Art & Culture
As a result of its heritage as a nation of migrants, New Zealand is a land of considerable cultural and artistic diversity.
Early Maori art & culture has survived through the turbulence of European settlement and can now be seen re-emerging and influencing artistic endeavours in every aspect of our culture.
Other influences on our art and culture are as wide as the people that have chosen to live here. Early Scottish Protestant and Irish Catholic emphasis has since been mixed with a truly international following of Greek, German, Dutch, Spanish, American, Asian and other Pacific influences.
The result is a very mixed society where art and culture will sometimes mix into entirely new and original forms such as the International World of Wearable Arts Festival, and at other times highlight the contributions of one culture’s homeland, such as the annual Chinese New Year and Diwali Festivals that are now a highlight in many regions.
Perhaps the most consistent features of all New Zealand culture are its freshness and diversity. The relative youth of the nation, and the wide mix of different cultures now here, create an environment where it is easier to do something completely new that has not been tried before - and the geographic distance from older more established centres of human civilisation also fosters a pioneering spirit that encourages both freedom of thought, and of expression.
In recent decades New Zealand has embraced the ‘café culture’, adopting the best of many aspects of what Kiwis have enjoyed most overseas, and fusing it with the raw ingredients that we excel in producing.
The result is a culture that with great quality or variety compared to all but the most renowned global hotspots, and in many respects matches or exceeds them all.
Suggested sites:
New Zealand History.net
Te Ara - the online Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
Te Papa Tongarewa - the National Museum & Gallery
W.O.W. - the World of Wearable Art
Auckland War Memorial Museum
