Festival Events
RANGATAHI YOUTH & FAMILY FRIENDLY
Rangatahi Youth & Family Friendly
Throughout the Festival | 19 – 29 Oct
The Nelson Arts Festival provides a unique opportunity to spark joy and creativity in curious minds.

WRITING FUNNY STORIES: SCHOOLS’ WORKSHOPS
Elma Turner Library
Wed 18 Oct | 1.30pm | 75 min
Te Noninga Kumu Motueka Public Library
Thurs 19 Oct | 9.30am | 75 min
Budding writers and comedians between the ages of 8 and 12 are invited to join Leela Chakraborti and her dad Rajorshi Chakraborti to learn how to craft funny stories.

TE PITO
Kiss Me (By Kismet)
19 – 29 Oct | After sunset
A digital sound and visual experience that acts as a creative portal, Te Pito tells the story of connecting to our whenua (land) and ancestry.
DEVILLE MUSIC HUB
DEVILLE MUSIC HUB
Thurs – Sat: 19 – 21 & 26 – 28 Oct
Our contemporary music programme returns to the Deville Music Hub to get you grooving across both Festival weekends.
PUKAPUKA TALKS
Various Locations
Thu 19 – Sat 28 Oct | Various times
We’re proud to feature a star-studded line up of 28 of Aotearoa’s most beloved authors and exciting new voices.

NELSON SUTER ART SOCIETY’S SPRING EXHIBITION
The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū
Throughout Festival | Open daily 9.30am-4.30pm
The NSAS Spring Exhibition presents a curated selection of members’ artworks across various genres, harmoniously transitioning from the McKee Gallery to the Potton Gallery.

GATHERED VOICES: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FLETCHER TRUST COLLECTION
The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū
Throughout Festival | Open daily 9.30am-4.30pm
Commemorating the Fletcher Trust Collection’s 60th anniversary, the touring exhibition Gathered Voices was developed in collaboration with the New Zealand Portrait Gallery.

CAPTURING WHAT CANNOT BE CAPTURED
ATELIER Studio|Gallery + Christ Church Cathedral
Throughout Festival | Gallery Weds-Sat 11am-5pm | Cathedral daily 8.30am-5pm
Exploring relationships between colour, light and space.

FLORECER
Cultural Conversations
Throughout Festival | All Ages
Since migrating to Aotearoa, Lucia Zúñiga Cáceres‘ art practice has blossomed alongside her own journey of healing. Experience this in her joyful paintings at Cultural Conversations.

COULD BE BIGGER.
Nelson Airport + Refinery ArtSpace Window
19–29 Oct (Terminal daily 5am-late, window accessible 24/7)
Artist Talk: Sat 28 Oct 1pm (Refinery ArtSpace)
A bold, fun, 7 metre disruption literally pops up at the Airport this Festival!

WHISPERS IN THE STREETS
Whakatū CBD + NMIT G Block Atrium
19-29 Oct | Tues-Fri 9am–5pm (NMIT)
+ Bollard takeover Sun 22nd – Sun 29th
Journey / Movement / Growth / Regeneration.

CATHERINE BAGNALL
The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū
Throughout Festival | Open daily 9.30am-4.30pm
An intimate display of Catherine Bagnall‘s magical, dream-like watercolours.

KANOHI KITEA (the seen face)
The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū
Throughout Festival | Open daily 9.30am-4.30pm
Moko kanohi (facial markings) are a powerful expression of Māori cultural heritage worn with pride.

SENSORY SELF PORTRAITS
Refinery ArtSpace
19-28 Oct | Thurs 19 Oct 5pm-8pm, Tue–Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am–2pm
Enter into a breath-taking world of colour, filled with large-scale soothing sensory bubbles.

TE ARA O HINE RĒHIA – A JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF KAPA HAKA
Nelson Provincial Museum
Throughout Festival
Te Tauihu ki te poi! A homage to kapa haka in Te Tauihu.

NIGHT VISION
Participating Galleries + Whakatū CBD
Thurs 19 Oct | 5-8pm
Join us in celebrating the start of our 2023 Festival with us – Night Vision invites you to see the whole town as a gallery!

TUNE UP
Kirby Lane
Thurs 19 Oct | 5-8pm
Tune Up is back to transform Kirby Lane into an outdoor music hub with an awesome line-up of rangatahi musicians.

