Arts

Zahra Killeen-Chance wanted the perfect backdrop for her new dance work, Elliptical Fictions, that's part of the next Footnote Dance company national tour. So she approached her father Richard… Audio

Writer Virginia Wolf was shocked by Katherine Mansfield's 'commonness,' while the New Zealander said she felt like a cat among tigers, on their first meeting. Wellington playwright Lorae Parry is… Audio

One year down and another year and a bit to go. A year ago this month strengthening work began on the grand old Hawke's Bay Opera House, after 80 percent of submissions to the Hastings District… Audio

It's a big call, replacing a member of a long-established New Zealand String Quartet - big for both the ensemble and for the newbie. Monique Lapins took over as second violin for the New Zealand… Audio

Five years ago Pitsch Leiser abandoned Auckland for Hawke's Bay. He found it had everything - everything except a functioning Opera House and an arts festival. So he rolled up his sleeves and started… Audio

For three years, Clare Caldwell has taught painting at the Auckland City Mission, long enough to know what a difference it makes to offer a means of expression to people who are homeless and… Audio

His graphic novel of folktales has won Craig Phillips the 2018 Russell Clark Illustration Award. The Taupo-based illustrator's take on traditional scary stories, which he both illustrated and wrote… Audio

The human body is the canvas of choice for artists here and overseas who are feverishly practising their designs for the upcoming 10th New Zealand Body Art Showcase. Special effects makeup and body… Audio

Expat Alice Miller is a literary talent on the rise. She grew up in Eastbourne, Wellington, and has lived and published in the US and Europe. She now lives in Berlin and her latest collection of… Audio

Bill Bailey's a man of many talents. As well as making people laugh, he's an enthusiastic stand-up paddle boarder, passionate conservationist, accomplished musician and an author. He's back in New… Audio

New Zealand born, Melbourne-based, artist and lecturer Dr Patrick Pound has exhibited widely in Australia and New Zealand since the early 1980s. He has held more than 50 solo exhibitions and been in… Audio

Composer Gao Ping and counter tenor Xiao Ma premiere their Orchestra Wellington commission Wild Cherry Tree and tell Eva Radich about their unique hybrid of Chinese and Western music. Audio

We speak with cherished Italian woodwind Maestri Alfredo Bernardini  and Alberto Grazzi from Italy’s Ensemble Zefiro, and composer Gao Ping and counter tenor Xiao Ma, who are about to premiere their…

The extraordinary colours of 17th and 18th century woodwind instruments have lent Italy’s Ensemble Zefiro a cult following. Audio

NZ pianist Henry Wong Doe talks about playing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 2. with the APO tonight. Audio

We feature piano from a classical and jazz perspective: NZ pianist Henry Wong Doe plays Rachmaninov with the APO and American jazz pianist Shelly Berg is soloist for the NZSM Orchestra and Big Band.  

Julia Waite, co-curator of Gordon Walters: New Vision, a major retrospective of art by one of New Zealand’s foremost modern artists at Auckland Art Gallery, plays five pieces of music to illustrate… Audio, Gallery

Julia Waite has an overview of the sixty year career of contemporary artist Gordon Walters and it’s International Cat Day so our ballet feature by Jean Françaix is “The Ladies of the Night”, subtitled…