High Season for the Arts in Wellington
Every two years the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts takes place in Wellington, and at the time of writing we are right in the middle of the 2024 season of international and New Zealand artistic magnificence that the Festival delivers. Events are being presented at a wide range of venues in Wellington city and as far north as Otaki and Upper Hutt. Te Papa is among the hosting venues for Festival events.
Last week, as part of the Festival programme, I was privileged to have attended “Hope”, a spectacular performance of African gospel music and freedom songs by the Soweto Gospel Choir in the Michael Fowler Centre. The prior billing of this concert, in a quote printed in “The Scotsman” newspaper, stated that “nothing could really prepare you for the riot of exuberance and depth of emotion” that we would experience, and so it turned out to be.
The sight of virtually the entire audience on its feet in the packed Michael Fowler Centre, all dancing and clapping unreservedly to the amazing music, atmosphere and emotion generated by the 15 singers plus their two musicians on the stage, was an experience I will be unlikely ever to forget. The happiness, enjoyment and sheer delight of the audience had to be seen to be believed.
Events such as this, along with the wide variety of other festival presentations, reinforce Wellington’s reputation as a major centre for the delivery of artistic excellence. Wellington audiences have historically been positive supporters of the Festival and attendances so far in the 2024 Festival have continued that strong trend.
The positive feeling generated by the Festival overall and each of the specific events presented over the month or so of the Festival’s duration, create major reputational and economic pluses for Wellington and New Zealand more widely as high-quality settings for top-end performances.
Te Papa itself benefits from the influx of visitors to Wellington over the period of the Festival. With the Dinosaurs of Patagonia exhibition in the middle of a successful season right now we are adding very solidly to the quality of event offerings available in this wonderful city over the summer months.
I encourage you to come along and enjoy the quality presentations currently on offer!
Richard Dean,
President