Culture 101

Jodie Rimmer: Valuing women as ‘wild, sexy, talented and creative as they age’

09 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Kathryn Burnett’s new solo comedy play, Nicola Cheeseman is Back, Nicola is sick of trying to do it all. In an all too familiar situation for tho...

Making live events accessible for everyone

02 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s not all online: live events are often where we come together as communities, sharing passions and considering the issues concerning us. It’s ...

Kiwiana icon Pāua shell house goes digital

02 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A new generation and those who never made it as far as Bluff can now discover this country’s iconic Pāua Shell House in an online virtual tour. 

Regional Wrap: Tūrangi Tongariro district 

02 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Tūrangi Tongariro region, at the spectacular southern end of Lake Tāupo bordering the Volcanic Plateau, is midway between Wellington and Aucklan...

Medieval to Metal: The Art and Evolution of the Guitar 

02 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From the ancient oud to the electric axe, the Martin acoustic to the Fender Stratocaster, American National Guitar Museum touring exhibition Medieval ...

The Tardis has landed: A special mystery guest reviewer visits Doctor Who exhibition

02 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From hanging out with Daleks and Weeping Angels to the many different iterations of the sonic screwdriver - costumes, props, gadgets and gizmos from t...

Play captures adoption experiences of birth mothers in NZ

02 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A documentary theatre piece is giving the stage to stories held onto for decades. The adoption experiences of birth mothers in the 1950s and 1960s in ...

Fast Favourites: Billy T winner Lana Walters

02 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Comedian and writer Lana Walters has won the Billy T Award for 2024, New Zealand’s premiere comedy award. 

Arts news: Poppy at Cannes, Goths on stage & Māori climate action in paint

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Arts news for the 26 May 2024 on Culture 101.

Rising algorithms: The threats and opportunities AI poses to the arts

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Pōneke Wellington this week artists, technologists, and critical thinkers have been exploring together questions around machine learning and artif...

The story behind the AI image that shocked the world

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Eldagsen became the most notorious artist in the world last year, after winning an award at one of the world's biggest photography competitions ...

Regional Wrap: The world’s steampunk capital

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Each week, Culture 101 puts the spotlight on a different region in Aotearoa for the weekly Regional Wrap. This week we’re in the steampunk capital o...

Photographer captures grim reality of 'last chance tourism'

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As global warming continues, many parts of the world including natural wonders and island countries are at risk of damage or disappearing. This has le...

The hands behind iconic Crown Lynn hit the stage

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Te Pou Theatre’s latest offering puts a spotlight on the wāhine factory workers behind the iconic Crown Lynn crockery. 

Diversifying video games through creative writing

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gamers with a passion for creative writing can merge their interests in Aotearoa's only creative writing paper dedicated to video games.

From Princess Chelsea to Nan Goldin: Fast Favourites with Ebony Lamb

26 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Pōneke Wellington based Ebony Lamb has the distinction of having developed two parallel acclaimed careers: as a singer-songwriter and as a photograph...

Arts news: A Rita Angus bridge, controversial portraits & the book awards

19 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Arts news for 19 May 2024

Best of the Fest: Auckland Writers Festival

19 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Auckland Writers Festival has set central Tāmaki Makaurau abuzz this week with a strong lineup of leading local and international authors, panel...

Bringing an indigenous house of storytelling alive in Ōtautahi: Juanita Hepi

19 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Te Whare Tapere in the Christchurch Arts Centre is neither a European-style gallery or theatre. As a space principally by Māori, for Māori, it is, s...

Feeling icky: What makes us uncomfortable with Viki Moananu

19 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

You know those embarrassing uncomfortable thoughts and feelings you have you usually keep inside? Pōneke playwright and comedian Viki Moananu uses th...

Gore: Capital of country music and moonshine with Jenny Mitchell 

19 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gore is quite rightly known as our Capital of country music. But there’s always been much more going on culturally in this East Southland town.

