March 2018 was a big month for Aotearoa. Our pregnant prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, shook hands with a sojourning Barack Obama. Dunedin was so besotted with Ed Sheeran that a three-meter-high mural was painted in the city centre. And Mark Amery published the very first Lowdown on The Big Idea. Seven years on, it remains a popular weekly staple on our site. Ed Sheeran still stares languidly from an otherwise grey wall in Dunedin. Meanwhile, our prime minister is now definitely-not-pregnant Chris Luxon.

Amery begins with laments about arts coverage (it was, after all, called the Arts Media Lowdown). He noted a “depletion” of mainstream editorial services for the arts at the same time that the volume of online content was hugely growing. There was more content than ever, but no easy ways to navigate through the muck to the good. His sentiments are more true now than ever. While part of his Lowdown rounded up news, another section commented on and directed readers to arts coverage elsewhere.

In the years since, the depletion of resources for arts coverage has accelerated. Instead of analyzing news and views, self-professed “news-hound” Sam Ackerman shifted the focus to creating that coverage when he took over the Lowdown four years ago. He’s worked extremely hard each week to report on the latest arts happenings all around the motu. Now, the baton has been passed to me – Gabi Lardies, new TBI editor at your service! I’m excited to lead a new era not just of the Lowdown, but of The Big Idea’s entire editorial coverage. It's only possible because those who came before me have done the unthinkable – kept an arts website going for nearly a quarter of a century. Among all the precarity, I somehow have a foundation that feels solid.

But who am I? It’s complicated! I started my professional working life as a graphic designer, having studied it as a compromise between having spent so many lunchtimes in the art room and anxiety about being employable one day. I lasted about seven years before I found myself doubling back and attending Elam School of Fine Arts. This culminated in an MFA and a book publishing project, which then led to studies in sociology and creative writing. I loved these studies, even though they thrust me into a year that was directionless, full of rejection, and mostly supported by working very late shifts at a bar. 

In 2021, my favourite magazine, The Pantograph Punch, posted a very interesting opportunity. A six-month feature writing cadetship, where three emerging feature writers would move around five magazines (Panto, The Spinoff, New Zealand Geographic and North & South) and be monitored by the inimitable Donna Chisholm. A dream! I did not initially get accepted – but through a stroke of luck (for me) I was called in at the last minute to take part. The cadetship was life-changing and career-making. So many people taught me so many things, for which I will be forever grateful. I went on to be a staff writer at North & South and then The Spinoff, as well as writing as a freelancer for The Guardian, NZ Geographic and Metro. I even won a Voyager Media Award! Then, a couple of months ago, a certain Sam Walsh, CE of The Big Idea, invited me to have a coffee.

We talked about the arts and media sectors – both of which seem perpetually in the shits. We discussed New Mirrors, the 2023 report which calls for an arts media landscape that tells stronger stories, reflects Aotearoa, and produces quality critical coverage (and funding for that). He asked nosey questions about my salary and I tried to hold up The Big Idea and look at it from other angles. We decided there was so much potential, though it would have to come through change and experimentation.

So, for my first concrete change – the title of this weekly column. Every time I hear “The Lowdown” I can’t help but think of the wonderful rangatahi support service. There are so many other Lowdowns that this one gets buried in pages and pages of Google search results. I’ve chosen a name that reflects the content and history of this column. One that will be able to accommodate some shifts and experiments as I figure out exactly what this version of it looks like. I know that as I try things out, I may stumble on a pothole, but if the path was perfectly flat and comfortable, it would probably be a treadmill. 

Welcome to Aotearoa Artswire, I hope you enjoy this, and what’s to come. 

Gabi Lardies.

News from the wire:

Nui Te Kōrero

I just got back from the biennial Nui te Kōrero arts leadership conference. I had heaps of fun listening and updating those that weren’t there through Instagram stories. Now comes the harder work of digesting what I absorbed into some in-depth coverage next week. Keep your eyes peeled!

2026 McCahon House Parehuia Artists in Residence announced

Congratulations to Conor Clarke, Linda Va’aelua and Zena Elliott. They will each spend three months at the incredible Titirangi property next year. 

Of particular importance is Linda Va’aelua, the inaugural Creative New Zealand-McCahon House Pacific Artist in Residence. Va’aelua (Magiagi, Saleaula, Lano and Samata, Palagi and Scottish) draws connections between traditional wayfinding, navigation and her own evolving identity by blending traditional motifs and materials with bold, graphic imagery. 

Ka Whawhai Tonu (Struggle Without End) wins Septimius Awards in Amsterdam 

The historical feature directed by Michael Jonathan won Best Oceanian Film and lead actress Hinerangi Harawira-Nicholas took home Best Oceanian Actress. “If this moment can be anything,” she said in her acceptance speech, “I hope it is a reminder that our stories matter and that we are so much more than we sometimes believe.”

Lights, film, apply!

Applications for Day One Shorts short film funding closes on Monday 15 September. Pitch them your film idea!

From Scratch are back!

