International eyes on NZ's performing arts.

International theatres, performing arts producers, and promoters are this week tuning in to the Herald Theatre at the Aotea Centre, where the PANNZ Arts Market 2021 is in full swing showcasing the work of some of Aotearoa’s best performing artists in a virtual first for the industry.

The annual PANNZ (Performing Arts Network of New Zealand) Arts Market is New Zealand’s premier event for artists, producers, presenters, and industry leaders from across the performing arts sectors. As the country’s sole marketplace for the presentation of performing arts, the Arts Market is integral to supporting the professional industry. Each year it provides a unique environment where networks and relationships between national and international arts organisations, companies, and performance artists are built; work can be showcased and pitched; and artists can secure opportunities to perform on stages around New Zealand and the world.

With Covid-19 and lockdowns putting paid to an in-person event in 2021, PANNZ - in a partnership with Auckland Live - responded with this week’s first-ever hybrid NZ arts market where delegates access video excerpts of dance, theatre, circus and music performances and converse in real time with the artists and arts companies behind them.

Nearly 300 delegates from NZ, Australia, the UK, USA, Scandinavia, Canada, China, and South East Asia have registered to connect with the 80-plus Kiwi creatives taking part including Tami Neilson, Anna Coddington, Atamira Dance Company, NZ Opera, NZ Trio, The Dust Palace, Malia Johnston, and Hawaiki TŪ.

Thanks to Auckland Live’s technical team working seamlessly to enable live feeds from the creatives in locations across NZ while linking back to live hosting from members of the PANNZ team from the bespoke television studio set up in the Herald, the 2021 Arts Market is attracting eyes on a global scale and supporting the development of the New Zealand performing arts industry.

Next up on the arts calendar – alert levels permitting - is the two-day PANNZ in-person Arts Market at the Auckland Town Hall in March. Timed for the opening of the Auckland Arts Festival when many NZ creatives will be in the city, the event will focus on networking and panel discussions, and enable further korero between artists and presenters, face to face.

Auckland Live is proud of the critical role it plays in its networking and support of the arts industry and its long-standing relationship with PANNZ, which was recognised at the 2020 Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai / Wellington Theatre Awards, with a Ghost Light Award for the organisations’ joint online hui series.