Art & Culture

She’s known as one of New Zealand’s ‘rat race refugees’, but Rebecca Shawyer’s decision to throw in a high profile international food career for a lifestyle change is putting her back on the world stage – this time for a different kind of handiwork.

A conservator specialising in Māori and Pacific objects has turned an expert hand to restoring one of New Zealand’s oldest surviving Māori waka (canoe).

Napier’s unique Art Deco heritage sets the scene for a festival that recalls the hedonistic roar of the thirties jazz scene.

New Zealand's World of WearableArt (WOW) is a unique Kiwi event – billed as 'Mardi Gras meets haute couture' – where art and fashion collude in a spectacular stage show.

New Zealand will be represented at the 2009 Venice Biennale by two eminent artists of differing mediums and methods but with a common interest – their birthplace and favourite Kiwi foods.

Auckland's dramatic coastal scenery is only the beginning of the contrasting landscapes found within a short distance of the city's downtown business centre.

In recent years New Zealand has seen a resurgence in the traditional practice of ta moko – the permanent body and face marking of the indigenous Māori people.

Ta moko - traditional Māori tattooing, often on the face - is a taonga (treasure) to Māori for which the purpose and applications are sacred.

Colourful garden festivals and events throughout New Zealand during 2009.

Kapa haka - or traditional Māori performing arts - forms an intrinsic element of the New Zealand cultural experience.