Pirate Comedy Deserves Another Season
Cancelled after two season, Taika Waititi’s “silly comedy” Our Flag Means Death “deserves one more voyage”, according to Radio Times critic George White. “ was meant to be sacred ground, an untouchable…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
JLo Shares Moment She First Spotted Parris Goebel
In anticipation of the release of her ninth studio album, Jennifer Lopez recently spoke to the NZ Herald’s Jenni Mortimer, with the singer sharing the moment she first spotted the New Zealand choreographer Parris…
Auckland Home Has Rooms with All the Views
“The design of this newly listed home in Auckland will make your head spin – literally,” Abby Montanez writes for luxury lifestyle magazine, Robb Report. “Dubbed The Lighthouse, the three-bedroom spread positioned along…
Who’s Behind TikTok Megastar Paloma Diamond?
Julian Sewell, the creative genius responsible for the internet’s favourite imaginary actress spends his days teaching in South Auckland, Sam Brooks writes for The Spinoff. “I can’t fix this! That’s what I’m talking about! You…
Punk Goes Down Under in Comedy Head South
Punk arrives in New Zealand, a little bit late, in Head South, the new dramedy from New Zealand director Jonathan Ogilvie (Lone Wolf, The Tender Hook) which opened this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam…
Why New Zealand Novelists are Making Waves
When author Emily Perkins decided her next novel would be set in the New Zealand capital, her editors in the UK were pleased. The 53-year-old says this specific detail “seemed to spark interest rather…
NYC-Based Designer Jenny Jiang on What Matters
Jenny Jiang is a New Zealand-born CGI designer and motion artist based in New York. Her artwork involves crafting visual worlds that explores aspects of surrealism, joy and storytelling in the form of beautiful…
Kaylee Bell Wins Country Music Award in Nashville
Waimate musician Kaylee Bell, has become the first New Zealander since Keith Urban to win at America’s prestigious CMA Awards, 1 News reports. Her song Keith – a tribute to Whangārei-born Urban – is a global…
Tenth DJ Champ Title for Kalib Strickland
New Zealand DJ Kalib Strickland, 19, who goes by the name DJ K-Swizz, is on a massive high after winning his tenth world DJ championship title, going back-to-back at the Olympics of DJing, the…
New Yorker Editors Rate Catherine Chidgey’s Pet
New Yorker editors and critics choose their “most captivating, notable, brilliant, surprising, absorbing, weird, thought-provoking, and talked-about reads” every Wednesday and on a recent week noticed New Zealand author Catherine Chidgey’s latest fiction, Pet. This…
Setting the Scene in Our Flag Means Death
After starting the season with its lovable cast split in two, Our Flag Means Death concluded its second season with the entire crew of the Revenge sailing off together into the literal sunset –…
Beatles Fan Peter Jackson Directs Music Video
Following his acclaimed documentary Get Back, New Zealand director Peter Jackson is continuing his relationship with the Beatles by directing his first ever music video for the band’s final song, Now and Then, Guardian…
Amazing Race’s Phil Keoghan Not Slowing Down
Phil Keoghan, host of The Amazing Race, is a citizen of the world. This New Zealander may call California home at the moment. His stack of passports and ability to land shows that take…
LA-Based Artist Emma McIntyre Paints Magic
“With vivid hues and dynamic mark-making, conjures up pieces that might change before our very eyes,” Berlin-based writer Olivia Parkes reports for the Art Basel website. “ paintings are full…
M3GAN’s Universal Dance Thrills at Halloween
Universal and Blumhouse’s M3GAN, directed by New Zealander Gerard Johnstone, quickly became a cult classic as the killer AI doll twirled and kicked her way into our hearts after the film’s run earlier this…
Producer 33 Below Shares New Club Cut
New Zealand-born producer Jack Laven, aka 33 Below, has shared his new single, “Hold Tight”, a hypnotising dancefloor number that’s likely to stay with you for some time, according to James Keith writing for…
Ron Te Kawa Embroiders and Connects
Textile artist and former fashion designer Maungarongo Te Kawa (known to many as Ron) interprets his name as ‘one who brings peace and tranquillity to the land’. Te Kawa’s chosen artform is the quilt,…
Artist Angela Tiatia Keeps ACMI Visitors Guessing
The opening sequence of New Zealand-born artist Angela Tiatia’s The Dark Current, a 17-minute digital video now screening at the ACMI in Melbourne, is as mesmerising as it is suspenseful, Lenny Ann Low writes…
Georgia Nott Reborn as Georgia Gets By
With four studio albums under their belt, the Nelson brother-sister act BROODS remains a beacon not just of radiant sound, but of soul-stirring emotion – and with the release of Georgia Nott’s first solo…
Six Katherine Mansfield Stories You Need to Read
