Arguably the country's most coveted residency has gone to one of Aotearoa's most decorated authors.

The $100,000 Michael King Writer's Fellowship is only dished out every two years, awarded to an established New Zealand writer of literature to work on a major project.

And this year's recipient ticks that box comfortably.

Pip Adam knows her way around the literary awards - with Everything We Hoped For in 2010 winning the Best First Book prize and her third book, The New Animals claiming the hotly contested Fiction Prize at the 2018 Ockham NZ Book Awards, a gogn she was nominated for again with her most recent novel, Audition in 2023.

But now she's changing tack, with her Fellowship opportunity to see her write for performance, starting with an adaptation of Audition. 

“I’m interested in what happens if I write for performance rather than for reading. I'm going to write three works over the two years. The umbrella they all come under is the idea of life at the end of capitalism. I think we're in a moment where capitalism is either in its death throes, or it's about to have another magnificent reincarnation, and I'm interested in capturing this time.

“This is the first time I've ever started a project not knowing what the end product will be. But I just feel like this exploration is going to be really fruitful for me.

“I’m hoping the challenge of writing for performance rather than publication will unlock something new in my practice and craft. Although I may use some of the tools of performance -  improvisation, movement, collective creation - to create this work, my final product will be three written pieces which will form a roadmap for future performance.” 

Creative New Zealand's Lead Practice Adviser for Literature, Malcolm Burgess, states the assessment panel was united in selecting Adam.

“Pip’s proposal was compelling; she presented a bold, innovative idea that the panel agreed was a great match for the purpose of the Fellowship. The shift to writing for performance will develop Pip’s practice and push her to take risks. That’s high stakes for an established writer with a growing international reputation.” 

Adam joins a distinguished list of former recipients of the Michael King Fellowship, including C K Stead, Vincent O’Sullivan, Dame Fiona Kidman and Elizabeth Knox. It's also a departure from the previous three Fellowships, which were all focussed on te ao Māori (Dr Danny Keenan, Dr Monty Soutar and Mere Whaanga).

Writing residencies

In more Michael King news, Shilo Kino (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Te Ata) is China bound after an overseas opportunity created betwween the Michael King Writers Centre (MKWC) and the Shanghai Writers’ Association.

Kino's air travel, accomodation and a small stipend will be supplied through the International Writing Programme which will see her join writers from eight other countries for two months in Shanghai in September and October this year. 

An award-winning Young Adult fiction author, best-selling adult fiction writer and journalist,Kino joins fellow New Zealanders Alison Wong (2014), Heidi North Bailey (2016), Frances Edmond (2018) and Melinda Syzmanik (2023) in being selected for the programme.

The Michael King Writers Centre MKWC has also revealed Wellington's Ingrid Horrocks is the NZ recipient of the 2025 New Zealand-Australia residency exchange, where she'll head across the ditch for four weeks to work on her debut novel at Varuna and will appear at the Blue Mountains Writers Festival.

In exchange, Australian writer Fiona Murphy will head this way to work at the MKWC.

Top talent for tamariki 

A Hall of Fame music icon, a Grammy Winner, Silver Scroll winners and multi-time Aotearoa Music Award honourees are among those competing for this month's Aotearoa Children’s Music Awards.

That's a high calibre of talent to have in any genre, but it shows the incredible talent on display in this year's finalists that the above are not the stand out feature of this week's shortlist announcement.

For the first time - one act has been nominated across all four available categories. Loopy Tunes Preschool music, comprised of sisters Siu Williams-Lemi and Leah Williams-Partington, is a finalist for Best Children’s Song - Preschool with Lele Means Run, Best Children’s Song - Primary with Little Taniwha, Best Children’s Music Video through The Maui Dolphin and Best Children's Artist with their album, Kahurangi - Little Treasures.

A full sweep of category nominations has been done before - most recently with Music with Michal in 2022 - but not since the song category split to seperate the the preschool and primary audiences.

Williams-Lemi told The Lowdown "It feels absolutely surreal! When we first found out we had double check the emails!" 

The Christchurch-based pair, who also give weekly music classes for kids, have done well to be seen as relevant to those learning their ABCS as well as those on the cusp of intermediate school. 

Williams-Lemi explains "Our main target age is Preschool and younger primary age but we know our music gets used at high schools and even workplaces sometimes during the language weeks! 

Our whole philosophy and goal is to help normalise the use of our Māori and pacific languages and normalise tamariki hearing it, whether they are of those cultures or not. We're inspired by the tamariki around us to write songs that not only help them learn but are wee ear worms and can become little anthems in their early years."