IN THE TEMPLE
The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū
Thurs 19 Oct | 5.30pm | 20 min
Hot on the heels of their acclaimed 2021 collaboration, artist Catherine Bagnall and poet Jane Sayle celebrate another collection of watercolours and poems inspired by nature.
THE SAVAGE COLONISER SHOW
Theatre Royal
Thurs 19 + Fri 20 Oct | 8pm | 70 min
Fierce, furious, fabulously unforgiving: from its premiere at Auckland Arts Festival comes the celebrated stage adaptation of Tusiata Avia’s unapologetic poetry collection.
MĀ & THE FLY HUNNIES
Deville Music Hub
Thurs 19 Oct | Doors 8pm, Support 8.30pm, Main Act 9.30pm
MĀ & The Fly Hunnies welcomes all to a safe place to bob ya head, delivering music from Breakfast With Hades alongside new tunes.
With support from Mihihea.
TOOLS FOR NAVIGATING OUR CRAZY WORLD
Suter Theatre
Fri 20 Oct | 12.30pm | 60 min
Join psychologist Alia Bojilova and keen tramper and writer Victoria Bruce as they explore resilience and their respective understanding of the mind-body connection. Chaired by Liz Price.
WHEN THE PAST CATCHES UP
Suter Theatre
Fri 20 Oct | 3pm | 60 min
Caroline Barron‘s Golden Days and Anne Tiernan‘s The Last Days of Joy are both gripping novels that explore how the past can haunt us in the present. Chaired by Paula Morris.
PRIDE THROUGH POETRY WITH EMMA | WORKSHOP
Surprise Location
Fri 20 Oct | 4.30pm | 60 mins
Join author, poet and Slam Poetry performer Emma Ling Sidnam in a safe and inclusive space to explore new ways of expressing yourself through poetry, which can be a beautiful vehicle for your feelings.
WINE O’CLOCK MYTH MEETS THE DRINKING GAME
Suter Theatre
Fri 20 Oct | 6pm | 60 min
Buckle up for a sobering look into how the way you drink is shaped not only by your individual choice, but also by government, media and big business. Chaired by Matty Anderson.
HERE IF YOU NEED
The Boathouse
Fri 20 Oct | 8pm | 60 min
The highly anticipated follow-up to her 2019 Billy T Award-winning show, Kura Shoulda Woulda Kura Forrester (Taskmaster NZ, Educators) returns to update us on life at large.
CHAII
Deville Music Hub
Fri 20 Oct | Doors 8pm, Support 8.30pm, Main Act 9.30pm
Genre-bending Persian-NZ musician and artist CHAII’s discography has traversed the realms of R&B, Hip Hop, electronica and more.
With support from Jola Burns.
KĀWAI: FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS
Suter Theatre
Sat 21 Oct | 11am | 60 min
Monty Soutar ONZM shares the story behind his bestselling and critically acclaimed debut novel, Kāwai: For Such a Time as This. Chaired by Airana Ngarewa.
END TIMES: THE QUESTION OF HOPE
Suter Theatre
Sat 21 Oct | 1.30pm | 60 min
Rebecca Priestley discusses her new book, End Times, which is part memoir/part road trip exploring climate science, climate denial and belief systems. Chaired by Jude Watson.
DAZZLING NEW VOICES
Suter Theatre
Sat 21 Oct | 4pm | 60 min
Emma Ling Sidnam, Airana Ngarewa and Colleen Maria Lenihan discuss their stunning debut books and reveal what gave them the courage to write. Chaired by Paula Morris.
CELEBRATION OF HIWA
The Suter Art Gallery Te Aratoi o Whakatū
Sat 21 Oct | 5pm | 60 min
RSVPs essential
Join author and editor Paula Morris and some of her fellow contributors as we celebrate the Whakatū Nelson launch of this essential new anthology of our best Māori short fiction.
AILMENTS
Theatre Royal
Sat 21 Oct | 8pm | 60 min
Host of ZM Breakfast, The Great Kiwi Bake Off and Have You Been Paying Attention?, this award-winning comedian’s hour of music and comedy sold out at the 2023 NZ Comedy Festival – so be quick!
KITA
Deville Music Hub
Sat 21 Oct | Doors 8pm, Support 8.30pm, Main Act 9.30pm
Off the back of Splore and WOMAD, Nikita 雅涵 Tu-Bryant, Ed Zuccollo (ZUKE) and Rick Cranson (Little Bushman) will blow you away “with [their] massive sound”.
With support from Neon Cowboys.
TACKLING HATE: FACING UP TO FEAR & LOATHING IN AOTEAROA
Theatre Royal
Sun 22 Oct | 11am | 60 min
Join poet Tusiata Avia, activist Jennifer Shields and disinformation researcher Byron C Clark as they discuss both their experience of hatred and what we can do to protect ourselves and others. Chaired by Madeleine Chapman (Editor, The Spinoff).
THERE’S A CURE FOR THIS
Theatre Royal
Sun 22 Oct | 1.30pm | 60 min
Award-winning doctor and writer, Dr Emma Espiner, discusses her stunning debut memoir, There’s a cure for this, with Arihia Latham. Together they kōrero about hurt and healing, love and loss, life and death, motherhood and medicine.
