Aaradhna: Brown Girl Review
Sometimes you hear a song and “you feel the passion, dance the groove and, for a split second, the world makes glorious sense. Affirmation, validation; that’s all many of us are seeking.” Among “the…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
NZ Chardonnays Taking on Burgundy
New Zealand chardonnays can be a great substitute for expensive burgundies, as reported in the South China Morning Post. In a New Zealand vs Burgundy blind tasting in London last year, Kumeu River…
Kiwi Photographers Shortlisted in Astrophotography Prize
New Zealand photographers Andrew Caldwell (Napier), Lee Cook (Mackenzie District) and Stephen Voss (Invercargill) have been shortlisted for the Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 Prize, as reported on Mashable. Caldwell was shortlisted…
Isaac Burrough Concept Catamaran a Luxury Statement
New Zealand-born designer Isaac Burrough has inaugurated a new yacht design studio in Amsterdam with the release of a 60m sailing catamaran concept, featuring an infinity pool, a 12-person cinema and a glass-bottom jacuzzi. A…
Ballet World’s Rising Star Harrison James
Some dancers take more than a decade to rise through the ranks of a professional ballet company. Others, such as the New Zealand-born Harrison James, manage a swift ascension in three quick seasons. The…
MAALA Rolls out Debut Album Composure
The past few years has seen Aucklander Evan Sinton, better known as MAALA, transform from New Zealand’s Got Talent star to brooding, mysterious electronic artist. With his debut album, Composure just out, Rolling Stone…
‘Accidents, Blunders & Calamities’ Wins Best Animated Film at Comic-Con
Kiwi short film Accidents, Blunders and Calamities produced by students from Auckland’s Media Design School, has taken out the prize for Best Animated Film at the 2016 Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival…
Poet Hera Lyndsay Bird Speaks to a Generation
Millions are turning to poetry in response to a year of troubling news stories – with previously excluded voices, like Thames-born writer Hera Lyndsay Bird, in the field now going viral, the Guardian’s Rhiannon…
Singer Mukuka Musowa Keeping Her Roots Close
Hamilton singer-songwriter Mukuka Musowa, 22, talks to Zambia’s Lusaka Times about her latest single “Just Fine”, her musical inspirations, and New Zealand television show Both Worlds, in which she features. Musowa, who was…
Archibald McIndoe Patients Pay Tribute
Surviving members of New Zealand-born plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe’s Guinea Pig Club, which was formed in 1941 to cope with the ever-rising number of young pilots left with life-changing injuries, talk with the Telegraph…
Step into Hayden Fowler’s Dark Ecology
A huge biodome constructed by New Zealand-born artist Hayden Fowler has been set up outside the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) at Circular Quay in Sydney. “Dark Ecology”, a walk-in installation, is part of…
Margot Henderson’s Rochelle Canteen Seduces
New Zealand-born Margot Henderson’s London café Rochelle Canteen “wears its fabulousness lightly.” It is “nourishing for body and soul, and huge fun”, according to Guardian reviewer Marina O’Loughlin. “This canteen may come on…
New Zealand to Exterminate All Introduced Predators
The New Zealand Government has announced a “world-first” project to make our country predator free by 2050, aiming to wipe out all introduced species of rats, stoats and possums. According to the government, introduced species…
Broods Video Brings Technology to Next Level
New Zealand indie electropop duo Broods incorporates technology in an unexpected and intimate way, with its enthralling new music video for the latest single, “Heartlines,” off their sophomore album, Conscious, according to Entertainment Tonight. In…
Matt Smith Shears World Record in Cornwall
New Zealand-born cutter Matt Smith, 32, has posted a world nine-hour shearing record of 731 ewes in Cornwall. Smith took an average of 44 seconds to shear each sheep on his way to beating…
Trek New Zealand’s Routeburn Trail
“Apart from showcasing glorious ‘100% pure New Zealand’ scenery, New Zealand’s Great Walks are equipped with huts which have bunk beds, gas kitchens, flush toilets, solar-powered lighting and clean water supply – and even…
Off-the-Beaten-Track Places in NZ
New Zealand offers such incredible beauty — from snow-capped mountains and lush-green rainforests to glorious white-sand beaches and towering volcanoes, “and has buckets of culture and charm,” writes Nicole Barnard for The…
NZ Retirement Home Residents Shake It Off
A group of 50 New Zealand retirees have “done their own take on Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off video, adding only the occasional local, and age-appropriate, touches such as frenetic cupcake dusting,”…
Nine Wonders of New Zealand
“With natural splendours that include stunning marine wildlife and geothermal springs, to culinary adventures taking in cutting-edge restaurants and tours of award-winning vineyards, New Zealand is a country that knows how to amaze the…
Ladyhawke’s Favourite Top Five Albums
Despite Ladyhawke’s busy schedule, the New Zealand musician talked to ELLE.com about the albums that have changed her life and turned her into the synth-pop maestro she is today. Ladyhawke, aka Pip Brown, has already…
Team USA Trainer Craig McFarlane Talks Tough
The “beasts” of the Oracle Team USA America’s Cup crew are among the world’s toughest athletes – people for whom some of the most gruelling training imaginable is all part of the routine, and the…
Designer Rebecca Taylor Offers up Some Holiday Tips
New Zealand-born designer Rebecca Taylor is constantly looking to her world travels for inspiration. She lets W magazine in on the best outfits for the plane and what makes for the perfect travel shoe….
