Art, music, film, talks, beer, wine, and food on the first Thursday of the month. Anthony Byrt introduces guest speakers offering radical propositions for the future of Aotearoa New Zealand.* Hau Manu ki Te Papa perform with taonga puoro and the Parekōwhai piano. Plus, darling of New Zealand music, Bic Runga, also plays the piano. With support from Wellington City Council, Tuatara, Seresin Estate, and Radio Active.
TIMETABLE From 5pm This Is New Zealand open, supper treats from La Boca Loca and cash bar open. Radio Active DJ Harri Robinson plays. 6pm This Is New Zealand exhibition tour. 7pm Bic Runga plays live. 8pm The Present Will Not Hold. Anthony Byrt introduces guest speakers offering radical propositions for Aotearoa New Zealand’s future. Featuring Julia Whaipooti, Mike Joy, Oliver Bruce, Emmy Rakete, and Brooke Van Velden. 9pm Hau Manu ki Te Papa perform with taonga puoro and the Parekōwhai piano.
* SPEAKER BIOS Anthony Byrt is a critic and journalist. He is a regular contributor to Metro and Artforum, and is the author of This Model World: Travels to the Edge of Contemporary Art. Emilie Rākete is a prison abolitionist organiser and graduate student at the University of Auckland studying the political economy of New Zealand's brutal, racist criminal justice system. Mike Joy is an environmentalist, author of Polluted Inheritance: New Zealand's Freshwater Crisis, and senior researcher at the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University. Brooke van Velden is a libertarian, former Auckland Central political candidate, and sits third on the ACT Party list. She studied economics and international trade at university, and has a background in public relations. Oliver Bruce is a blockchain expert who formerly ran strategic projects at Uber, and is an investor in climate change mitigation technologies. Julia Whaipooti is a proud auntie of five, Senior Adviser in the Office of the Children's Commissioner, and chair of JustSpeak, which advocates for young people's rights in the criminal justice system.
