2025 Auckland Writers Festival
Event 128 Steve Williams: Together We Roared When Tiger Woods went on an unprecedented majors run between 1999 and 2008, one man stood at his side: his caddie Steve Williams. Together they dominated the PGA Tour and won an astonishing 13 major championships, their sights set on breaking Jack Nicklaus’s record 18 majors. Before they could do so, however, their partnership ended abruptly, and a 12-year period without talking began. Years later, the two reconnected. Sam Ackerman sits down with the world-class caddie to hear about his book Together We Roared, which explores what it’s like to ride alongside greatness and offers an insider’s look at a friendship – both on and off the course – that produced one of the most successful duos in golf histo
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The Big Idea: Arts At Full Speed
Organisations all over Aotearoa are beginning to hit the cruise control button and reach for the Christmas drinks trolley - but PANNZ didn't get the memo. The Performing Arts Network of New Zealand is ramping up their important mahi, as they bring forward a multitude of options for artists and producers to secure their 2025 creative plans nice and early. The always popular PANNZ Art Market has opened for registration - the 2025 event taking place in Tāmaki Makaurau between 5-7 March, taking place during the first week of the Auckland Arts Festival to give travelling creatives even more reason to make the trip. The three days curated programme of Pitches, performances and full-length showcases, along with invaluable networking opportunities and panels is always a pivota
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Video: For The Birds
https://youtu.be/8fiDwsr_sCI How a neighbourhood arts practice made it international - and what happens when your art becomes the target of copycat creations. Published on The Big Idea
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SEN (Sydney): The Run Home with Joel & Fletch
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1MGEKDtFH07foC2FxxKhLE?si=a8d49518172740da Stephen 'Beaver; Donald and Sam Ackerman for SENZ join The Run Home with Joel & Fletch
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Video: Art Heals All
https://youtu.be/SOWdSTa4C1w This video is made with the support of NZ on Air Public Interest Journalism Fund. Fiona Hayward has loved art most of her life. In recent years, that life has thrown a number of challenges at her, many which would seem insurmountable to most. Few people go into hospice care with stage four cancer and find a happy ending to their tale. But when she has felt at her lowest, her talent and her passion for painting and other creative outlets have played a crucial part in helping her heal - both physically and mentally. Hayward shared her courageous and extraordinary journey as part of The Big Idea's video series - and detailed how she found her creative path. Art class at high school was enjoyable and in 1979, I stopped creatin
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Video: Continuity of Creativity
https://youtu.be/rRBThFy5QEY This video is made with the support of NZ on Air Public Interest Journalism Fund. David McCracken has forged himself a strong reputation as an artist - quite literally. A noted fabricating sculptor, the Tāmaki Makaurau-based creative works in steel with large-scale metal sculptures, with his work enjoyed in public art displays around the country. But like many fellow successful contemporaries, it hasn't exactly been a cash cow. "I wouldn't recommend it for anyone thinking it's going to be a quick buck," McCracken quips dryly when interviewed for The Big Idea's video series. "It's been years - decades - of application and decades of financial insecurity. I've produced so much work, most of which ended up in the scrap heap
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Video: The Social Artist
https://youtu.be/VWgxm5xSDIw Sebastian Gower is living the dream. Passionate about painting from childhood, Gower has found a way to turn his talents into a full-time career. His skill set is traditional but his approach is a modern one. Across all social media platforms, Gower has amassed a following in excess of 350,000 - with Instagram (164K) and TikTok (132K) his biggest follower base. But it all happened by accident. Gower told The Big Idea “I was trying to set up a live stream for my brothers in the second COVID lockdown. I classically didn't quite know how the internet worked and set it to a public stream. “I looked back to the camera at one point and there's 20,000 people there watching me and I just I froze,
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Video: Stage Of Dreams
https://youtu.be/vdy9WpFIkb8 This video is made with the support of NZ on Air Public Interest Journalism Fund. Opportunities like this don’t come around very often. In fact, being part of the biggest choral event on the planet - the World Choir Games - only became a reality for many New Zealand choirs because of its proximity, held in Tāmaki Makaurau for the first time. Among those taking that opportunity with both hands were Manurewa High School’s Rewaken Polycation Choir - a talented group who represent many different cultures and ethnicities, brought together by their shared love of music and a collective desire to express themselves. Student Charlie Miller explains “The choir represents the different, diverse cultures that connect together. We have people in fr
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Video: Homeless – Where The Art Is
https://youtu.be/YwOk6JKuKfM Steve Christian believes he was put on this earth to be an artist. It’s what brings him the most joy - fulfilling the dream he has held since childhood of trying to make a living from his creations. But as Christian puts it “emptying my cup before I could fill it again.” In a relationship where his passion wasn’t supported, Christian waited until after his daughter had grown up and left home and then decided to put his dreams first. He set off on his own to make his art - losing everything along the way. Undeterred, Christian took to living on the street. Being homeless hasn’t been without its scary moments, and he’s been living in his car for years now. But he’s happy. “Most people would say I was doing the wors
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Video: Art Shines During Matariki
https://youtu.be/9Sy8FyrWMF0 Aotearoa’s newest public holiday means more than just a long weekend. Witness how creatives play a crucial part in making Matariki a true celebration of New Zealand’s many cultures in a uniquely New Zealand way.
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