They've got some top competition across all the categories. 

The Preschool song finalists include a powerhouse combination of some of the biggest names in the NZ entertainment industry, with the great Don McGlashan and Harry Sinclair writing Shamalama for TV show Kiri and Lou, performed by household names Anika Moa, Jemaine Clement and Olivia Tennet.

Serial Children's Music Award finalist and winner Levity Beet is also in the running with Rainbow Rosalind (AKA Rosalind Manowitz) for Can I Be A Fairy.

The Primary song category sees former winner Michal Bush nominated for Shapes and Colours under the Music with Michal moniker, as well as Spellodies with Out & About.

A family band in every context, Spellodies is a combination of Silver Scroll winner Steph Brown (LIPS), husband Fen Ikner and son Freddy.

Brown told The Lowdown "This nomination means so much to us and we feel grateful to be a part of such a generous and supportive community of excellent children’s musicians.

"Being professional musicians, there is always a gig to play or a song to record and music is something we’ve involved our kids in since day one. Show days are a family affair, with everyone carrying gear, and Freddy plays drums in the band. Our younger son Charlie doesn’t like playing on stage but he sits up the front and does all the actions with gusto!

"The kids weigh in on Spellodies songwriting and videos, which we make in our living room, and we often wind up using their suggestions. For example, the closing shot on the First Thirst video - where I get a glass of water dumped on my head - is entirely Freddy’s idea which he had great fun filming and I had less fun filming!

"One of things we strive for is to make our songs funny for both kids and adults - we try to put jokes into everything we do but if it’s a joke that only kids will think is funny, it usually doesn’t make the cut. The same goes for the music itself - the goal is to make music that the whole family will wanna listen to. When we first started writing music for our kids it was based off of the songs that they liked already - artists like Nirvana, the Beatles, the Ramones, Prince, James Brown. 

"As musicians we have spent our careers playing many different genres of music so it makes it fun for us to exercise those muscles."

Best Children’s Music Video sees Loopy Tunes up against the Kiri and Lou team again (with Turn, Planet, Turn) and kid's music superstar Rich Manic -in his Captain Festus McBoyle alter-ego - with Breathe. 

And the overall Best Children's Artist gong will come down to Chris Sanders and Auckland Philharmonia for Hana the Glowworm, Levity Beet and the Aotearoa All Stars and Loopy Tunes for Kahurangi - Little Treasures. 

Williams-Lemi adds "We are in awe of all our fellow nominees! When we first found out that we were nominated for all the categories we were pretty nervous - well, I was. But once I saw the names of our fellow nominees, for some reason it relaxed me knowing that there is some massive talent on this list and we are just feeling blessed to stand beside each of them and celebrate our favourite genre of music. 

"Our tamariki are pretty blessed to have so many talented musicians with a heart for creating music specifically for them!" 

The Best Children's Performer will also be crowned from Aiden Gao (8 years old), Emery Goodwin (10), Naledi Mhuka (11), Sophie Jack (8) and Yumi Chen (9).  

Along with the awards on 29 June at Tāmaki Makaurau's Tuning Fork, there's a chance for families to get a taste of the action with a pre-awards event hosted by the face of Children's Music, Suzy Cato.

Cato is fresh off her ONZM honour and a rare double win - in the same category - at the NZ Radio and Podcast Awards.

She's a joint winner with herself and collaborator Trevor Plant, with two of her projects named as sharing the Best Children's Programme prize for Suzy & Friends in a POD-Cast (along with Duncan Smith, Phil Benge, Briana Juretich-Greig and Nicholas Meuli) as well as the traditional Suzy & Friends (with veteran sound engineer Phil Yule).

To make it even more impressive, she fended off a challenge of another of her productions - The Little Yellow Digger & the Big Ship - which was also a finalist.

Fale-ships

One of the few good hangovers from the pandemic is Tautai's Fale-Ship Residency - and this year's trio of recipients has been revealed.

They come from different backgrounds and creative fields - each standing out among a highly competitive pool of artists.  The residency provides dedicated time and support to strengthen their research and making, culminating in an exhibition showcasing their output. 

Ōtepoti born, Tāmaki Makaurau based artist Harrison Freeth -of German-Tongan, Sāmoan and Scottish heritage - works across sculpture, installation, and drawing. He explores how elements of children’s play such as model-making, role-play, repetition, and symbolism extend into adult life as tools for navigating uncertainty and complexity.

