23 inspiring
community stories

As well as open calls, new beginnings, and free art history lessons.

The actor and producer shares how she navigates an industry that can be soul-sucking.

The human rights lawyer, educator, and bestselling author explains how she has used a beautiful book to teach people about Te Tiriti.

Your guide to our stories, columns, and categories.

Shoreside Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park hits its 30th anniversary this year. Sam Brooks talks to board member and longtime participant James Bell on how the company has lasted so long.

Jean Teng talks to Jenna Wee about her way of finding Asians doing cool shit – starting a podcast before everybody else had one.

Mark Amery considers the value of public art collections while visiting three very different exhibitions in the North Island this summer

Getting the next iteration of The Big Idea moving forward.

We’re back and busier than ever!

The painter’s biggest inspirations are older women who never stopped making, even when no-one was looking.

A new monthly digest tracking Aotearoa artists overseas and international opportunities you don't want to miss, brought to you by Genista Jurgens.

Every week, school students walk through the doors of Wairau. What do the education programmes offer them?

An informative guide for those who list jobs, opportunities or events with The Big Idea.

The Big Idea team reflect on the year that was in the arts.

For many years she cultivated queer Indigenous nightlife in Tāmaki Makaurau and beyond. This year she took a break. What did it bring her?

Friend and colleague Sean Rivera remembers Jen Lal who died last month – a loss that has dimmed stages across Aotearoa.

In the school holidays, she worked in a record label's distribution warehouse. Now she leads Ka Korokī Ka Maranga, the Māori Music Industry Collective.

What's happening in the garden city this December?

The pop artist from Ōtautahi doesn't let awkward situations or huge platforms stop her, because they might be the exact thing that changes her career.

And the week’s arts news helpfully wrapped up.

Some artists are getting paid when their work is resold, and some are ignoring emails from the organisation trying to give them money. Frances Libeau checks in one year into the scheme.

It is supposed to be a fun way to reflect the year's listening, but it’s also a reminder of how the current market could do better to encourage audience engagement with local music.

Ōtautahi band There’s A Tuesday found a new way to think about their craft in Seoul. Samantha Cheong was there for the ups and downs of their first serious step outside Aotearoa.