Nelson Arts Festival reaches the regions

It may be Nelson’s arts festival, but Motueka and Golden Bay have not been overlooked by the event’s organisers.

The 30th Nelson Arts Festival officially opens this Thursday, but Golden Bay will be treated to a pre-festival event in the ethereal form of Scottish harpist Esther Swift, who will be making her New Zealand premiere at the Mussel Inn tonight, Wednesday, 23 October, at 8pm.

Esther is described as an outstanding musician, composer and singer and says she is “so excited to be debuting my solo album in New Zealand”.

“The music celebrates Scottish nature and culture and reflects my own relationships and values,” she explains.

“Having played in New Zealand before, it holds a very special place in my heart, and I am amazed at the connections the culture and nature have with Scotland. I feel very at home and welcome there and can’t wait to share my new music with the Nelson Arts Festival for the first time in this stunning part of the world.”

The official opening day of the festival brings a little magic to Te Noninga Kumu-Motueka Library, with a sold-out school session by three young-adult authors.

Lauren Keenan has written two books that use time-travel as the backbone to the story, and she will teach a workshop on this technique to the 10-14 year old participants.

Rachel King, who created ‘The Grimmelings,’ will work with the children to create their own mythical creatures, and Claire Mabey, author of ‘The Raven’s Eye Runaways,’ will lead a world-building workshop for tamariki to co-create their own parallel universe.

Kerry Sunderland, who manages the Pukapuka Talks section of the arts’ festival, says that these authors’ books have all been well received, and she expects some of them to become standing classics in New Zealand children’s literature.

Some Motueka faces will also be part of the line-up at Nelson’s Tune Up event, which transforms the open-air community space of Kirby Lane into an outdoor music hub. Motueka High School-based bands, KC Penelomay and Imperfect Circles, which both have songs released on Spotify, are among the line-up.  The free event kicks off at 5pm.

Back in Motueka, a second Pukapuka Talks session, entitled Unsettled, is offered at the library on Tuesday, 29 October, at 6pm.

Lauren Keenan will be returning to the space, together with fellow historical author Cristina Sanders, for a chaired discussion about their lauded back catalogue and newly released titles.  The pair are described as “two of Aotearoa New Zealand’s pre-eminent historical fiction writers”, with their work telling the stories from the perspectives of people who have been largely forgotten by history.

The session, like many others in the festival, is priced using last year’s popular “pay what you can” trial, with five tiers of pricing options.  The aim of this, Kerry explains, is to make the arts more accessible, while also allowing those who can afford it a way to support attendance from those who otherwise could not.

The 2024 festival’s final Motueka-based event will be a performance by comedian Rhys Mathewson, will be performing at the library on Wednesday, 30 October at 7.30pm. He quips that libraries are a beacon of civilisation, an unimpeachable public and social good, “and I am deeply honoured to have the chance to undermine that with my jokes”.

“I can only assume that if people aren’t laughing then they are merely respecting the usual rules of the library. But yes, I am absolutely thrilled to be at the Motueka library - it is not often an audience can heckle you by reaching to a nearby bookshelf and starting to read War and Peace.”