Finding a city's memory in the rubble of Chernobyl

19 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Vast exclusion zones operate around the cities of Pripyat, near the ruined Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, and Plymouth, on the Caribbean is...

Joika: The brutal world of the Bolshoi ballet

19 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The notoriously punishing, elite world of the Moscow Bolshoi Ballet Academy is centre stage in Joika - the first ever film collaboration between New Z...

Practising Hawaiian culture across the sea: Ahilapalapa Rands 

19 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Over 100 years ago artist Ahilapalapa Rands’ great-grandfather, the ukulele virtuoso Ernest Ka’ai wrote the song ‘Across the Sea’, the lyrics ...

Fast Favourites: Rhys Mathewson’s 10th rodeo

19 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A professional in the comedy scene for more than a decade now, Rhys Mathewson knew he was going to pursue comedy as a career after taking part in Clas...

Rick Rudd: creating New Zealand's only museum devoted to the ceramic arts

12 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ten years ago acclaimed potter Rick Rudd sold his house -  together with its unique native and sculpture garden - in Castlecliff, Whanganui to establ...

Creating Aotearoa's own Watership Down: Shelley Burne-Field 

12 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Aotearoa New Zealand is a land of birds. Yet contemporary fiction providing a bird’s eye view has been slow to arrive.  While Catherine Chidgey’...

Regional Wrap: Kaitaia with Dr Opeloge Ah Sam

12 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s Regional Wrap we look at the culture of Far North town Kaitaia.

Bailey Poching: Here are the Māori comedians - but where are you looking for them?

12 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In an article on Stuff in 2019, comedian Guy Williams posed the question, “Where are all the Māori comedians?” Williams noted that, despite our m...

Amah: AI nanny pushes a mother to her limits

12 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A psychological thriller, part of TVNZ’s Motherhood Anthology Series has been released in time for Mother’s Day. The film’s title Amah holds th...

Getting over writer’s block: Fast Favourites with Troy Kingi

12 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

10 albums in 10 years in 10 different genres - that was Troy Kingi’s goal. But after the release of the seventh album - 2023’s ambient instrumenta...

Don McGlashan and Harry Sinclair’s ode to farting wins NZ on Air Award

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The 2024 NZ Children’s Music Awards have been announced with the NZ On Air Best Children’s Music Video awarded to a two minute ode to flatulence. ...

Arts News - 5 May 2024

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Arts News for 5 May 2024

How the fight against Covid became a war between each other: Stuart McKenzie and Dame Miranda Harcourt

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In early 2021 writer Stuart McKenzie and director Miranda Harcourt’s verbatim play Transmission opened to sell-out houses at Pōneke’s small, dyn...

Project Prima Volta: A decade of helping teenagers to find their voices

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Festival Opera is celebrating 10 years of introducing, training and supporting young people in the opera through the Project Prima Volta community pro...

Regional Wrap: Mangawhai with Angela Cook

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Known for its surf and beaches, Mangawhai may not strike you as a hub for arts and culture. But locals are extremely proud of the modern museum which ...

The Last Laugh but first-ever comedy club in Hamilton

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hamiltonians are getting the last laugh as the first-ever comedy club in the city is opening this month. Coinciding with the Comedy Festival, Last Lau...

From a Red Mole to a Goblin in a mask: John Davies addresses our shared violent history

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Actor, director and writer John Davies is celebrating 50 years in theatre with a national solo tour. Te Tupua - The Goblin is travelling to 16 regiona...

With City Gallery closing for two years, what's next for Wellington?

05 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The closure of the City Gallery building won't stop it from bringing art to the capital, its boss says.

Arts news: NZSO head resigns, World Choir Games news & Springboard artists revealed

28 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Arts news for Sunday 28 April 2023

Stitching bling, satin & velvet into Toi Māori with Maungarongo Te Kawa

28 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The large wall hung quilts of takatāpui fabric artist and storyteller Maungaronga Te Kawa (Ngāti Porou) leap and sparkle as joyous dance. They are b...

