Culture 101

Regional Wrap: Tairua

06 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 Faye Saunders is the owner of The Little Gallery in Tairua and joins Culture 101.

A radical rethink: the Victoria and Albert's new 'Museum of Absolutely Everything'

06 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Keith Moon's drum kit, a child's rocking horse, a Vivienne Westwood gown, buddhas, a slice of a '70s housing estate, the David Bowie archive: it's no ...

Brydie Colquhoun on her debut choreographic work

06 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Brydie Colquhoun speaks to Culture 101 about Rongo Whakapā​,

The art and history of the Haiku

06 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Evan Mantyk the Society of Classical Poets joins Culture 101.

Training the next generation of filmmakers in Miramar

29 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week I put on a suit. No ordinary suit. A motion capture suit, in the studios of the Victoria University of Wellington Miramar Creative Centre. I...

Exhibition showcases an era when arts education flourished

29 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Following WWII, there was a strong push and a solid foundation to provide arts education to both teachers and children in schools. Art advisers suppor...

Regional Wrap goes to the Māniatoto: Ranfurly

29 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Māniatoto plain, sits high inland in Central Otago bounded by ranges. It's known for its distinct beauty, and climate of extremes: from dry and h...

Living for five months outdoors on public land as art activism

29 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Home we follow artist Teiti Nepia as over the summer of 2023 and 2024 for five months she reclaims her own sense of sovereignty by camping out on p...

Saint Joan: Why Joan of Arc’s story is still relevant

29 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Although written in 1923 about a story from the 15th century, the themes of Saint Joan continue to be pertinent in the 21st century. George Bernard Sh...

Keeping Pūhoi Bohemia alive through song and dance

29 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There are small pockets globally where descendants of 19th century immigrants are working to retain the distinctive culture, heritage and language of ...

Fast Favourites with NZ Listener editor Kirsty Cameron

29 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Editor of NZ Listener, Kirsty Cameron, got her start in journalist at RNZ and broadcasting before moving into print where she's stayed ever since. She...

Arts news

22 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A look at the arts scene here & abroad.

The Art Precinct: New digital art platform using behavioural psychology

22 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A new digital art curation platform is hoping to be bridge the gap between artists and buyers to create personalised, cohesive and curated collections...

'The other RNZ' - the remarkable story of radio sets in Aotearoa

22 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

2025 marks the centenary of Radio New Zealand. Yet broadcasting is one thing, the technology to hear it another. And there was once an entirely differ...

Regional Wrap: Colac Bay with Daegan Wells

22 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What's at Colac Bay.

Silo's Taniwha a visual feast for young audiences

22 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Younger audiences are in for a visual feast at Silo's new show Taniwha opening in time for the school holidays. Featuring puppetry, live videography, ...

I Am A Dark River: the legacy of trailblazing printer Bob Lowry

22 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tessa Mitchell never knew her grandfather but he has cast a long shadow. Her film I Am a Dark River is about Bob Lowry - that creative and some would ...

Pretty and pink: New bookshop dedicated to spicy fiction

22 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Romance novels are having a moment. England's first ever romance-only bookshop opened this week in Notting Hill, London.

Arts news for 15 June 2025

15 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Arts news for 15 June 2025.

Bold Tahitian novelist Titaua Peu connects us back into the Pacific

15 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Located in the centre of the Pacific, Tahiti's closest large land mass is Aotearoa New Zealand. It is where, from Raiatea, Maori migration canoes left...

How painting pet portraits restored artist Julia Holden

15 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Multi-disciplinary artist Julia Holden is better known for her live performance art, clay work and animated paintings so when she started painting pet...

Regional Wrap goes to Ōpōtiki

15 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A gateway to Tairawhiti East Cape from the north is the town of Ōpōtiki in the Bay of Plenty. As a creative hub local organisation Ōpōtiki Arts h...

A road movie like no other: Kath Akuhata-Brown's Kōkā

15 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the new feature film Koka an elder Maori woman, under the celestial guidance of Matariki, makes a long journey home in a car that's seen better day...

Good Bitches Baking: New cookbook pays homage to family

15 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Good Bitches are still baking across the country and the collective has just released its third cookbook Familiar Foods. But it's not the classics yo...

Groundbreaking storytelling with a sculpture park you can drive through

15 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Te Ahu a Turanga is a new $824 million 11.5-kilometre four-lane highway connecting the Lower North Island East to West. It opened this week. it is, i...

Fast Favourites: Matariki celebrations with Ria Hall

15 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

To celebrate Matariki, singer-songwriter, TV presenter and political candidate Ria Hall will be on stage with the Auckand Philharmonia to present a ni...