Yes, the ones with the pots, pans, jandals and PVC pipes led by Philip Dadson. From Scratch are touring with Chamber Music New Zealand this month and should be as buzzy as ever. If you need a primer, there’s an excellent, free-to-watch documentary on NZ on Screen.

RNZ proposes to cut arts and culture coverage

The depletion Amery wrote about has come knocking at his door. Following funding cuts and voluntary redundancies, RNZ has proposed cuts to arts and culture coverage, reports Shane Currie. Among the cuts is the disestablishment of the two presenter/producer roles for Culture 101 – Amery and Perlina Lau’s positions. 

Speaking of our national broadcaster…

In RNZ’s lifestyle section amongst “It's ok for people to cry at work” and “How can I put my phone down and stop doomstrolling” there is the occasional interesting arts story. A couple of weeks ago it was about a new collective of wāhine Māori carvers, Te Ana o Hine.

Stuff Group and The Post partner with The Arts Foundation 

This morning, a “major strategic” partnership between Stuff Group, particularly their shinier, paywalled platform The Post, and The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi has been announced. It’s the highest tier of The Arts Foundation’s recently launched Arts Business Club but it’s not 100% clear what it will mean. So far I gather coverage of the arts and Stuff logos on The Arts Foundation’s website, newsletters, and invitations.

Toi Tauranga Art Gallery reopening 15 November

After two years of an enviable $9.65m redevelopment, Toi Tauranga Art Gallery has set a reopening date – 15 November. They’re hitting the ground running with nine new exhibitions by artists from across Aotearoa, Australia and the Pacific. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough to make you green, they also have a beautiful new brand identity by Tyrone Ohia.

Wish you were there

A contingent of contemporary New Zealand artists are showing work over the ditch at Australasia's biggest art fair, Sydney Contemporary, 11 - 14 September. Among them are Gretchen Albrecht, Matt Arbuckle, Helen Calder, Marie Le Lievre, Peata Larkin, Jude Rae, Elizabeth Thomson, Telly Tuita, Fiona Pardington, Mike Hewson, Kate van der Drift, and Lisa Reihana. May the Australian economy bless your sales.

Hosts wanted for music industry internships

The NZ Music Commission is bringing back their Industry Internship Programme for 2026, and applications for host organisations are open. The programme has placed emerging professionals and recent grads in recording studios, events management companies, live music venues, PR, and publishing companies. Let them know if you could take someone under your wing.

Best seven songs of the year according to the Silver Scrolls announced.

The finalists for the 2025 APRA Silver Scroll award and the APRA Tohu Maioha award have been announced today. The beloved Marlon and his collaborator KOMMI are hogging spots in each category, and the rest are spread widely across genres.

In the running for the 2025 APRA Silver Scroll:

·       Aua Atu Rā written by Marlon Williams and Te Pononga Tamati-Elliffe (KOMMI), performed by Marlon Williams

·       Cherry Pie written by Amelia Murray, Gareth Thomas and Leroy Clampitt, performed by Fazerdaze

·       Margo written by Nat Hutton, Minnie Robberds, Joel Becker and Angus Murray, performed by There’s A Tuesday

·       Power written by Jessica Bourke, Sampa Tembo, Ophlin Russell, Zaidoon Nasir, Mohamed Komba and Andrew Clews, performed by JessB 

·       TORQUE. written by Hugh Ozumba and Emmanuel Chinonso Nwachukwu, performed by Mazbou Q

In the running for the 2025 APRA Tohu Maioha:

·       Kei Whati Te Marama written by Henare Kaa, Tim Driver, Hemi Hoskins and Rory Matao Noble, performed by Dillastrate

·       Korero Māori written by Marlon Williams and Te Pononga Tamati-Elliffe (KOMMI), performed by Marlon Williams

·       Pūhā me te Porohewa written by Maarire Brunning-Kouka and Hana Mereraiha, performed by MĀ

Fresh appointments

Zanetti has been appointed the Artistic Director and Festival Producer for Tempo Dance Festival 2026. They will work alongside Executive Director, Aaron Huata.

The Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi board has appointed Michael Brook as Te Kaihiringa CE for Creative Tāmaki Makaurau. Brook replaces Alison Taylor and will share leadership of the team with Chantelle Whaiapu, Kaiwhakahaere CE of Te Manawa, in a co-leadership approach.

Further reading

In this month’s Tahuna te Ahi, pioneer of Māori fashion Jeanine Clarkin tells us how she thinks of her work as “cultural infiltration”.

Check out 75 years of Māori record covers thanks to ObjectSpace and The Spinoff.

The team behind Auckland Live’s new festival We The Young give us the scoop on creating for the young and the opportunities this festival could provide artists.

Musician Shayne Carter tells all in The Spinoff Books Confessional.

Read about New Zealand Fashion Week’s Pacific Fusion Fashion Show on RNZ.

If you have news, a scoop or an otherwise interesting tidbit you’d like me to consider writing about, email me at editor@thebigidea.co.nz