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…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne’s Star on the Rise
It’s been 10 years since her debut as Kahu in Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople at age 13, and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne’s career continues to soar, Eda Tang writes for Stuff. Named a “Rising…
Brag’s Poppy Reid Wins at B&T Media Awards
New Zealand-born Sydney-based Poppy Reid, editor-in-chief of Australia’s biggest youth publisher The Brag Media, is among the big winners at the B&T Women In Media Awards 2023, taking out the champion of change category,…
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,…
Benee Sets Her Sights on Global Domination
Moving to Los Angeles has allowed New Zealand singer-songwriter Benee to tap into the city’s extensive repertoire of producers and mixers for new ventures, including her latest single Green Honda. “I made Green Honda with…
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…
Comic Cal Wilson Uncovers Who the Hell We Are
Australia’s Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) sat down with Melbourne-based New Zealand comedian Cal Wilson, 52, to talk about the barely known part of Australian history she uncovers in the SBS series, Who The Bloody…
Rachel House Stealing Every Scene on Australian TV
With her commanding presence and unmistakable New Zealand accent, Rachel House, 51, is a serial scene-stealer on Australian television and film. Whether it’s grossing out the sex-ed class as Principal “Woodsy” in Heartbreak High,…
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…
Comedian Melanie Bracewell Living the Dream
Describing her work with Australian comic Tim McDonald on The Cheap Seats, Auckland-born Melanie Bracewell says with self-effacing charm, “Tim brings a lot of hard work, determination and vision; I bring vibes.” The 27-year-old…
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…
Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood Does the Improbable
“Eleanor Catton’s third novel, Birnam Wood, is a big book, a sophisticated page-turner, that does something improbable: It filters anarchist, monkeywrenching environmental politics, a generational (anti-baby boomer) cri de coeur and a downhill-racing plot…
Kirk Harding’s Bad Habit Label Growing Roster
The self-styled “outsider” label Bad Habit, co-founded in 2015 by New Zealander Kirk Harding and Nigerian-American Matthew “Baus” Adesuyan, has added a live piece to its existing management, publishing and distribution activities, and re-upped…
M3GAN Director Gerard Johnstone on Inspirations
With executive producer James Wan and producer Jason Blum already blue skying ideas for sequels, Syfy got on a Zoom with M3GAN director, New Zealander Gerard Johnstone, to ask about his horror sequel involvement,…
Sam Neill’s Memoir a Real Charmer
Over almost 50 years, since his big-screen feature debut in Landfall, made in New Zealand, the beloved New Zealand actor who became Sir Sam last year, has brought a charm to many of his…
Atamira’s Te Wheke Debuts at NY’s Joyce Theater
“Founded in 2000 in New Zealand, Atamira fuses Māori cultural expression with contemporary dance theatre. There’s an admirable integrity to how the group doesn’t explain much to the uninitiated,” New York Times…
In the Studio with Painter Angela Heisch
New Zealand-born, Brooklyn-based artist Angela Heisch takes inspiration from organic forms and patterns in nature for her luminous, abstract paintings. Her solo exhibition ‘Low Speed Highs’ at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery in London (through 29…
Actor Simone Kessell Seeing Industry Change
Playing adult Lottie in the second season is a breakout moment for the New Zealand-born actor Simone Kessell – but like her accomplished co-stars, she’s been here all along, on shows like…
The Tattooist of Auschwitz Is Coming to TV
The Tattooist of Auschwitz, the bestselling novel by New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based writer Heather Morris is being turned into a six-part television series, Karl Quinn reports for The Sydney Morning Herald. The production is currently shooting…
Katherine Mansfield, A Magician with Words
American author Roberta Silman reviews Claire Harman’s new biography of Katherine Mansfield, All Sorts of Lives: Katherine Mansfield and the Art of Risking Everything, for The Art Fuse. Silman speculates,…
The Examined Life of Melanie Lynskey
In series like Yellowjackets, New Plymouth-born actor Melanie Lynskey specialises in revealing the turbulent emotions of women who seem innocuous and mild on the surface, Alexis Soloski writes in a profile piece for The…
Mansfield’s “Bliss” considered a “paragon of modernist literature”
“Influence in writing is often spoken about as something dirty or shameful, something to be avoided, but here it offers a way for artists to connect across decades, to find courage and company outside…
Cocaine Bear is Actually Allan Henry
The cocaine bear in Elizabeth Banks’ Cocaine Bear is an impressive feat of visual effects wizardry, but there was an actual person behind the 227-kilogram, drug-addicted beast, and that person was New Zealander Allan…
Reading Bliss and Bending Time with a New Story
“Now widely anthologised, taught, and considered a paragon of modernist literature, ‘Bliss’ seems to prove what we have discovered as editors of NOON – that a story that generates powerful feeling,…
Birnam Wood a Gripping Explosive Thriller
“It’s taken Eleanor Catton 10 years to follow up on her Booker Prize winning novel of 2013, The Luminaries. Fortunately, her latest offering, Birnam Wood, begins with a bang, quite literally. A series of…
Paris Opera Ballet’s Hannah O’Neill a Star
The Paris Opera Ballet has named New Zealand’s Hannah O’Neill as a new star dancer, a rarity as a non-French dancer in the world’s oldest ballet company, France 24 reports. Tokyo-born O’Neill, 30, is one…