Does the underground still exist? A conversation with Samuel Te Kani

08 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Does an underground still exist? Or is it just one more consumer choice in an ever growing banquet of ticketed events? Testing this may be Tamaki Maka...

Regional Wrap: Titirangi with filmmaker Robin Kewell

08 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Each week Culture 101 puts the spotlight on a different part of the country and we're going a bit more suburban this week to West Auckland - and the s...

Musicians fly the flag for Aotearoa at Welsh Festival

08 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Award-winning UK festival Focus Wales celebrates emerging talent and artists. The festival which has been running for 15 years saw more than 22 thousa...

The founders of dynamic Kia Mau and Pacific Dance New Zealand Festivals

08 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This month welcomes two contemporary indigenous performing arts festivals which have established themselves as cornerstones of the presentation of new...

New digital whodunnit series spotlights epidemic of image-based abuse

08 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A new digital whodunnit comedy series puts the spotlight on the dangers and growing epidemic of image-based abuse and bullying. Inspired by millennial...

Hello to everybody: Aotearoa's friendliest artist Sallie Culy

08 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If cities can be lonely places no one told artist Sallie Culy. A familiar face on the streets of inner city Poneke Wellington, Sallie counts many peop...

Fast Favourites with Miriama Kamo at Birdlings Flat

08 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The shortlist for the 2025 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults was announced this week and, among the titles, is a story on the them...

Arts news for 1 June 2025

01 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Arts news for 1 June 2025.

Australian first nations performance at Pacific Dance and Kia Mau Festivals

01 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This next fortnight sees the visit of indigenous performers to Aotearoa from across Te Moana Nui a kiwa -the Pacific Ocean. They are presenting works ...

Regional Wrap: the arts scene in Takapuna

01 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every week in RNZ Culture 101's Regional Wrap we find out about the arts scene in a place beyond our city centres. This week it's a suburb that develo...

Doing nothing becomes a competitive sport

01 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A competition to see who's best at doing nothing will be one of the highlights at the Melbourne Rising Festival. The Space Out event will last 90 minu...

"There's power in the circle" Global folk phenomenon Bulgarian

01 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 1988 a choir founded in the '50s Soviet socialist era, the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir released the album Le Mystère Des Voix Bu...

Fast Favourites with Fred Award winner Angella Dravid

01 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Angella Dravid is this year's Fred Award winner for best show at the International Comedy Festival, taking home the iconic gumboot and a prize of 5000...

Regional Wrap: Warkworth with local Ursula Christel

25 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Each week, Culture 101 puts the spotlight on a different part of Aotearoa for our Regional Wrap. This week Culture 101 heads 45-minutes north of Auckl...

Theatre show explores the monstrosity of motherhood

25 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There's a dark side to motherhood that can still be too taboo to talk about. It's the hidden part which can be lonely, filled with rage and the realit...

Basketball courts, drones & collage making with Petra Leary

25 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From Castlecliff to Thames, half court to full court, around Aotearoa artists are increasingly being commissioned to create eye-popping colourful desi...

Taking improv competitions into the workplace

25 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For most people, the concept of getting up on stage for improvisation is the stuff of nightmares, let alone doing it at work with your colleagues.

The close cultural favourites of indie country star Mel Parsons

25 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

'Post High Slide' from Ohinehou Lyttleton based singer songwriter Mel Parsons is one of several new songs released ahead of a tour of Aotearoa and Aus...

Arts news for 18th May 2025

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Arts news for 18th May 2025

Zach Dodson: How storytelling and design in computer games is changing literature

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With his teaching and his own independent game studio Zach Dodson aims to push the boundaries of narrative-driven games. 

Italian Film Festival: 10 years of bringing Italy to Aotearoa

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's been 10 years of the Italian Film Festival in Aotearoa and what started out as a way for Paolo Rotondo to showcase and preserve his culture here ...

Regional Wrap: The Kahu Collective weavers of New Brighton

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today we head to to Otautahi Christchurch and the seaside suburb of New Brighton east of the city. Joining us is a Kai Tahu, Ngati Maniapoto practitio...

Sequins, studs and horsehair: getting creative with men's shoes

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Male footwear with a whole lot more creative personality is a passion of two Culture 101 guests. Tamaki Makaurau Auckland curator, artist and arts adv...

E kō, nō hea koe: Whanau, whakapapa and Mercury Plaza in debut poetry collection

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Award-winning poet and filmmaker Matariki Bennett is celebrating her debut poetry collection E kō, nō hea koe. It's been three years in the making...

Comedian Liv Ward dresses as a lobster to express love for Kim Hill

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 I went into Liv Ward's debut solo comedy show in Poneke Wellington with many questions. And, after an hour of absurd theatre, they actually started ...

