The Power of Disruption: The Future Is Creatively Vibrant at Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki (Auckland Arts Festival)

Abstract

Shona McCullagh, Artistic Director of Auckland Arts Festival, Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki, speaks to Sarah Thomasson about her experience of festival programming during the pandemic and the challenges and opportunities artists and festivals in Aotearoa will face in the future.

Keywords::

• Auckland Arts Festival
• COVID-19
• festival programming

Shona McCullagh is an award-winning choreographer, film maker, and cross-platform artist. She co-founded The New Zealand Dance Company and served as Artistic Director and Chief Executive before being appointed Artistic Director of the Auckland Arts Festival in 2020.

Notes

1. Bicultural refers to the official recognition of Māori and settler colonial culture based on the Treaty of Waitangi between Māori and the British Crown.

2. A full production of Scenes from a Yellow Peril by Nathan Joe, directed by Jane Yonge, was subsequently staged at ASB Waterfront Theatre from June 21 to July 3, 2022.

3. Mana is a te reo Māori term meaning ‘prestige, authority, control, power, influence, status, spiritual power, charisma – mana is a supernatural force in a person, place or object’. See Māori Dictionary, https://maoridictionary.co.nz/search?idiom=&phrase=&proverb=&loan=&histLoanWords=&keywords=mana (accessed January 30, 2021).

4. See Arthur Neslen, ‘Airlines Flying Near-Empty “Ghost Flights” to Retain EU Airport Slots’, Guardian, January 26, 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/26/airlines-flying-near-empty-ghost-flights-to-retain-eu-airport-slots (accessed August 4, 2022).

5. Kapa haka are ‘traditional Māori dances performed by a group standing in rows’. Valance Smith, ‘Kapa Haka’, Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/kapa-haka-maori-performing-arts (accessed January 30, 2022).

6. Due to the Omicron outbreak and the move to the red traffic light setting that restricted mass gatherings, all live performances were cancelled a few weeks after this interview took place.

7. Originally an award-winning play (published by Play Market in 2007), No. 2 was adapted into a film in 2006.

8. First performed as a stage play in 1997. Kightley also released a documentary Dawn Raid in 2021.