
Photographers Chase New Zealand’s Glowing Waves
Capturing bioluminescence, a phenomenon in which glowing algae give crashing waves an electric blue glow, requires technical skill and a bit of luck, Mike Ives reports in an article for The New York Times….
Artist Kate Newby Exhibits for Earth in Paris
In celebration of Earth Day 2022, Wallpaper discovers the group exhibition ‘Reclaim the Earth’, a wake-up call for humans to reconsider our relationship with the planet. Exhibiting two pieces in the show, held at…
Fiordland Bookseller Ruth Shaw’s Extraordinary Life
New Zealander Ruth Shaw has embodied many roles throughout her life: pig farmer, navy deserter, solo sailor, illegal gambler, environmentalist, chef to archbishops, psychiatric patient, failed escort. She’s been arrested twice and married four…
Australian Ballet Principal Ty King-Wall Retires
When much-loved Australian Ballet principal dancer Waihi-born Ty King-Wall retires this month at 35, he could be forgiven for rushing to make up for some of the things he has missed out on, Catherine…
Star of 32 Sounds is Composer Annea Lockwood
New Zealand-born composer and academic musician Annea Lockwood features in American filmmaker Sam Green’s documentary about the physics and emotions attached to sound. The film, called 32 Sounds, recently screened at the Brooklyn Academy…
Oscar Number Two for Best Director Jane Campion
Jane Campion has won her second best director Oscar, the first woman to be nominated twice for the directing prize, after also landing a nod for her 1993 film The Piano, Laura Harding reports…
Opera Singer Simon O’Neill Wins Grammy
Ashburton-born tenor Simon O’Neill recently won a Grammy for his work on the Los Angeles Philharmonic recording of Mahler’s Symphony No 8, under conductor Gustavo Dudamel, David Skipwith reports for Stuff. The recording received two…
Ali Smith Discusses Mansfield, Woolf and War
In a piece for The Guardian, Orwell Prize winning author Ali Smith looks at how the first world war forced writers Katherine Mansfield and Virginia Woolf to rip up convention – and asks if…
Francis Upritchard Casts in Bronze for Huge Commission
New Zealand-born London-based Francis Upritchard, and Aucklander Lisa Reihana, are two of nine artists commissioned by the Art Gallery of NSW to create works that will go on display inside and outside Sydney Modern…
Tate Modern Surrealism Show Features Len Lye
An exhibition on Surrealism, co-curated by Tate Modern and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, explores the movement’s previously unacknowledged multi-culturalism. Artworks from six continents, including Oceania, explain how, says the BBC’s Matt Wilson. Surrealism…
Aldous Harding’s Latest a NY Times Critic’s Pick
“On her fourth album, Warm Chris, the New Zealand singer and songwriter delivers unpredictable but enchanting vocals and enigmatic lyrics that revel in simplicity,” Lindsay Zoladz writes in a music review for…
Brace Yourself for Peter Day’s Feature Off the Rails
New Zealander Peter Day’s “bracingly kinetic snapshot of contemporary British urban youth”, Off the Rails recently premiered at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. The film is reviewed by Screen Daily’s Neil Young. “Graduating from parkour and…
Solar Power the Best Song in the World
Lorde’s ‘Solar Power’ has won Best Song In The World at the BandLab NME Awards 2022, with the title track of the New Zealand pop star’s latest album, beating nine other nominated songs by…
Lychee a Mark of Benee’s Distinct Voice
“Where 2020 debut album Hey U X saw Benee gather an impressive guest list (Lily Allen, Gus Dapperton, Bakar) to pepper her bedroom pop with outside influences, the seven-track Lychee sees the New Zealander…
Will the Real Aldous Harding Please Stand Up?
New Zealander Aldous Harding remains in an off-kilter space throughout Warm Chris, her third collaboration with producer John Parish, who’s worked alongside PJ Harvey and Jenny Hval, among others, Madison Bloom writes for online…
Becky Manawatu’s Auē an Enthralling Bestseller
Things have gone right for New Zealand author Becky Manawatu. “Spectacularly,” Tina Makeriti writes in a review for The Guardian. “Unusually for a first book, Auē won New Zealand’s most lucrative fiction prize, the…
Vanity Fair Cover For Director Jane Campion
A decade ago, she almost walked away from movies. Now, New Zealander Jane Campion is the only woman ever nominated twice for an Oscar best director thanks to The Power of the Dog. Campion…
Vanity Fair Looks Over Grant Major’s Back Catalogue
In ‘The Portfolio’, Vanity Fair’s ‘Awards Insider’ columnist speaks with some of this year’s most notable Oscar nominees about their entire body of nominated work. Here, The Power of the Dog production designer New…