Fixing a screen industry in crisis

28 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

New Zealand’s local production and screen industry is in crisis. But how did it get to this point?  “It’s been years of international streamin...

Taupō: a secretly prolific arts hub with Jeffrey Addison

28 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Each week, Culture 101 puts the spotlight on a different region in Aotearoa and this week it’s Taupō with artist, musician, composer, puppeteer and...

Sir Roger Hall and the end of summer time 

28 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sir Roger Hall remains Aotearoa New Zealand’s most popular playwright. Since 1976 his plays have often been box office gold.  Now 85, and continui...

Arovision: NZ's little battler in the digital streaming wars

28 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week King Loser, an independent Aotearoa New Zealand documentary won the Taite Music Prize for music journalism. Directors Cushla Dillon and Andr...

From aquatic algae to Niuean rites of passage: Loading Docs back for 10th season

28 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the 10th season of Loading Docs - an initiative to showcase Aotearoa’s documentary  filmmakers. For a decade, it’s helped mentor emerging ...

The return of Auē: fast favourites with Becky Manawatu

28 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s rare for an Aotearoa New Zealand writer to appear at book festivals about a novel, months out from its release. But then the sequel to a book ...

Arts News: NZ wins Golden Lion at Venice while Israel keeps its doors closed, Aardman Animation in NZ & government talks arts strategy

21 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Arts news for Sunday 21 April 2024

Dealing with trauma through poetry: Hazara-Afghani Abdul Samad Haidari’s remarkable story 

21 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Pōneke based poet and journalist Abdul Samad Haidari became a refugee at the age of 10. For Haidari poetry has been a way to cope with the trauma and...

Choreographing intimacy in a post-#MeToo era

21 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Intimacy coordination is a relatively new concept both in Aotearoa and across the world. Borne from the #MeToo movement, it’s a way to keep actors a...

Regional Wrap in ‘mural town’ Katikati

21 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s known as ‘mural town’, it's Aotearoa New Zealand’s avocado capital and this week it’s the focus of Culture 101’s regional wrap. 

Champagne Problems at the new look Aotearoa Art Fair 

21 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Aotearoa Art Fair is the apex of the art market food chain. This weekend on the Tāmaki Makaurau waterfront, the public, 32 dealers and many curat...

Origin: Ava Duvernay’s thought-provoking new film on caste systems

21 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Oscar-nominated US filmmaker Ava Duvernay’s new thought-provoking film Origin is based on the New York Times bestselling book Caste: The Origins of ...

Fast Favourites with veteran broadcaster Julian Wilcox

21 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This year marks 20 years of Whakaata Māori - Māori Television. Something to celebrate particularly in this climate of broadcasting cuts and redundan...

Mataaho Collective scoops Golden Lion at Venice Biennale in a huge weekend for art from Oceania

21 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Aotearoa New Zealand has won one of the world’s most prestigious art prizes.  Mataaho collective have been awarded the Golden Lion by a jury at th...

Arts news: NZ in Italy, a screen crisis, new dance festivals & annual fests skip a year

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Arts news for Sunday 14 April from RNZ

Keeping the lights on in our public galleries not just about funding

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A "lack of joined-up thinking" in Wellington's gallery sector has led to two major art spaces closing at the same time, an art historian and former ga...

Trailblazing Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap in Aotearoa

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Say the name Anurag Kashyap in South Asian circles and you’ll likely find some star struck fans.  The prominent Indian filmmaker will be in Tāmak...

Regional Wrap: Sean McDonnell’s Baylys Beach

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Baylys Beach is a settlement of a few hundred on a wild section on the west coast of Northland, just outside Takiwira Dargaville.  It’s home to pa...

Prominent portrait photographer Jae Frew shifts focus

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you’ve ever opened a magazine in Aotearoa New Zealand, chances are, you’ve almost certainly seen Jae Frew’s work. 