The Dead C’s Latest Trouble Strangely Beautiful
New Zealand band The Dead C’s latest album Trouble, which is out on 12 August, is reviewed by Mike Barnes for The Wire magazine, who describes the trio’s new work as “strangely beautiful and…
John Danaher On His Leg Lock System
“In recent years a new school of Jiu-Jitsu players have started to perfect the leg lock game,” as reported in an article in BJJ Eastern Europe. John Danaher, New Zealand born BJJ…
Baldwin Street a Photogenic Optical Illusion
Dunedin’s Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world, has become an unlikely tourist attraction, with people sharing photos on social media of a bizarre optical illusion, the Daily Mail reports. When photos of houses…
Steve Hansen Re-Signs with All Blacks
World Cup winning coach Steve Hansen has re-signed with the All Blacks through until 2019, as reported on Fox Sports. “New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said the board unanimously voted to…
Heart Kids: Saving Babies’ Lives
(Sponsored Content) “Heart Kids, the only charity supporting children suffering from congenital heart defects, is teaming up with dairy company Yashili to help the lives of many of the 12 babies born each week…
Real Women on Film for Karen Walker’s New Campaign
New Zealander Karen Walker’s latest campaign celebrates the art of film photography and women of all ages, with the designer and her 8-year-old daughter Valentina in front of the camera for the SS16/17’s Magnetic…
Huffman’s Wins at World Hot Sauce Awards
Wellington-based Huffman’s Hot Sauce has been named World Champion in the Pepper Blend category at a ceremony held in Louisiana. Auckland’s Culley’s and Kaikohe’s Fire Dragon Chillies were also named world champions in the…
Card Ninja Performs in UK at Bedfringe
New Zealander Javier Jarquin is the Card Ninja, a PG-rated, one-man show with up-beat humour, impressive stunts and smooth audience interaction. Jarquin will demonstrate his “remarkable skills” in the UK at the Bedford Fringe…
Richard Lewer Wins Basil Sellers Art Prize
Hamilton-born Richard Lewer has been announced the winner of this year’s A$100,000 Basil Sellers Art Prize for his work “The Theatre of Sports (2016),” beating 240 other entries. The Basil Sellers Art Prize is a…
Yeongrak Online in Search of Scuzzy Beats
With the Christchurch earthquake wiping out all of Yeongrak’s previous hangouts, he took refuge in his bedroom, where he withdrew from regular socialising and immersed himself into the dark, distant corners of the internet….
