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With the country in lockdown, more and more events are moving online. 

I've already talked about this process from an artists perspective. But since we’ve had to put the Word on the Street gig guide on the shelf until we can, you know, go back out on the street - I’ve sought out what's happening from the viewing side of the equation.

Here are a few highlights to look out for this week - and some less than conventional ways to stave off that cabin fever. 

Staying in the Know

PANNZ have teamed up with Auckland Live for a series of weekly online hui for creatives from across Aotearoa to come together. Entitled Connecting the Creative Sector, the hui are facilitated by Barbarian Productions artistic director, Jo Randerson and will feature a panel of industry leaders. They’ll be live streamed on Youtube, and Jo will be taking questions in the chat. Each event will be recorded for those that can’t make it.  The Big Idea was all over last week’s hui and will be covering this week’s as well.

Poetry Pays

A lot of artists are turning to live streaming, to entertain not only their audiences but themselves. Though this is a great way to break up the monotony, there’s still the issue of getting paid for your craft. 

With this in mind, Motif Poetry have started the ticketed series, The House Is Open. Every Friday at 8pm, for $10 you can catch some of the county's top musicians, actors and poets live streaming into your home. 

To Infinity and Beyond

Yayoi Kusama, Photograph: Toru Hanai/Reuters

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has given the world virtual access to one of her infinity rooms. The Broad gallery in Los Angeles, where Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room — The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away is currently housed, has started an online video series. Titled Infinite Drone, the first video features a score by LA-based composer, Geneva Skeen. In 2017 Yayoi brought her exhibition, The Obliteration Room, to the Auckland Art Gallery, there’s also a great doco on her work and life called Kusama: Infinity, you should check out.

Stranger Than Fiction

Lastly, this won’t be for everyone... Sex writer, activist and handsome intellectual, Sam Te Kani is writing personalised, erotic flash fiction. Each piece is $40 and between 3-7000 words of writing on the kink of your choice.

“Straight, gay, queer, scaly, furry etc, maybe a genre you want it in, like horror science fiction fantasy etc, or even if you have some hawt quirks that's way more specific (discretion assured)” 

Fire Sam an email and he’ll get you some personalised erotica to break up your loneliness in 24-48 hours.