Arts & Culture

We’re extremely fortunate in Queenstown and the Southern Lakes to have access to some incredible music over the course of the year.

Arrowtown Creative Arts Society (ACAS) will be hosting a Meet The Artist event at the picturesque Giverny Sculpture Garden on Friday.

Stories change over time, no matter how familiar they are. Every telling of the Trojan War has a slightly different slant, versions of Romeo and Juliet change with every director, sometimes morphing into a whole new story in the case of West Side Story.

NZSHRED’s seventh recycled snowboard art exhibition takes place this week at Sherwood. This year the exhibition is entitled BoardWorX and the concept is an easy one.

Queenstown Writers Festival is returning for another year and has a fresh new look.

Aussie folk, indie pop duo Angus & Julia Stone are in town for Snow Machine festivities, which officially kicked off on Tuesday.

Time to don your tartan and pop on your dancing shoes this weekend – Cargo Collective are hosting their first Ceilidh.

A Relatively Uneventful Evening is the name for Remarkable Theatre’s latest production, however you can expect anything but.

Southland-born Samoan-Scottish painter Lyle Penisula will share works exploring his identity from next week at Te Atamira.

First Thursdays Quarterly is a free and fun event for art lovers. Join in the open-late across six exhibition spaces all located around Earl Street and Marine Parade in Queenstown.

Hilariously dark comedian Ed Byrne will perform at Queenstown Memorial Centre this weekend. Following a slew of five-star reviews and critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe, he’s excited to be bringing his new solo show, Tragedy Plus Time, to New Zealand and to visit Queenstown for the first time.

Local musician Mark Wilson is inviting everyone to refamiliarise and be re-energised by the world we live in.

Venice Qin produces a fusion of electronic pop music with strong vocals. The 22-year-old originally hails from Auckland but now spends her time in Sydney – on a recent trip to Queenstown for the Chamber of Commerce Women in Business event she recorded four songs for her upcoming LP at Te Atamira.

"Just like cooking with friends" – that’s how Happiness House’s Coordinator Steph Burbidge describes their free bi-weekly Cook Around the World classes.

Some 90 works from Queenstown Art Society’s members will be on display at Te Atamira for the next five weeks, and they're all available for purchase.

The reappearance of the Matariki stars in night sky brings the past year to a close as the new year begins in the maramataka – the Māori lunar calendar. On Friday, the annual Matariki Arrowtown Kā-Muriwai event will take place, but this year will have a slightly different focus and be double the size.

NZ Mountain Film and Book Festival returns from Friday. The programme will run across Wānaka and Queenstown, and will bring something for everyone, hoping to inspire, entertain and move you, through the films and speakers. Most importantly they want to inspire you to pursue your own adventures.

Arrowtown-raised Holly Arrowsmith is making waves in the country music world. She recently picked up her second APRA Best Country Music Song award, re-establishing her in the ranks of past winners Tami Neilson, Reb Fountain and Jenny Mitchell.

Make it, sew it, bake it, grow it. That’s the motto for the newly-formed Makers Market at Country Lane. They are providing a creative hub for all things handmade and showcase some of the great artisans in our region. On every second Sunday in winter, you’re sure to find some treasures.