International Fashion Award Goes to Mayako Kano
New Zealander Mayako Kano, 32, has been named winner of the International Talent Support (ITS) Fashion Award claiming a 10,000 Euro prize with “one of the more elegant provocations” of the competition, according to…
Jess Johnson’s New Language of Virtual Reality
Jess Johnson, a Tauranga-born, New York-based artist, whose work includes drawing, animation, video, installation and recently, virtual reality (VR), offers some fascinating insights into how altered perceptions change how we communicate and the forms…
Deep South: A Wild Coastal Drive
“New Zealand is perfect for long, meandering road trips, especially in its scenic South Island. If driving on windswept coastal roads is your idea of a good time, then there’s no better region to…
NZ Kakapo’s Successful Breeding Season
The critically endangered kakapo – one of the world’s rarest birds – “saw its numbers boom by 28%” with 34 new chicks this year. That brings its population up to 157, as reported in…
Tickled: “Compelling, Enthralling and Very Entertaining”
A lot of people think of documentaries as “ultra somber, serious cinema exercises”, writes Jim Batts in a WeAreMovieGeeks review. Tickled is different. It’s “entertaining, just as funny as many…
Play Lady of the Manor at Otahuna Lodge
“New Zealand’s luxury lodges each have their unique selling point,” Cleo Glyde writes for news.com.au, “and as you wend your way along the freshly raked gravel driveway of an 1895 mansion set in the…
Flight of the Conchords Aimless and That’s Okay
There was a time, about 10 years ago, when this unassuming pair seemed to have it all figured out in their own quiet way. The Flight of the Conchords had a well-received HBO series…
Rhys Darby and Anna Faris in Air New Zealand’s Latest Safety Video
Kiwi comedian Rhys Darby has teamed up with Hollywood actress Anna Faris to play a multitude of ridiculous characters in Air New Zealand’s latest safety video, Safety in Hollywood as reported in
Three Golfers Selected to Represent NZ at Rio
Lydia Ko, Danny Lee and Ryan Fox have been chosen to represent New Zealand in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, as reported in the Fiji Times. “This is a truly proud moment for…
Star Trek’s Karl Urban Meets Hero Harrison Ford
A perk of working for producer J.J. Abrams on Star Trek Beyond was the chance for Wellington-born actor Karl Urban, 44, to visit his boss’ other set. And for Urban, a lifelong Harrison Ford…
Celebrating French Legion Hero James Waddell
A new exhibition marking the Somme Centenary called “Médaillé Extraordinaire” aims to raise awareness of James Waddell, a much decorated New Zealander who served in the French Foreign Legion during the First World War. Lieutenant-Colonel…
Dancer Kexin Li Reviving an Ancient Art Form
Before Kexin Li, a Chinese New Zealander, came to New York in 2008 to receive systematic training in classical Chinese dance, she cared little for performing arts or even physical exercise. It was after Li,…
Conservation Dogs on the Pest Warpath
One of New Zealand’s greatest conservation accomplishments, our so-called 100 “island sanctuaries”, are entirely pest- and predator-free, allowing endangered animals to thrive without threat. Conservation dogs like Piri the terrier ratter, a specially trained…
New BBC Doco Explores Our Mythical Islands
“In New Zealand, you’ll be interested to learn, there are more species of penguin than anywhere else in the world,” the Independent’s deputy managing editor Sean O’Grady writes in a preview of BBC Two…
RBS CEO Ross McEwan Still Optimistic Despite Brexit
While the Royal Bank of Scotland share price did sink to levels reminiscent of the 2008 crisis, when the bank ran out of cash and only survived because of a £45bn taxpayer bailout, New…
Judith Hereford Pens Book Focusing on Elderly Care
New Zealand-born Judith Hereford, who lives in Herefordshire in the UK, may be over the age of 70, but that isn’t stopping her from taking on the publishing world with her first self-penned book,…
Québec Music Fans Enjoy Neil Finn’s Summer Set
Neil Finn performed at the recent Festival d’été de Québec (FEQ) playing a mixture of Split Enz and Crowded House favourites, as well as some of his own tracks, “in smooth style” according to…
Personhood Designation Granted to Te Urewera
Former national park Te Urewera has been granted personhood with Whanganui River expected to receive the same status soon, the New York Times reports in a feature about the “undoubtedly legally revolutionary” decision. The unusual…
Rose McIver on Her Early Acting Days
Kiwi actress Rose McIver, who plays lead character Liv Moore in the iZombie series, recently said she wasn’t satisfied with her early acting performance. When the actress, who is required to take on an American…
A New Zealand Winter
“You could go to Europe this summer, overpay for plane tickets and stand in line for three hours waiting to get into the Louvre so you can see the Mona Lisa.” Or you could…
Andy Bearpark Re-emerges As Yogi in New Zealand
Andy Bearpark, who was once known as Margaret Thatcher’s closest ally, “has re-emerged in the unlikeliest of places and in the unlikeliest of roles,” writes Jack Barlow for The Guardian. “Bearpark, one…
James Cameron Stars in Tourism NZ Campaign
Avatar director James Cameron is starring in the latest Tourism New Zealand campaign – a series of videos filmed over four days in the South Island, which explore the filmmaker’s fascination with…
How New Zealand’s Knack for ‘P’ Turned into a Homebaked Disaster
“New Zealand is 10,000km (6,00o miles) from Bangkok, 18,000km from Amsterdam and surrounded by sea. Hard drugs rarely make it into the country – and when they do prices are high and quality is…
Getting to Know Thomston
Auckland-based musician Thomas Stoneman, aka Thomston, 20, is gearing up to release his highly anticipated debut album, which is “shaping up to be a really interesting, emotive release”, according to Australian entertainment site Howls…