LITERARY CITIZENSHIP: A WORKSHOP FOR WRITERS
Elma Turner Library
Sun 22 Oct | 3pm | 60 min
In this workshop, bestselling author Caroline Barron will offer an entertaining and informative talk about making your way in the world as an author, with plenty of time to ask questions about the best way to get your own writing project into the hands of readers.
CAN I LIVE?
Suter Theatre
Sun 22 Oct | 4pm | 60 min
“Why don’t we talk about it?” Fehinti Balogun asks this urgent question and offers an invitation in Can I Live?, a vital new digital performance about the climate catastrophe, sharing his personal journey into the biggest challenge of our times. From “…the most influential and consistently interesting theatre company working in Britain.”
WITI & FRIENDS GALA NIGHT
Theatre Royal
Sun 22 Oct | 7pm | 90 min
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Witi Ihimaera’s Tangi, the first novel written by a Māori author to be published in New Zealand. Join Witi and six fellow Māori writers at this special gala event to celebrate Aotearoa storytelling: Emma Espiner (MC), Vaughan Rapatahana, Ruby Solly, Donna McLeod, Arihia Latham and Airana Ngarewa.
VICTORY POETRY SLAM
Poetry Workshop: Victory Community Centre
Mon 23 Oct | 11.30am | 120 min
Performance: Victory Boxing
Mon 23 Oct | 4pm | 60 min
Join internationally acclaimed artists Sheldon Rua & Talia Stanley for a workshop and/or exclusive performance live from the Victory Boxing ring – bring a poem or just come to listen. Now with a guest performance by Emma Ling Sidnam!
FORAGING YOUR WAY TO WELLNESS
Moutere Hills Community Centre
Mon 23 Oct | 12pm | 60 min
Explore the fascinating world of fungi with Liv Sisson (Fungi of Aotearoa) and Valetta Sówka (Family of Forest and Fungi – He Tukutuku Toiora). Chaired by fellow fungi fanatic Sylvan Thomson.
FORCE OF NATURE: CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF FOREST & BIRD
NCMA
Mon 23 Oct | 5.30pm | 90 min
A gorgeous, rejuvenating evening of chamber music and taonga pūoro celebrating the conservation work of Forest & Bird.
SOUNDPAINTING WORKSHOP
Cultural Conversations
Mon 23 Oct | 6pm | 120 min
A captivating multidisciplinary live composition technique that unites music, movement, and theatre.
AFTER DARK II: DUSK CHORUS
Brook Waimārama Sanctuary
Mon 23 Oct | 7.30pm | 130 min
Join us in the Beech Glade outdoor classroom on dusk, where Arihia Latham will read from her debut poetry collection, Birdspeak, alongside her cousin Ruby Solly, who will perform verse from her second book, The Artist.
COUNTER-CULTURE
Te Noninga Kumu Motueka Public Library
Tues 24 Oct | 6pm | 60 min
Commune: Chasing a Utopian Dream in Aotearoa captures the spirit of the counter-culture movement in the Motueka Valley from the perspective of Olive Jones, one of its founding members. Chaired by Kerry Sunderland.
DOUBLE GOER
The Suter Theatre
Tues 24 + Wed 25 Oct | 6.30pm | 50 min
Joy. Power. Sensuality. Rage. The Aotearoa premiere of legendary choreographer Sarah Foster-Sproull‘s new dance work – fresh from its world premiere at Edinburgh Fringe.
SENTIMENTAL TUNES WORKSHOP
Cultural Conversations
Tues 24 Oct | 7pm | 75 min
You are warmly invited for an evening where we will share stories of our sentimental tunes.
RISE OF THE OLIVE
Theatre Royal
Tues 24 + Wed 25 Oct | 8pm | 60 min
Join the world’s only, unabashed, olive fuelled, award–winning comedy circus power trio on a wild ride as they bring people closer together, one olive at a time.
TENSE
Te Noninga Kumu Motueka Public Library
Wed 25 Oct | 7.30pm | 60 min
Theatre Royal
Thurs 26 Oct | 8pm | 60 min
Schools Show: Fri 27 Oct | 1pm
Māori Theatre about the Nelson Tenths with pūrākau, taonga pūoro, waiata, and poetry, from the artists behind sell-out hit Parihaka.
COUCH STORIES
NCMA
Wed 25 Oct | 8pm | 90 min
True stories told live without pictures or notes, we welcome the return of a local favourite. Couch Stories is back with the much-loved couch and all new stories.
SPANISH LANGUAGE STORYTIME
Cultural Conversations
Thurs 26 Oct | 6.30pm | 60 min
Everyone loves a good bedtime story – here’s your chance to spend a Festival event in your PJs.
JAZMINE MARY
Deville Music Hub
Thurs 26 Oct | Doors 8pm, Support 8.30pm, Main Act 9.30pm
Captivating Noir Folk artist Jazmine Mary is “rising into our collective consciousness as a star, as an artist to be reckoned with, as a creative force”.
With support from Young Moon.