Artwork copyright in the age of social media and AI 

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today we are all publishers, sharing fresh content online to please our followers. So when does taking a photograph of an interesting artwork constitu...

Christchurch playwright scoops an award trifecta with The Odyssey

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Two playwrights have won this year’s Adam NZ Play Award: Dan Bain from Christchurch for The Odyssey and Sam Brooks from Tāmaki Makaurau for This I...

From flaming kūmara to East Timor: Te Radar performs five different shows over five nights

14 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When a comedian approaches Comedy Festival season, you expect the trial of a new show, and all the challenges  that represents. But this year beloved...

Arts News: Toi Te Papa & City Gallery Wellington face closures while Christchurch Arts Centre threatens insolvency

07 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Arts and culture news for Sunday 7 April. 

The art of being a cultural translator

07 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What does it take to be an effective cultural translator? Yang Fan will tell you that the language is just the beginning. 

Aminé Ramer: the vital role of the music supervisor

07 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If you think of your favourite film, chances are there’s a pivotal scene driven by music or a killer soundtrack. Either way, you can thank the work ...

Regional wrap: Whakatipu, Wānaka & Hāwea - a creative Queenstown-Lakes District

07 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A $3.9 million dollar multi-purpose arts and cultural space, Te Atamira, opened in the burgeoning commercial district of Frankton near Queenstown in M...

From Marx and Austen to stranded in an airport: Jonathan Dove on keeping opera relevant

07 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

“If opera doesn’t tell stories about right now or about who we are now, then eventually it’s just going to die out,” British composer Jonathan...

Slavfest! Music and culture from the Balkans through to Asia with Irina Mosina

07 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Slavic culture crosses from Eastern Europe and the Balkans through to Asia. It encapsulates a real diversity of countries but which share  strong cul...

A feast for the eyes: The hyperrealist paintings of Alice Toomer

07 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Food is perhaps one of the easiest ways to bring people together. But what about when it's painted? In the case of young Pōneke Wellington-based arti...

Masterchef winner Sam Low on Fast Favourites and new podcast

07 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Masterchef New Zealand winner 2022, author, and Instagram star Sam Low joins Culture 101 to share his inspirations and cultural favourites. 

Arts News Sunday 31 March

31 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Arts news for the week from RNZ's Culture 101.

Guitar maker and carver Nui Stretch: Two parallel careers in wood

31 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Raised in the countryside, north of Tamaki Nui-A-Rua and Dannevirke in the lower North Island, Nui Stretch has the distinction of having two parallel ...

Travelling through Asian and Pasifika cultures in batik with Rozana Lee

31 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

20 years ago, artist Rozana Lee lost her mother, relatives, childhood friends and her family home in Aceh, Indonesia in the Boxing Day Tsunami. More t...

Regional Wrap: Blenheim with Tyler Redmond

31 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tyler Redmond joins Mark Amery on Culture 101 to introduce Blenheim for this week’s Regional Wrap.

12-year-olds in NZ highly engaged in arts and culture

31 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A new report highlights a high level of engagement with arts, culture and recreation among 12-year-olds across Aotearoa New Zealand.  Released by th...

Fashion designer Jimmy D and the fight against the dull and turgid hick town

30 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jimmy D is welcome proof that fashion needn’t be all glitz and glam. It can relate as much to a grungier street reality as the cocktail party or old...

An unlikely pairing? K-pop meets Pasifika

30 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At first glance it may seem like an unlikely combination - Korean pop music and Pasifika youth - but as a new documentary on The Spinoff demonstrates,...

Making Mischief with West End and Broadway star Nancy Zamit

24 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

West End and Broadway wasn’t the dream when UK theatremaker Nancy Zamit co-founded Mischief Theatre in 2008, but the idea of being paid to do improv...

Regional Wrap: Francisca Griffin in Port Chalmers

24 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Port Chalmers in Ōtepoti Dunedin has long been a haven for artists as well as seafarers. It’s an active commercial port and these days the locals a...

