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2024 End of Year Wrap Up
As 2024 comes to a close, we've been reflecting on the year that's rapidly disappearing behind us. And what a year it has been!
We asked some of our staff to tell us about the year that's been, what's surprised them, what's inspired them and what they've loved most about 2024 at Tāwhiri. -
Summer Reading List with Unity Books
If you're anything like me, you might have found yourself getting a little behind on your reading during the year (according to Goodreads, I'm 25 books behind my goal for 2024). But with the holidays ahead, it's the perfect time to catch up on all those fabulous reads you may have missed.
To help me figure out what I should be taking to the beach with me this summer, I reached out to our friends at Unity Books, one of the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts' longstanding partners, and asked them what they would recommend. Now I have to decide how many I might be able to fit into my suitcase! I'm away for 10 days, so that means I need... 11 books?
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Interview with Folly editor, Emily Broadmore
Folly is an annual print only anthology of art, short stories, non-fiction and poetry produced in Wellington city. Unbound by academic affiliations, fiercely independent, and purposely not high brow, Folly is home to content which it describes as beautiful, sexy, funny, insightful and provocative.
Published in November each year, the 2024 issue has just been launched. I had a chat with Folly's editor, Emily Broadmore about why she chose to create a print journal in an increasingly digital world, how she selects the stories and what readers can expect.
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A Chat with Maarire Brunning-Kouka
Pōneke-based Maarire Brunning-Kouka is one of two commissioned artists for the Wellington Jazz Festival, composing the captivating soundtrack for Oro Māia, a show featuring poems by acclaimed American poet and activist Dr. Maya Angelou, translated into te reo Māori.
Featuring a cast of talented wāhine toa, Oro Māia is a brand-new work and will be performed in Wellington for the first time on Saturday 19 October after having its world premiere at the Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival.
We caught up with Maarire to chat about the genesis of the project and her creative process as a commissioned artist.
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Interview with Riiki Reid
Riiki Reid is a Pōneke-based singer-songwriter, choreographer and producer of Samoan, Latvian, Scottish and Māori (Ngāti Porou) descent. After a string of hit singles and touring as support for local legends such as Lorde, Dave Dobbyn and L.A.B, she is joining the Fly My Pretties line-up for their upcoming Wellington Jazz Festival show, Elemental.
I caught up with Riiki to find out more about the show, how it feels to join a supergroup like Fly My Pretties and much more.
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Five Questions with Shona Riddell
Shona Riddell is a Wellington-based writer with a love of cold weather and an interest in the history of remote locations. She has written three books including Trial of Strength: Adventures and Misadventures on the Wild and Remote Subantarctic Islands and picture book, The Tale of the Anzac Tortoise. With a new book, Guiding Lights: The Extraordinary Lives of Lighthouse Women releasing in late August, I caught up with Shona to find out about the book and where her fascination with lighthouses began.
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Interview with Jo Marsh
Jo Marsh's multimedia theatrical adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet opens at BATS Theatre on 21 August. Employing a combination of live action and multimedia, the classic play will be brought to life with just three performers and distilled into a one-hour performance.
I caught up with Jo talk about the production, her adaptation and creative process.
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Interview with Hayden Taylor & Maya Handa Naff
Hayden Taylor (Ngāi Tahu) is the Musical Director and Maya Handa Naff the Vocal Director for WITCH Music Theatre's upcoming production of Lizzie the Musical, based on the life of accused American axe murderer Lizzie Borden. This follows their successful collaboration on previous WITCH productions Into the Woods and Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.
WITCH Music Theatre is an alternative production house for music theatre work in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington, creating concerts, cabarets to full-scale musicals. They champion LGBTQIA+ art, progressive programming, and create spaces for local artists to create engaging and entertaining work.
I popped into their rehearsal space toward the beginning of their rehearsal period to catch up with Hayden and Maya about their roles, the production and which cast albums they're currently listening to on repeat.
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Meet the Makers: The Grid's Shannon Brosnahan Inglis
Shannon Brosnahan Inglis is a co-founder of The Grid, a new immersive art space coming to the heart of Wellington for two months this winter. The opening exhibition, Rivers of Wind, has been created by The Grid’s other co-founder, Delainy Jamahl, and opens on 5 July.
I sat down with Shannon to ask her about the space, the opening exhibition, and long term plans for The Grid.
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