Register for Monthly Updates about Kiwis Rocking the World
Arts
Filmmaker Sasha Rainbow Inspired in India
New Zealand-born filmmaker and director Sasha Rainbow explains what a six-year-old Indian skateboarder taught her about life in a story for HuffPost UK.
“Kamali’s defiance of gender boundaries showed me…
Lorde’s Smash Hit Royals Defines a Decade
American magazine Billboard celebrated the 2010s with essays on the 100 songs that they felt most defined the decade that was, including Lorde’s hit single, “Royals”.
“When ‘Royals’ arrived in…
Spinning Yarns With Beats 1 DJ Zane Lowe
New Zealander Zane Lowe, 46, has a healthy Cali glow, as you’d expect from a man who swapped the rainy gruel of London for the kale-flavoured, free-range chakras of…
Emerald McGlashan’s Photos Showing in Kansas
The story of how New Zealander Emerald McGlashan’s artwork ended up in an art gallery in Lindsborg, United States is also the story of how she found a small…
Bret McKenzie Speaks on the Oddness of Fame
The Flight of the Conchords star Bret McKenzie, 43, who is guest curating this year’s New Zealand Festival, speaks to The Guardian’s Charlotte Graham-McLay about his career thus far…
Alien Weaponry Earns Finnish Accolades
Te Reo Māori heavy metal band Alien Weaponry’s debut LP has been named album of the decade by readers of online Finnish music publication, Tuonela Magazine.
“In Tū, Alien Weaponry…
Next Stop Halifax for Conductor Holly Mathieson
After an extensive search, Dunedin-born Holly Mathieson, 38, will head to Halifax, Canada in January 2020 to begin working with the 37-piece Symphony Nova Scotia, Victoria Walton reports for…
LA-Based Eden Iris Shares New Soulful Single
Every six weeks, New Zealander Eden Iris will release a new single. Timed perfectly, when these tracks run dry it will be just in time for the release of…
New Zealand Theatre Showcase Presented By NYC’s SoHo Playhouse for 2020
A season of New Zealand theatre is set to hit New York stages next year. Showing at SoHo Playhouse, Wild Dogs Under My Skirt, Modern Māori Quartet: Two…
Remote Lindis Lodge Wins World Architecture Award
Spectacular Lindis Lodge in the Southern Alps, designed by Wellington-based Architecture Workshop, has taken out the top hotel award at the World Architecture Festival, Colleen Hawkes reports for Stuff.
The…
Jojo Rabbit Star Thomasin McKenzie in Demand
After her stunning breakthrough in Leave No Trace, Wellington actor Thomasin McKenzie, 19, landed roles in four major films including awards contender Jojo Rabbit, directed by Taika Waititi. Screen…
Niki Caro’s Mulan a Timeless Re-Creation
Disney has been busy of late reviving our favourite childhood animation films into live-action remakes. Following in the footsteps of Dumbo, Aladdin and The Lion King (which were all…
Jane Campion’s The Piano No 1 on BBC Poll
New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion’s stunning 1993 classic, The Piano has topped BBC Culture’s poll of 368 critics in 84 countries. The broadcaster’s Hannah Woodhead reveals why it’s a worthy…
First Ans Westra Exhibition In The USA Urban Drift: Aotearoa / New Zealand
The first U.S. exhibition by pioneering New Zealand documentary photographer Ans Westra opens at New York’s Anastasia Photo on the Lower East Side on December 5
‘Urban Drift: Aotearoa…
Major Len Lye Exhibition Motion Composer Opens In Europe
The most comprehensive exhibition of Len Lye’s art to be seen in Europe has opened at the Museum Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland. Featuring his kinetic sculptures, paintings, photograms, drawings, models…
Teen Harry Sills Performs on West End Stage
New Zealand-born teenager Harry Sills is starring at the Royal Opera House in Benjamin Britten’s, Death in Venice on London’s West End through 6 December.