Fast Favourites with comedian Josh Thomson

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Josh Thomson has been in Wellington with his comedy festival show Old Mate which travels to Tamaki Makaurau this coming week. In his new set, he's com...

Lily Catastrophe: using cabaret and comedy to talk about Bottom Surgery

11 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Shiyi Redpath is better known as Lily Catastrophe, a burlesque performer whose debut solo theatre show, Bottom Surgery was a critical hit at this year...

Norwegian culture, heritage and woodstacking with bestselling author Lars Mytting

11 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1860s and 70s two Norwegian settlements were established in the lower North Island. As the name of one of those today suggests - Norsewood - No...

From TV to the smartphone - our addiction to ads: artist Alex Scott

11 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Artist and illustrator Alex Scott's debut graphic novel Episodes has a dedication: "For anyone who's ever fallen for the commercial." Yes, whether it'...

Has theatre for young people reached crisis point in Aotearoa?

04 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dr Kerryn Palmer is a senior lecturer at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University. A seasoned theatre practitioner and teacher, with a PhD in devising thea...

Clowning Doctors: Bringing theatre to the world of medicine

04 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The phrase 'clown doctor' may lead to memories of Robin Williams' character in the 1998 film Patch Adams. It was a character who was based on a real p...

Kiwi artist exhibits at Setouchi Triennale for Naoshima Island residency

04 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Whakatane-based artist Sarah Hudson is this year's Naoshima Artist in Residence. Sarah has now opened her work - Reconciliation at the Setouchi Trienn...

Dad (and Daughter) Jokes: Irish comedians Pat and Faye Shortt

04 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Pat Shortt first made it in comedy in Ireland young, back in the late 1980s before there was even a comedy scene, He was one half of a beloved comedy ...

Jackie Clarke taps into her prima diva

04 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Known for her gregarious nature, powerful vocals and wicked sense of humour - Jackie Clarke is one of the country's favourite entertainers. With four ...

Book awards and fast favourites with David Eggleton

04 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to May and a bumper crop of cultural events -  which makes this week's Culture 101 Fast Favourite guest an easy pick, given he embraces all f...

Arts News for 27 April 2025

27 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Arts News for Sunday 27th April 2025

Two decades on from bro'Town: Oscar Kightley with new gen comedians Joe Daymond and Bubbah

27 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 At the NZ International Comedy Festival in May the Naked Samoans will reunite for the first time in seven years. They join a new generation of maker...

Frank Malley is putting Kaitaia on the Heavy Metal Map

27 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 Metalfest4 is at the Collards Tavern on Friday May 3, and alongside headliners from around the country it features a number of heavy locals. Joining...

Sir Ian Mune in End of the Golden Weather at new Court Theatre

27 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The brand new long awaited home for The Court Theatre officially opens Saturday May 3 in Otautahi Christchurch. It is an impressive $61.4 million purp...

The first NZ Contemporary Japanese Art show in 20 years

27 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Whether it's a brand like 100% Pure or paintings and film of a rural idyll, we've become familiar in Aotearoa New Zealand with the tension between our...

Renowned lighting designer launches immersive experience

27 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Renowned lighting designer Angus Muir is launching a new immersive experience in the heart of Tamaki Makaurau next week. He's worked locally and inter...

Fast Favourites: North of North star Bailey Poaching

27 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Kiwi actor and comedian Bailey Poaching is one of the stars in the new Netflix comedy series North of North. Set in the small village of Ice Cove in t...

How to thrive: the role of art in mental health

20 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the bringing together of art and mental health, Kim Morton is a champion. Following the Christchurch earthquakes, Kim founded Otautahi Creative Spa...

Art and interior design - how to make that collection look good or hide the embarrassing!

20 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Well known interior designer Sonja Hawkins joined Culture 101 to talk about her passion for art, and to share some tips for displaying art in the hom...

Regional Wrap: Castle Hill Village

20 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ildica Boyd joins Culture 101 from the 9th biennial Easter Art exhibition hosted by Castle Hill Village Creative. 

Artist Michele Bryant on connection and belonging

20 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Wellington based artist Michele Bryant joins Culture 101.

Recreating pre quake Christchurch in miniature

20 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mike Beer aka Ghostcat joins Culture 101 to discuss his The Ghosts on Every Corner exhibition.

"In Glorious Smell-O-Vision": the remergence of scented cinema

20 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Screening Sunday April 27 in Poneke Wellington is FW Murnau's classic 1922 spooky silent film Nosferatu: A symphony of Horror, with a few sensory twis...