Freeth told The Lowdown “Being selected for the Fale-ship feels like stepping into a current that’s been flowing for a long, long time. It’s one that carries stories, memories, and connections I’ve been reaching toward for some time now and Tautai’s support means I can dive deeper into this cultural memory, to return with learnings to share among the community.”

Indo-Fijian craft and social practitioner, researcher, writer and critical theorist Quishile Charan approaches craft as a science-fiction practice of building new worlds from the seeds of reality. As a descendent of Girmit (indentured labour) - part of a history and present in which autonomy was/continues to be denied to her people - Charan identifies anarchist/anti-colonial, anti-institution, anti-authority among a core set of values.

p.Walters participates collectively and individually throughout the motu through a range of mediums like art making, curation, exhibition making, public programming and writing. 

A self-described taniwha local to the Kingdom of South Auckland, they told The Lowdown  “I am so grateful for the Faleship and the Tautai team, this means a lot - to be trusted to create new and thoughtful work - the pictures and things that are to come excite me a lot.

" I am extremely grateful for all support provided and cannot wait to create these new bodily and biblical materials, new mahi pon ways.”  

DARE to dream

Another red-hot residency opportunity has been extended for emerging musical educators looking to broaden their horizons.

The Pettman DARE Fellowship is a fully funded year-long residency split between nine months at Opera North and the University of Leeds in the UK, before spending the final three months at New Zealand Opera. 

Running from September 2025-August 2026 with applications closing on 29 June, it was set up to address a shortage of skilled music educators in Aotearoa The programme combines practice-led research, professional experience, and academic study to develop leadership and project management skills in emerging practitioners.

 NZ Opera's Director of Artistic Planning & Participation Joanne Cole encourages people with a passion for arts education to apply. She told The Lowdown the Fellowship "offers unparalleled insight into the workings and management of community engagement programs in music. 

"Fellows will gain a strong foundation learning from Opera North's exceptional Learning & Engagement team in Leeds, Northern England, earning a post-graduate qualification along the way. Bringing that expertise back to NZ Opera for the final three months provides immediate professional development and the chance to build on learnings in Aotearoa. If you're a curious individual with a belief in the power of arts education and community, we encourage you to apply and discover the immense potential of this Fellowship."

Pettman DARE fellow alumni Callum Blackmore used the opportunity to springboard into a diverse career in the arts and education sectors since then, including working as Head of Fundraising for Perth Symphony Orchestra in Western Australia, the Grants Manager for Federation University Australia and completing a PhD in Historical Musicology at Columbia University. 

Blackmore notes “The year I spent with Opera North and New Zealand Opera not only taught me how arts organisations tick but showed me the importance of funding arts education initiatives. The Pettman Dare Fellowship was the best year of my life, and I still cherish all the lessons I learned, the connections I made, and the inspiration I received.”

Rising from the dust

A commercial warehouse fire in the weekend is having a devastating impact on a popular performing arts organisation.

The Dust Palace’s stored circus equipment and theatre assets have been been destroyed by a huge blaze in the early hours of Sunday morning (9 June), taking over 50 firefighters to control.

The fire resulted in the total loss of more than 15 years of creative material, including hand-crafted set pieces, specialist circus gear, and the full inventory of aerial rigging equipment. Also lost were newly donated theatre seats used in the recent production of Haus of YOLO at Ellerslie Arts—seats that were destined to support the creation of affordable performance spaces.

“The damage is catastrophic,” states Grae Burton, Chair of The Dust Palace Trust. “This is more than just equipment - this is the creative heartbeat of years of mahi, training, and generosity from our community.”

In reponse, The Trust has launched a Givealittle page to raise funds to rebuild and recover, with donations to go toward replacing essential equipment so that upcoming shows, community classes, and youth outreach can continue as planned.

Getting an Oscars edge

The road to a possible Oscar nomination has got a little closer to a group of New Zealand filmmakers with Doc Edge announcing the finalists for the its festival awards, to be announced n 3 July.

Winners of the Best New Zealand Short and Best New Zealand Feature categories will receive cash prizes sponsored and be eligible for Academy Award consideration in 2026.

