Sponsored: On the Couch with Nelson Festivals Trust general manager Ruth Roebuck

Joining the Nelson Festivals Trust at an exciting time, newly-appointed general manager Ruth Roebuck brings a world of experience to Whakatū from her international career. As the Nelson Arts Festival celebrates its 30th year, Ruth shares what’s in store for this year’s Festival – and beyond.

What can we expect from the longest running annual arts festival in Aotearoa?

Our 2024 celebration has thrilling performances to invigorate, captivate and provide jaw-dropping experiences with award-winning shows, a special commission and world-first launches of highly anticipated pukapuka (books). It’s a time to reflect and celebrate the amazing elements that make the Nelson Arts Festival the audacious and inspiring taonga it is. Revisiting 30 years of incredible artists, conversations and Festival whānau as we communicate our legacy through story-telling, podcasts and photography.

Whakatū will see 11 days of unmissable experiences, more than 50 events, the iconic Mask Carnivale, diverse community partnerships, brilliant contemporary artists from around Aotearoa and overseas; plus, we’re continuing our PWYC and accessibility programme.

What changes have you seen in the art sector?

Charting your journey can be unsettling in changing times and as a creative activator it’s critical to pivot and remain agile to climate and audiences, whilst keeping true to our values and purpose. Securing funding is hard, and strategically focused relationships are important. Post pandemic, some home-grown festival expertise has flown the Aotearoa nest; (re)building capability locally is an aspect we continuously invest in, and benefit from.

We are immensely proud to have built a strong independent organisation, we are grateful for the significant NCC relationship and resultant support, to our funders who acknowledge the value of our mahi and to our growing, passionate and committed whānau of Festival partners - all together, we drive our sustainable future. 2024 is already a big year for the arts in Aotearoa, with numerous international accolades, and we see this reflected in our Festival.

What do you hope to see for the future of Nelson Festivals Trust?

We are soon to launch our updated strategic plan. We focus on the success of our taonga and creating a culturally sustainable future that is aspirational and built on innovation, collaboration and alignment with Whakatū, regional and national arts strategies. The board’s leadership in crafting our narrative and key priorities has been critical and initial stakeholder input stimulating; we look forward to presenting this to you.

My vision is that the exuberance and vitality of our Festival is felt across Te Tauihu, and cornerstone events like the Mask Carnivale play a critical role for our community and eco-system. Our events are deeply embedded in our community, our collaborations bring people together and ignite conversations and positive change for our whole community.

Nelson Arts Festival
24 October – 3 November 2024
nelsonartsfestival.nz

This article was published in Nelson Magazine. To read the full edition, click here.