Arts News for 13 April 2025

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Arts News from across the country with Mark and Angie - for the second week of April 2025.

'Like the active verb to be and to do': Trailblazing artist writer Emily Cumming Harris

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I am like the active verb to be and to do," wrote the determined trailblazing early New Zealand painter and writer Emily Cumming Harris. "I am," she ...

A 'Millenial Bundist': Revolutionary European Yiddish music

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Frey is singer and ethnomusicologist from Vienna, who is attempting to carry the musical tradition of the Jewish Labour Bund, the Yiddish-speak...

Regional Wrap: Fairlie, gateway to the Mackenzie Country

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On the road between Christchurch and Queenstown, the town of Fairlie often gets called gateway to the Mackenzie Country. 

Can animals create art?

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 Shawn Simpson is a Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Pittsburgh and joined Culture 101.

A remarkable birds-eye view: photographing the Kaikōura tītī

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Kaikoura titi, or Hutton's shearwater is a remarkable bird. Endemic to Kaikoura and endangered, it is the only alpine-breeding seabird in the worl...

Alex Medland wins multiple national play awards for commentary on climate activism and inaction

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of students were outside Parliament in Wellington on Friday for the School Strike 4 Climate protest. The core team organising were aged betw...

Fast Favourites: Artist Sean Beldon

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Auckland-based artist shares some of his cultural recommendations.

Regional Wrap: Foxton

06 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Foxton's is a small town in the Horowhenua known for its large sandy beach, bustling holiday park, scenic cycling paths and the locally-loved soft dri...

From Munich to Nelson and back: at home with jewellery artist couple Karl Fritsch and Lisa Walker

06 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Stories about jewellery art are often susceptible to the use of bad puns. They sparkle, they're precious, they're worth their weight, and so forth. An...

Indira Stewart on growing up with Polyfest

06 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At 15, Broadcast Journalist Indira Stewart landed her first journalism job, telling the story of Polyfest in front of the camera-a moment that surely ...

The joys of house museums and daily sea swimming: poet Kate Camp

06 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In Kate Camp's new poetry collection Makeshift Seasons she's often to be found in togs, just in or out of the sea. Or, as she writes in one poem, "alw...

From Beckett to the Quantum World at the Dunedin Arts Festival

30 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When it comes to innovative performance, designer and theatre maker Martyn Roberts is something of a quiet tour de force. This season he's been juggli...

Regional wrap

30 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For our regional wrap today we're visiting Nga Motu New Plymouth to catch up with Theresa Tongi - Pacific Program Coordinator at the Govett-Brewster G...

Poet Amy Marguerite's debut over under fed

30 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In poet Amy Marguerite's impressive debut collection over under fed she explores, "the peculiar loveliness and specific loneliness of the human condit...

X-ray glass to military tank glass: the reusing of vintage camera lens

29 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today many of us have a fancy camera built into the phones in our pockets. These digital cameras do a lot of the creative work automatically for us. W...

Fast Favourites: Writer and blogger Emily Writes

29 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Author, writer and speaker Emily Writes has amassed a huge following online and readership. She first found an audience after writing a blog post in 2...

Major changes at New Zealand International Film Festival

29 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There have been major changes this week at Whanau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival which is set to kick off in just a few months. The bo...

Why does the world love Native American culture so much?

23 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What started as a look at the worldwide appropriation, exploitation and debasement of Native American culture, turned into a study of its rich influen...

Regional Wrap: Mercury Bay with Sally Samins

23 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Each week Culture 101 puts the spotlight on a different part of the country for our regional wrap. This week we're in the Thames-Coromandel area at Me...

This is Nom*d: Retrospective look at iconic Dunedin fashion label

22 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's been almost 40 years of the iconic Dunedin label Nom*d. Launched in 1986, the label has proudly stayed based in Dunedin for the past four decades...

Cocktails in the new Circa bar with Ginette McDonald

22 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every week on RNZ's Culture 101 we ask an artist to share their love of culture and the cultural heroes that inspire them. In actor Ginette McDonald's...

Arts News for 16 March 2025

16 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Arts News for 16 March 2025

Biography of a painter with no paintings - Tony Fomison: Life of the Artist

16 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

35 years on from the death of a revered and popular New Zealand painter, a biography has been published. Tony Fomison: Life of the Artist, written by ...

Animated short portrays enduring love and dementia

16 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A new moving and very personal animated short film Mirumiru looks at the love and bond between two kaumatu, an elderly Maori couple, Shorty and Lena a...

Regional Wrap: Te Puna in the Bay of Plenty

16 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Every Sunday on Culture 101 we visit a place big or small for our Regional Wrap to check its cultural pulse. And this week it's Te Puna, which is only...