Producer/director Edward Sampson - along with co-producer Terry Kingi - are nominated for the feature film section with Devils on Horses; Mana Moana Mana Tangata is co-directed and co-proudced by Julian Arahanga and Toby Mills; director/producer Vanessa Wells and co-producer Polly Fryer are up for Mighty Indeed;  No Tears on the Field sees director Lisa Burd and producers Alex Lee and Bernadette Courtney in the running; Director/producer Gabriel Garton and co-producer/doco subject matter Shayni Couch lead Shayni in the Sky; Three Days in February - is directed and produced by Serena Giovanna Stevenson and co-producer Lani Rain Feltham; and Wildboy is a contender for director Toby Schmutzler and producers Brando Yelavich and Lydia Wrensch.

In the NZ Short Film category, producer Gianna Savoie has two nominations - one for Hou Rongo: Reviving Moriori Culture (directed by Brady Clarke) and Ko Tātou Te Wai: We Are the Water (directed by Stephanie Guest and co-produced by Raaniera Te Whata). 

Among the other seven nominations, Feel It from My Words, directed JRG Lacey and produced by Anna Groot; Home from directors Emma Duncan and Ashlee Stevens and producer Teiti Nepia; Little Potato, directed by Chen Chen and produced by Aifen Fan; Nothing is Impossible: The Primanavia Story from director/producer Caleb Young and co-producers Brosnan Erbsleben and Lanza Coffin; and Onwards by director/producer Ben Wallbank.

Doc Edge has also revealed a new $5,000 prize for  a female documentary filmmaker with the Raye Freedman Legacy Award.

Festival Director Dan Shanan states “Doc Edge shares Mrs Raye Freedman’s passion for the arts, culture, and education, which also forms the foundation of why Doc Edge was created. It is a privilege to support female storytellers in honour of Mrs Raye Freedman.”

The festival kicks off on 25 June - 13 July in Auckland before heading to Wellington and Christchurch (16 - 27 July) and then online (28 July - 24 August).

Flight of Folly

Some success stories are screamed from the rooftops - some are caught up in spam filters.

New Zealand literary journal Folly has gained international recognition at the Next Generation Indie Book Awards - the largest international awards program for indie authors and independent publishers - discovered only when editor Emily Makere Broadmore was combing through her junk folder.

After discovering emails saying your book is an award-winner with one of the top worldwide awards, she admits “I didn’t click the link for days...I assumed it would steal my passwords or offer me crypto advice. I guess I’m getting old and risk averse.”

Not the case on this occasion, with Folly recognised in the “Specialty Book” category. “We assume they mean specialty in the same way someone’s browser history might be described as... niche,” says Broadmore. “We’ll take it.”

With a full NZ production team, about 90% of Folly's artists are Kiwis, along with about half of its writers.

"We are an outward looking publication, taking New Zealand voices and stories to the world. About 40% of our audience are overseas, which means we are taking an international lens in the curation of our content and the pitch of our marketing. For Folly to have gained international recognition demonstrates that we are indeed nailing it."

Featured in The Big Idea's video series on its arrival and described by Broadmore as "featuring stories too sexy for Newsroom to publish and too good to ignore," she notes Folly "champions bold, funny, and deeply human writing – particularly by people who don’t consider themselves writers."

Issue three of Folly is currently in production, expected to be released in November this year.

Show and tell

The numbers are in for the 2025 edition of the NZ Art Show in Wellington, with organisers touting record-breaking stats.

The King's Birthday annual tradition saw more than 12,000 people turned up to see over 250 artists exhibit in excess of 4,000 works, with more than 1,700 pieces  snapped up by art lovers - a record in NZ Art Show’s 22 year history.

Executive Director Carla Russell notes “There was a real buzz from the moment the Gala Evening opened. People weren’t just looking - they were connecting, buying, talking with artists, and sharing what they loved. It felt like a true celebration of New Zealand creativity.”

“I've been exhibiting in the show for 15 years and, for me, it's more than just sales," adds Tauranga artist Angela Maritz. "It’s about connection. The exposure, the conversations - they all make a huge difference to an artist’s career."

Among the award winners was people's choice selections for sculpture ($2,000) for Tamaora Walker with  He Momo Kotahi – Through My Grandfather’s Eyes and for painting ($3,000) to Em Wafer with Mysterious Music Intensifies.

The top prize in the Emerging Artist Awards went to Paraparaumu College's Charlie Dale-Low for Untitled.

Dale-Low told The Lowdown "Receiving the premier award is a pretty awesome feeling. Being recognised at an event this size has given me more confidence that others appreciate my work too. It’s also inspired me to put more effort into my art in the future. 

"Overall, I’m super happy to have been selected, the event is such a cool way to help support young artists. Next year I plan to continue painting and study visual communication design, not 100% sure where yet. Maybe Auckland or Wellington, maybe even Australia."