The 14-year-old, who can act…
Aldous Harding Holding Our Focus
New Zealand musician Aldous Harding is popular: she’s sold out shows for her tour and headlines London’s Roundhouse next month. Young women who present themselves as she does, daring…
New Zealand Hosts US Comedian Stephen Colbert
In a stunt hailed as a coup for the New Zealand travel industry, American comedian Stephen Colbert has screened segments from his trip here on The Late Show. New…
Tūī Winner Benee Has a Vision
Aucklander Benee, otherwise known as Stella Bennett, who claimed four Tūīs at this year’s Vodafone Music Awards, talked to Billboard’s Gab Ginsberg in the United States recently about her…
Taika Waititi Puts on a Tuxedo
His film Jojo Rabbit may be the year’s most unlikely Oscar contender: a Nazi comedy. How will the irreverent director fare amid Hollywood’s sacred rituals? Pop culture reporter Kyle…
Rich Production Incentives Draw Global Projects
For a small country with a film industry that is export-driven, the quality of New Zealand’s incentives is critical, Variety’s Asia bureau chief Patrick Frater reports.
Despite the kudos and…
Glasgow-Based MOY Pop Star in Waiting
“With only two live shows and two singles behind him, MOY, 23, is already showing signs that he’s a real contender,” Scottish Sun music journalist Jim Gellatly writes. “The…
Black Grace Thrill in New York
New Zealand contemporary dance company Black Grace wowed New York Times’ dance critic Brian Seibert during its debut season at the Joyce Theater with “an exhilarating, seemingly inexhaustible…
Martin Campbell’s Edge of Darkness Remastered
Celebrated television noir Edge of Darkness propelled New Zealand-born director Martin Campbell into the Hollywood big time. In a story featured on the UK’s Radio Times web page, Campbell,…
Singer Jamie McDell Celebrates Her Own Perspective
New Zealand alt-country guitarist and singer-songwriter Jamie McDell, 26, has just released her introspective Botox EP. Music magazine Billboard reports on the set and how it all came about.
Media Man David Robie Discovers Another Iran
New Zealand author, journalist, media educator and retired university professor David Robie believes that Iran is a hugely friendly country despite propagandas by Western media, the Tehran Times reports.
Robie…
Below Deck with Chef Kevin Dobson
The seventh season of American reality television series Below Deck is underway, and with it, a new cast to stir up drama at sea including New Zealand chef, Kevin…
Satire Jojo Rabbit At Its Best Mocking Nazis
Taika Waititi’s latest movie, Jojo Rabbit is reviewed by film critic Kenneth Turan for the Los Angeles Times after its star-studded premiere in LA recently.
“Unlikely though it sounds, we…
Lynley Dodd Reveals Secret of Hairy Maclary
The influence of Jane Austen on Hairy Maclary From Donaldson’s Dairy may not be immediately apparent, but it’s there. At least that’s what New Zealander Lynley Dodd said at…
Fiac Art Fair’s Jennifer Flay on Challenges Ahead
New Zealand-born Jennifer Flay, the director of Fiac (Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain), insists that France’s most important modern and contemporary art fair can weather future storms, Gareth Harris reports…
Annabel Liddell Happy to Mix Medicine and Music
New Zealander Annabel Liddell, 25, recently completed six years of medical study in Auckland and will graduate in November, but she’s held off on a job offer and is…
Welsh Appointment for Conductor Tianyi Lu
Welsh National Opera (WNO) recently announced New Zealander Tianyi Lu as its first female conductor in residence.
The residency was launched to help re-address the gender balance across the industry,…
New Penguins Book by Lloyd Spencer Davis Published
Napier-born Lloyd Spencer Davis is an award-winning scientist with many Antarctic field seasons behind him, Sara Wheeler writes for The Wall Street Journal. Wheeler reviews Davis’ new book, A…
David Howell-Designed NY Homes Snapped Up
A boutique new apartment complex in New York, designed by New Zealand-born David Howell of DHD Architecture and Design, has sold out in less than ten months, according to…
Joseph Michael Lights Up UN with Climate Messages
Auckland University of Technology artist in residence Joseph Michael lit the United Nations headquarters in New York last week with an immersive installation that featured images of an iceberg and…
New Zealand Filmmakers Showcase Local Perspectives
Years of big-budget location shoots have given rise to a thriving New Zealand film and television sector. Hollywood Reporter correspondent Patrick Brzeski examines how a “happy confluence of preparation…
Linda Collins Writes of Losing Her Daughter
Singapore-based New Zealander Linda Collins wrote Loss Adjustment, about the suicide of her 17-year-old daughter, as part of a Master of Arts in Creative Writing at the prestigious International…
Aaradhna’s India Tour Was a Soul-Searching Trip
With four successful albums to her credit and glowing reviews around the world, award-winning singer Aaradhna, 35, who grew up in Porirua, was recently on a tour of India….