TŌRUA
Meet at Refinery ArtSpace
Fri 27 Oct | 6pm + 8pm
Sat 28 Oct | 10am + 12pm
50 min
Celebrated choreographer and director Malia Johnston brings together seven incredible independent dance artists from across Aotearoa and Australia for the immersive experience Tōrua. Walking shoes required!

MASK CARNIVALE 2023
WHAKATŪ NELSON CBD
Fri 27 Oct | 5-10pm
Parade starts 5.15pm, Carnivale from 5.45pm
We’re delighted to bring back our magical street party of the year: with a stellar musical line up featuring Optimus Gryme and Theia, incredible local talent, roaming performers and the opportunity to see Whakatū through the eyes of the Tōrua dancers, there is so much to discover!
Whether you’re keen to (literally) parade the streets in your best mask and costume or simply join the festivities, Carnivale is for everyone.
MASK CARNIVALE AFTERPARTY
Deville Music Hub
Fri 27 Oct | Doors 8pm
Music is pumping, lights spinning, colours blurring, faces smiling, butts shaking.
MOKORUA: NGĀ KŌRERO MŌ TŌKU MOKO KAUAE – MY STORY OF MOKO KAUAE
Suter Theatre
Sat 28 Oct | 2pm | 90 min
Join singer, taonga pūoro musician and writer Ariana Tikao, photographer Matt Calman and local writer Nuki Takao for a kōrero about the stunning illustrated nonfiction book, Mokorua: Ngā kōrero mō tōku moko kauae – My story of moko kauae, which is a revealing and emotional account of how Ariana received her moko kauae. Held in conjunction with Kanohi Kitea, an exhibition that presents tā moko amongst tangata whenua.
VISUAL ART AND CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL AUDIO DESCRIBED TOUR
Starting at Refinery ArtSpace
Sat 28 Oct | 2.30pm-5.30pm
Join local Audio Describer Ang Pearson for a described tour of two of our major visual art installations, coupled with an audio description of the Christ Church Cathedral.
GIRL, IN A SAVAGE WORLD
Theatre Royal
Sat 28 Oct | 6.30pm | 60 min
Celebrated singer and songwriter Theia presents re-imagined songs from her critically acclaimed alt-pop catalogue alongside dreamy waiata from her award-winning reo Māori project Te Kaahu.
REIMAGINING MOZART
Christ Church Cathedral
Sat 28 Oct | 7.30pm | 60 min
This stunning new arrangement of Mozart’s Requiem by Robert Wiremu is brought to life by the celebrated Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir and leading instrumental ensemble under the direction of Dr Karen Grylls, and recreates the virtuosic, intimate experience as imagined by Mozart.
JUJULIPPS & INFORDIN
Deville Music Hub
Sat 28 Oct | Doors 8pm, Fam 8.30-9.30pm, Jujulipps 9.30-10pm, INFORDIN 10-late
From Amapiano to Hip Hop to UK bass to techno – this gig is all about full-glam, full-dance, full-noise to send the Festival off!
With support from Fam.

BY WHAKATŪ RESIDENCY SHARING
Suter Theatre
Sun 29 Oct | 12.30pm | 60 min
We’re proud to again gift a paid residency to two artists from our region, to progress their mahi or trial new ideas. Come experience the sharing at the culmination of the residency!
GRÁDA
Neudorf Vineyards
Sun 29 Oct | 2pm (Doors 12pm) | 75 min
Irish music heroes Gráda reunite to tour their homelands – Ireland and Aotearoa.