“The only contemporary writer Virginia Woolf admitted to being jealous of,” New Zealand-born Katherine Mansfield “is one of the greatest short story writers of all time,” Catherine Dent writes for Canada-based humanities-focused site, The…
Sam Hamilton Exhibits at Portland’s Converge 45
“The strongest curatorial statement of Converge 45 is at Oregon Contemporary, where a five-channel video by Portland-based, Aotearoa New Zealand-born Sam Hamilton (Sam Tam Ham) rejects the hegemonic world order in favour…
Rose Matafeo’s Romcom Even Better than Ever
“ is no longer a will-they-won’t-they series. Instead, it focuses on the joys of friendship – and becomes more enjoyable, relatable and far more moving,” Rachel Aroesti writes in a…
Conductor Gemma New Makes Proms Debut
“Every musical era has its characteristic audience faux pas. Once upon a time it was failing to remove extravagant headwear, which obscured the view of those sitting behind. These days – and despite rules,…
New York Times Recommends Catherine Chidgey’s Pet
Auckland-born writer Catherine Chidgey’s latest novel Pet has been included in The New York Times’ regular column, ‘Nine New Books We Recommend This Week’. “In this twisted psychological thriller, a motherless 12-year-old Catholic school student…
How George Nelson Fell in Love with Haiku
It was Haiku Day on 19 August in Japan, and just like many of Japan’s kinenbi or “faux holidays”, the designation stems entirely from wordplay. Haiku Day (haiku no hi) is on 19 August…
Bumpa Love a Voice for Melbourne Drag Queens
Bumpa Love wears many hats – the New Zealander is a trailblazer in Melbourne’s drag scene, an activist queen, a “businesswomen queen”, and now a contestant on Season 3 of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down…
Game Developer Pippin Barr on Playful Creations
New Zealand-born Pippin Barr might just be the most prolific solo game developer in the world. Since 2011 he has released a baffling 81 of them – and while many are just snapshots or…
Rose Matafeo’s Starstruck Back for Third Run
With her smash hit Starstruck exploring fairytale romance and what happens next, New Zealander Rose Matafeo breathed new life into the sitcom. But, as the series returns for a third run, she’s now wondering…
Barack Obama Has New Zealand Favourites
Among former president Barack Obama’s recommended summer reads for beach, porch or sun lounger is New Zealand author Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood, Martin Pengelly reports for The Guardian. “Here’s some books that I’m reading this summer,”…
Parris Goebel Knows Femininity Is Strength
This year, New Zealander Parris Goebel choreographed Rihanna’s Super Bowl halftime show – and she says she’s only getting started, Alison Cohn reports for Harper’s Bazaar. Goebel, 31, first got to have a hand in…
Milky Day Draws on Struggles to Create New EP
Korean New Zealander Milky Day tells digital music site Atwood Magazine about changing his life path to music, wanting to be genre-fluid, and how he turned his personal struggles into his upcoming EP. Milky Day…
Marya Martin Talks 40th Summer Festival
New Zealand-born flautist Marya Martin is celebrating the 40th summer season of the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Long Island’s longest-running classical music festival. celebrates its 40th summer season. With 11 concerts across July and August,…
Art Lover Sigrid Kirk on Her Personal Collection
New Zealand-born, London-based collector Sigrid Kirk wears many hats: art advisor, cultural strategist, independent curator, patron and co-founder of the Association of Women in the Arts (AWITA). Art market website ArtNet speaks with Kirk…
In Lioness Emily Perkins Weaves A Seductive Web
“Emily Perkins’ previous novel, The Forrests, was longlisted for the 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction, and her work for stage and screen includes co-writing the film adaptation of fellow New Zealander and Booker-winner Eleanor Catton’s…
Catherine Chidgey’s Latest a Sly Thriller
New Zealander Catherine Chidgey’s latest novel, Pet, set in 1980s suburban, Catholic Wellington, moves to a dark denouement powered by lingering uncertainty, Hephzibah Anderson writes in a review of the book for The Observer. “Chidgey’s…
Tayi Tibble’s New Poem Published in New Yorker
Tayi Tibble, a Māori writer from Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa, has had her poem Creation Story published in The New Yorker. She is the author of two poetry collections, Poūkahangatus and Rangikura, the former
Sculptor Dawn Conn Exhibits in Cork
New Zealand artist Dawn Conn, who recently made headlines winning a Gold 5* Award at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, is exhibiting her sculptures at The Kildare Gallery’s annual sculpture exhibition in Cork, the…
Sandra Nunnerley’s Nova Table Has A Futuristic Feel