Filmmaker Daniel Borgman Busy in Light and Shadow
Dunedin-born filmmaker Daniel Borgman, 31, whose latest film Resin world has premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Contemporary World Cinema section, is now developing “a pair…
Taika Waititi Takes on a Decidedly Risky Role
After years of trying to get the film off the ground, New Zealander Taika Waititi, director of Thor: Ragnarok, finally convinced Fox Searchlight to roll the dice on a…
Dance Queen Parris Goebel Curates for UAE Expo
Celebrity choreographer Parris Goebel, 27, has been appointed head curator of the entertainment and cultural programme for the New Zealand pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai and will manage a…
Petra Leary Captures Views of Daily Geometry
“Petra Leary sees the world from above. She skates around cities, focusing her lens on becoming the world’s top aerial photographer. The 28-year-old New Zealander is the subject of…
Poet Selena Tusitala Marsh Rails Against Racism
She blows in like a song carried on a powerful current: a wild-haired woman, larger than life, carrying a tall carved stick. She loses things in that hair, she…
Anna Paquin Talks about Breaking Oscar Protocol
New Zealand-raised actor Anna Paquin, 37, who stars alongside Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in Martin Scorcese’s The Irishman, talks to The Guardian about breaking Oscar protocol, loving…
Upper Hutt Performer Jason Henderson NY-Bound
Upper Hutt singer Jason Henderson, 30, is heading to New York City to spend two years studying acting at the Neighbourhood Playhouse School of Theatre, where he will follow…
Annaleese Jochems’s Debut Novel Alive and Squirming
“Cynthia, the simpering, scheming, covetous emotional sinkhole of New Zealander Annaleese Jochems’ assured debut novel, Baby, is alive and squirming; a memorable addition to the growing coterie of unapologetic…
Inaugural Toronto Film Fest Award Goes to Taika
The Jojo Rabbit and Thor: Ragnarok filmmaker, Taika Waititi, will receive Toronto Film Festival’s (TIFF) first-ever Ebert Director Award, which will be handed out on 9 September at the…
Investigative Role for Lucy Lawless
In My Life Is Murder, a “delightful new detective show”, New Zealand actor Lucy Lawless plays Alexa Crowe, a former police investigator “half-reluctantly drawn back to work as an…
Thomasin McKenzie Chats to Vanity Fair
New Zealander Thomasin McKenzie, 19, made a name for herself in indie stunner Leave No Trace, Britt Hennemuth writes for US magazine, Vanity Fair. Now she’s taking winning turns…
Power Inclusion Summit Attracts More Big Film Names
Award-winning writer-director Jackie van Beek joins fellow New Zealanders Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Mulan director Niki Caro at the two-day Power of Inclusion Summit in Auckland on 3-4…
Cellist Richard Belcher Appointed in Minnesota
New Zealander Richard Belcher, founding cellist of Grammy-nominated Enso String Quartet, has been appointed to The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) in Minnesota, the Violin Channel reports.
A graduate of…
Rose Matafeo’s Comedic Rise to the BBC
New Zealand stand-up Rose Matafeo, 27, talks on-stage confidence, teen crushes and writing her own BBC sitcom with Alice Jones, a journalist for UK newspaper, i.
It is almost a…
Anti-Hate Satire Jojo Rabbit Trailer Out
The first trailer for Taika Waititi’s new “anti-hate” satirical film, set in Nazi Germany, has been released, featuring the much-loved Māori-Jewish actor and director playing a paunchy Adolf Hitler,…
Artist Gill Gatfield Smashes the Glass Ceiling
New Zealand artist Gill Gatfield is profiled in the latest World Sculpture News magazine, with particular focus on her latest work created in glass, which was exhibited in February…
Denis Smith Living on Images of Liquid Light
A decade ago, New Zealander Denis Smith was working in Auckland and living the high life. “I was killing myself working, trying to sustain lifestyle,” he says to…
Meet Gold Coast-Based Rapper Saint Lane
There’s something about Saint Lane that’s impossible to ignore, according to GQ Australia which features the New Zealand-born, Gold Coast-based rapper who has dropped a total of three tracks…
