Dunedin Arts Festival

24/04/2025

Thank you to BRONZE SPONSORS GHP Law who put their name to the incredible Pōtaka Nautilus & Pepe by Good Company Arts. An incredible, unforgettable night.
Thanks for coming on board and supporting the Festival and arts in Ōtepoti Dunedin. We really appreciate your support!
📷by Pieter Du Plessis

23/04/2025

Today's thanks are to BRONZE SPONSOR Dunedin's Golden Centre Mall, who not only sponsored our free & family shows, but also hosted 'The People's Oracle'.
Hopefully you popped along and got some sage advice...

23/04/2025

Thank you to BRONZE SPONSOR The Marsh Family Trust, who sponsored Chamber Music New Zealand's 'Reimagining Mozart' at St Paul's Cathedral, Dunedin.
Thanks again Sue & family!
📷by Pieter Du Plessis

23/04/2025

Thank you to BRONZE SPONSORS Cook Brothers Construction who put their name against the brilliant Matt Joe Gow show at Errick's Venue Dunedin.
First time sponsoring the festival - we hope you had a great ride, and we're very grateful you came on board!

22/04/2025

On until the end of April, so pop along - it's free!

The AD PARNASSUM - Purapurawhetū immersive exhibition in association with Dunedin Arts Festival continues at Tūhura Otago Museum until May 4th and it is free!

"Ad Parnassum — Purapurawhetū is an extraordinarily beautiful series of choreographic vignettes. The viewer is drawn into virtual atmospheric vistas replete with recurring motifs, like the flower of life, for example. The film’s wide aspect ratio is firmly grounded by the dancers but seemingly blends into the night sky.

It takes its name from a painting by Paul Klee, Ad Parnassum (1932), and architectural elements from Klee’s painting inspire compositional scaffolding and an image of Mt Parnassus in central Greece, for example. Purapurawhetū references Matariki, in the form of tukutuku patterning, the rendering of the constellation, and through the dancers themselves. The film is scored by Gillian Whitehead, and performed by the New Zealand String Quartet, with Al Fraser on taonga pūoro. All these elements coalesce into a seamless aesthetic experience that inspires a sense of cosmic consciousness, even" Otago Daily Times review excerpt by Joanna Osborne (April 17th 2025)

Tūhura Otago Museum
Creative New Zealand

22/04/2025

Thank you to the incredible Deloitte, SILVER SPONSORS of this year's festival, and show sponsors of the irreverent, surreal 'Animal', all the way from Canada, and the eye-opening 'Speed Is Emotional' in its Premiere Season.
Thanks Kyle and the team, we could not have done this without you!

22/04/2025

Thank you so much to SILVER SPONSORS BB&S, who put their name against two shows in this year's Festival - the world premiere of 'Commentary Of Dreaming' and the totally bonkers 'An Evening Without Kate Bush'.
Thanks team for helping us make this happen!

22/04/2025

Kia ora Festival friends and attendees!

It's just over two weeks since we wrapped the 2025 Dunedin Arts Festival and we're already missing the buzz!

We hope you enjoyed the shows you saw, and we're grateful to you for your support and enthusiasm for the arts.

We'd love to get your feedback about your experience of the Festival this year - this information helps us plan the next one as well as providing information that supports our fundraising work.

It will take no more than five minutes, and you can go in the draw to win a $100 voucher from Taste Nature and an Otago Daily Times Monopoly game.

Click here to complete the survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSck2Be9zKlVDsTMUwlseOHmMEMMb5k0kbTHVYD6KtJ0QxmFsw/viewform

17/04/2025

Wow! What a festival!

We danced with air guitars, laughed at food, cried at tenderness, blissed out with taonga pūoro, and sang along with Kate... Opening with a world premiere and featuring international circus and cabaret, nationally touring shows alongside local work including theatre, one-night-only concerts, and a slew of free events, we're proclaiming the 13th Dunedin Arts a roaring success for performances and audiences alike.

And a big part of that was you, our wonderful festival people, coming along and joining in with gusto. A festival wouldn't be a festival without an audience, and we thank you from the bottom of our very happy hearts.

We need your feedback! You might think that surveys are filed in the recycling basket straight away, but that's definitely not the case. They make for really vital and interesting reading, and we have plenty of time to digest all your thoughts before the next festival in 2027.

We also have some fabbo incentives of your very own ODT Monopoly board game featuring iconic Dunedin locations, courtesy of the ODT; and two $50 vouchers for Taste Nature Organic Supermarket & Cafe - nummy!

So, clink on the link below to read more and to do the survey!

How good was that! - https://mailchi.mp/4302f390d631/the-night-has-a-thousand-eyes-17988210

15/04/2025

Congratulations Good Company Arts!
Anyone who saw this work at the Glenroy in the Festival will know this award is well deserved. We're so lucky to have such an amazing company working right here in Ōtepoti Dunedin.
There's still the chance to see their other work Ad Parnassum Purapurawhetū at Tūhura Otago Museum's planetarium until the end of the month - and it's free!
https://www.dunedinartsfestival.co.nz/programme/ad-parnassum

15/04/2025

Next in our thank you list, are our Commercial Partners and our Benefactors, Patrons and Friends.
Our Commercial partners are a group of organisations, both local and national that work with us through support and discounts allowing us to present our programme.
Our Benefactors, Patrons and Friends are amazing philanthropists who support us through generous personal donations.
Thank you for being a part of us again this year, we definitely couldn't have done it without you!
New Zealand OperaSouthern Lights & Services LtdTaste NatureThe Regent TheatreStrawberryMediaWorks New ZealandDunedin Symphony OrchestraPerforming Arts Network NZ - PANNZOAR FM Dunedin - Community Access Media

13/04/2025

This year would not have be possible without our sponsors & partners - without them we wouldn't have been able to present to you the fantastic talents involved in the Dunedin Arts Festival 2025. Thank you everyone!

Creative New Zealand BB&S Otago Daily Times Dunedin City Council Deloitte New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT) Grassroots Trust Velodrome Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu The Lion Foundation Aotearoa Gaming Trust Virtual Eye Gallaway Cook Allan Scenic Hotel Group Woodland Eggs Grand Casino Cook Brothers Construction

09/04/2025

Some Festival highlights from the team at the Otago Daily Times. What were your highlights?

As the Dunedin Arts Festival drew to a close on Sunday, The Star reporters Brenda Harwood and Sam Henderson enjoyed an extraordinary range of...

09/04/2025

https://www.odt.co.nz/the-star/dunedin-arts-festival-highlights

As the Dunedin Arts Festival drew to a close on Sunday, The Star reporters Brenda Harwood and Sam Henderson enjoyed an extraordinary range of...

08/04/2025

An update from Adam, who's recovering in Dunedin hospital. Thanks to all those who've donated to him - you're amazing!
Hopefully we can reschedule THE EASTERN concert to a time when he's ready to perform again. But no rush Adam!

When Adam McGrath woke up with "kind of a funky eye thing" last week, he had no idea he was having a stroke. The lead singer, songwriter and...

07/04/2025

06/04/2025

With the conclusion of The Anderson Localisation, that's a wrap on the 2025 Festival! Thanks everyone! Proper thank you's will be coming soon, but... although the show is over, there's one show still going...
Ad Parnassum Purapurawhetū runs at Tūhura Otago Museum Planetarium for the whole Month of April.
Pop along and see it - you'll love it. Trust us. https://www.dunedinartsfestival.co.nz/programme/ad-parnassum

05/04/2025

What’s on today?