Luxury interior design media 1stDibs features New Zealand-born designer Sandra Nunnerley’s latest astronomy-inspired console, the Nova. “I’m all for beauty, but I’m also very practical,” says the New York–based designer who creates elegant, tailored and…
Rebecca Zephyr Thomas Looks Back at Underage
Rebecca Zephyr Thomas, a New Zealand-born photographer, had moved to Shoreditch in 2004, poised and ready to capture the heyday of indie sleaze. Sympathetic to teenagers and understanding of their angst, she attended Underage…
Cape to Bluff a Gem of an Architecture Publication
“Here at Wallpaper*, we’re students for life. We’ve got architecture books piling up on shelves, desks and floor space surrounding the bookcase, despite minimalist efforts. These are the photographic tomes, architects’ monographs and limited…
Taika Waititi on the Cover of Hollywood Reporter
With sly and subversive humour, multihyphenate powerhouse Taika Waititi is redefining representation – “Comedy is a great way of pulling people in and going, ‘Hey, we’re all friends. Get comfortable. You’re racist’” – while…
Antony Starr Plays TV’s Most Intriguing Villain
Sitting down with Antony Starr, 47, who plays perhaps the most intriguing villain on current television as Homelander on The Boys, is disconcerting. Homelander is an Aryan super-sociopath, a gleaming Mr America with a…
Eleanor Catton to Speak at Edinburgh Book Festival
Booker Prize winner New Zealander Eleanor Catton, author of Birnam Wood, will be in conversation with former first minister Nicola Sturgeon at the Edinburgh Book Festival on 24 August, The Herald reports. “A decade after…
Jacinda Ardern Impresses at Architects’ Conference
Architect John Lape admitted he knew little about former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, 42, as he ascended the escalators at San Francisco’s Moscone Center to hear her address the American Institute…
Life is Good for Taika Waititi and Rita Ora
They fell in love in Sydney, so it’s fitting to shoot New Zealander Taika Waititi, 47, and British popstar Rita Ora, 32, for their first cover together against the backdrop of the glittering harbour….
Artist Bella McGoldrick Inspired by Coffee
Working meticulously with coloured pencil, with each drawing taking up to 200 hours for an almost photo-like finish, New Zealand-born Bella McGoldrick’s travel paintings capture connection. Her new Black Water collection explores a global…
Niki Caro Holds Reins Tight in The Mother
“The Mother is a mutha of an intimately scaled action film, a violent female-centric drama about a hardened combat veteran who has great difficulty adapting to being anything other than a…
Bi-Lingual Punk Trio Half/Time Tour Wales
Hamilton punk band Half/Time recently performed alongside Welsh artists who sing in Cymraeg as part of a musical cultural exchange, which aimed to spark important conversations about what it means to create pop songs…
Benee Speaks to Interview from New LA Home
Auckland-born Gen Z leading light Benee, 23, who recently took the stage at Coachella – “a pretty surreal experience,” she says – spoke with Interview magazine from her new apartment in Los Angeles about festival…
Bergendy Cooke Collaborates in Morocco
“New Zealand architect Bergendy Cooke has joined forces with Moroccan architect Amine Abouraoui to meticulously craft an earth-sheltered, sculptural retreat that pays homage to the vibrant history of the region,” Nate Storey writes…
Aldous Harding’s Brighton Show Enraptures
“Twenty minutes into Aldous Harding’s set, after a spellbinding version of Treasure, from her 2019 breakthrough album Designer, has provoked a particularly vociferous response from the crowd, she speaks her first words…
SpongeBob Gets the Tami Neilson Effect
The favourite characters of SpongeBob’s underwater town Bikini Bottom are set to be given some Aotearoa flavours next year, Amberleigh Jack reports for Stuff. New Zealand-based artists award-winning Tami Neilson and The Phoenix Foundation…
Eleanor Catton Guest on New York Times Podcast
The New Zealand writer Eleanor Catton, who won the Man Booker Prize in 2013 for her novel The Luminaries, discusses her latest book, Birnam Wood, with New York Times Book Review podcast host Gilbert…
Simone Kessell on Yellowjackets Season 2
Adult Lottie is described by a Yellowjackets showrunner as “kind of a cool Jesus” – she’s a charismatic cult leader-like figure who’s also a potential threat to her former teammates, and New Zealander Simone…
THR Puts Two Campion Films on Best of Century List
“Over the course of a few months, several Zoom meetings, and countless emails, six Hollywood Reporter (THR) film critics came together to hash out, and rank, what they consider the 50 greatest films since…
Granta Names Eleanor Catton a Best Young Novelist
Literary magazine Granta has announced its 20 most significant British novelists aged under 40, which, for the first time, includes international writers who view the UK as home, the BBC’s culture and media…