Travelling from North Yorkshire to Aotearoa via the sun: theatremaker Alexander Wright

24 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For North Yorkshire’s Alexander Wright theatre making is a way of bringing together the very local with the much larger universe he believes we need...

Arts News Sunday 24 March

23 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Weekly arts and culture news from Aotearoa New Zealand with Perlina Lau and Mark Amery

Māoriland Film Festival Wrap

23 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Māoriland Film Festival is being held in Ōtaki on the Kapiti Coast this week 20-24 March.  It's Aotearoa's annual International Indigenous f...

Rugby becomes art: a scrum suspended in time

23 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Still Lives - Auckland is a live performance artwork combining what are sometimes considered opposite ends of the spectrum; rugby and art.  Followin...

The vital electricity of contemporary poetry: Fast Favourites with Tracey Slaughter 

23 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Culture 101’s Mark Amery invited award-winning author of fiction, poetry and essays, the Kirikiriroa Hamilton based Tracey Slaughter, to play Fast F...

Best of the Fest #5: A very old man with enormous wings, The Sun and the Wind, Aiga and in the thick of Dunedin Fringe

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It may be the fifth and final episode of Best of the Fest but festivals across Aotearoa have not been slowing down.  Culture 101’s Perlina Lau in ...

Arts News for Sunday 17 March

17 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

News for the week with Culture 101.

New report shows increased interest in Asian arts and culture among Kiwis

17 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A new report commissioned by Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono has found an increased interest and desire for Asian arts and cultural exp...

Regional Wrap: Ngāmotu New Plymouth’s Fin Rah Zel at WOMAD  

17 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For a band from Taranaki, making the WOMAD lineup is a dream come true. For Ngāmotu New Plymouth indie group, Fin Rah Zel, this weekend is it.  Kno...

Ju Percussion: powerhouse ensemble performs in NZ for the first time

17 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Taiwan’s first professional percussion ensemble, Ju Percussion Group, was founded in 1986 by Tzong-Ching Ju who still leads the group today.

Aiga: Lusi Faiva’s disability-led Pasifika show on her life in her own words

16 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Samoan, aiga means family. Not just your immediate family but your wider circle. It could be through blood, marriage or even an adopted connection....

The 12-year-olds who meet a mountain in Rachel House's first feature

16 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are four shining stars on screen in the new joyous and heartfelt Aotearoa New Zealand film The Mountain - the directorial debut of acclaimed act...

Fast Favourites: Black Grace choreographer Neil Ieremia gives movement to Pacific anger

16 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dance company Black Grace has just returned from a US tour where thousands of people watched their latest work, Paradise Rumour. The company performed...

Arts News Sunday 10 March

10 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The arts and culture news on Culture 101 

When art and film become entwined: painter Sandro Kopp

10 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2018, Sandro Kopp was tasked by film director Wes Anderson with creating ten monumental paintings for the film The French Dispatch in less than thr...

Regional Wrap: Timaru and what’s next for South Canterbury’s arts institutions

10 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A well known arts critic, historian and commentator, Andrew Paul Wood in Timaru fills us in on ‘drama’ around the Timaru Theatre Royal redevelopme...

Reimagining a map from a Tongan perspective: Icao Tiseli 

10 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What would a map that represents a more distinct lived human cultural perspective look like? That has been the very personal question for Icao Tiseli ...

Oscars predictions with Gemma Gracewood in Los Angeles

09 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the 96th Academy Awards on Monday 11th March - the final ceremony of the awards season which started almost a year ago at the Cannes Film Festi...

Boy: a tragic and compelling story of gender identity

09 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The true story behind theatre show Boy is both controversial and compelling. Appearing at the Auckland Arts Festival theatre and written by Dutch-born...

Musicians who paint: The Bats’ Robert Scott plays Fast Favourites and remembers Hamish Kilgour

09 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ōtepoti Dunedin’s Robert Scott is best known as a member of seminal New Zealand bands The Bats and The Clean, but more quietly he’s been painting...