LUMA's next chapter

LUMA is spreading its wings into Kiwi Park with an immersive night walk through winter each year, after bringing in new investment.

Screentime New Zealand, the company behind Queenstown's new wet-weather film studios, Remarkable Studios, has come onboard as partners to take the arts and culture festival into its next chapter.

Organisers of hugely-popular festival announced in December they were pulling pin on the 2025 event due to rising costs and logistical difficulties. It welcomed more than 30,000 people to Queenstown Gardens across King's Birthday last year.

Now the plan is for Screentime New Zealand, part of content powerhouse Banijay Entertainment, to run the family-friendly night-time experience annually in the five-acre wildlife conservation sanctuary (formerly Kiwi Birdlife Park), in Brecon Street.

Tickets for LUMA Enchanted will go live on 25 April. It will combine light and sound artist installations with expert story-telling for Luma's trademark sensory experience, centred around New Zealand’s unique wildlife.

And Screentime New Zealand CEO Philly de Lacey isn't ruling out the possibility of the festival one day returning to the Gardens.

"We're helping to evolve LUMA because it had reached the point where is was not particularly sustainable," she says.

"But we love it... that's why we wanted to get involved. So watch this space and if we can make it work, we'll certainly be looking to see what we can do in the future, and bring LUMA, or a version of it, back to the Gardens at some stage."

de Lacey says the work Queenstown's SILO team has done in creating LUMA is "absolutely phenomenal".

"It's something really precious for Queenstown and we really want to retain that ethos and continue to work with them into the future to see what LUMA could become," she says.

"It's going to be one step at a time but it will be our creative brains partnering with their team and their creative brains."

LUMA Enchanted is dedicated to connecting people and engaging local artists to support local businesses, education, and creative networks, she adds.

As an annual activation, each year it will receive a creative overhaul to ensure continued originality in concept.

Visitors can expect the experience to take roughly 45 minutes to one hour, with the residency transforming the park's visitor experience and also bringing added exposure and support to one of Queenstown’s most important conservation hubs, home to 20 species of native birds and reptiles

Kiwi Park GM Richard Wilson says: "Kiwi Park is passionate about protecting and showcasing New Zealand’s native wildlife, and LUMA Enchanted is a fantastic way to highlight this in a completely new light.

"Partnering with LUMA and Screentime New Zealand allows us to combine conservation with creativity, offering a unique experience that brings the park to life in an immersive way. This event will not only provide visitors with a magical journey through our landscape but also support our ongoing conservation efforts. We’re excited to see the park transformed and to share this special experience with the community and visitors alike."

 

Screentime New Zealand, which mainly focuses on scripted television programmes, first got involved with LUMA while capturing incredible moments for 'A Remarkable Place to Die' at LUMA24.

"Whilst working on our long-term plan for LUMA, we were approached by a collaborator from last year’s event", LUMA Originator Duncan Forsyth says.

"Screentime NZ approached us with an opportunity to take LUMA into the next chapter. Having worked closely with the team before ... we knew they understood the heart and soul of the event. This partnership allows LUMA to evolve in a new home at Kiwi Park, with Screentime bringing their expertise in storytelling and production to create LUMA Enchanted. We’ve had a glimpse of what’s to come and we're excited to help bring this new experience to life."

The move will be supported by the team at Banijay Live, Banijay Entertainment’s dedicated live event and experiences business, with the view to long-term international roll-out.

"For over eight years, LUMA has been key to Queenstown’s annual calendar of events," de Lacey says.

"In bridging its specialism in light and sound with our expertise in drama and entertainment, we recognised we could bring added value by scaling up the experience.

"Through LUMA Enchanted, we hope to showcase the power of storytelling in a way that transforms this unique event into an unmissable, immersive spectacle."

• Visit the luma.nz website to stay updated