Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival announces its 2026 programme, taking place October 3 to 11 as a platform for creative excellence in the region.
“As part of the new direction for Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival, this programme aims to grow creative leaders from the East Coast outward, and provide creatives a pathway to take their voices further,” Festival Director Ani-Piki Tuari says.
Te Ara i Whiti, our free flagship event, lights up a new path at ‘The Cut’, Waikanae Beach – bringing together some of Aotearoa’s most exciting contemporary artists with students from Tolaga Bay Area School & Kahukuranui, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Uri a Maui, and Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu.
Ā mua, a new work commissioned by Chamber Music New Zealand, takes Māori futurism and spirals to form connections across time. Led by Multi-instrumentalist, composer, and sound artist Riki Pirihi and award-winning author Tina Makereti, they bring together kupu, taonga puoro and orchestral strings through contemporary performance.
After Glow, a new spotlight session at Te Ara i Whiti, puts artists and emerging talent on the main stage – including a live pre-launch from award-winning HAAMI.
E Tipu, E Rea – Te Whaihanga, a new kaupapa Māori screenwriting pilot with the New Zealand Film Commission, will support fifteen emerging East Coast storytellers from concept to live readings and ultimately, larger-scale projects – a first for Aotearoa.
“This is where our long-term vision starts to take shape, and exemplifies Te Tairāwhiti creatives leading the way,” Tuari says.
The opening night of Te Ara i Whiti will also mark the launch of expressions of interest for the Curator’s Apprenticeship Programme – a first of its kind for the festival.
Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival thanks our major funders Trust Tairāwhiti and Creative NZ, and our many patrons, sponsors and volunteers for their continued support.
Another programme is expected to be announced in 2027.
