UNRAVELLING THE SAREE: BEYOND THE FOLD
A community-led exhibition celebrating the South Asian saree
COUCH STORIES 2026
Theatre Royal
Sat 17 Oct | 7pm | 90 min
$25
Origins invites ten Nelson locals to trace where the story began, wherever that beginning happens to be.
Mat Tait: Kupe & the Great Octopus of Muturangi
TE NONINGA KUMU MOTUEKA LIBRARY
Wed 21 Oct | 10.00am | 60 min
$5 per student
TĀWERA/PLAYSPACE WHAKATŪ
Fri 30 Oct | 60 mins | Three group sessions:
Tahi: Upper Primary (8-1O year-olds )
9.15-10.15am
Rua: Intermediate (11-12 year olds)
11am-12pm
Toru: Rua Reo [bilingual] (8-12 year olds)
1.30-2.30pm$5 per student
BOOKINGS: First in, first served – BOOK HERE
Guided by award-winning children’s book author and illustrator Mat Tait, tamariki will be able to engage with one of our earliest stories, the tale of Kupe’s voyage to the land of long white cloud, Aotearoa.
GO HARD OR GO HOME
Honest, fierce and deeply moving, Kiri Allan’s memoir asks what it costs to keep going when you can’t live in half measures, and what it takes to rebuild your life after a series of poor choices. Kiri will kōrero with Kerensa Johnston about finding her way back to Te Ao Marama.
SWING
CREATIVE CANS
Theatre Royal Foyer
22 Oct – 1 Nov
Monday – Friday 12pm – 4pm
+ Pre/during theatre performances
FREE
Creative Cans explores JOY as an act of resistance!
TIRI: TE ARAROA WOMAN FAR WALKING
THE SWIMMER & THE WHALES
NCMA
Fri 23 Oct | 12.30pm | 60 min
$18.50 – $25
Witi Ihimaera Smiler will kōrero with filmmaker Hamish Bennett about how he reclaimed his voice, history and whakapapa by studying te reo Māori. Today a youthful 82-year-old, Witi is more prolific than ever, with three books out in 2026.
TUNE UP
KIRBY LANE
Fri 23 Oct | 5.30pm – 8.30pm | 180 min
FREE
Kick off the Nelson Arts Festival opening weekend with a boogie!
TOWARDS THE TRUTH
NCMA
Fri 23 Oct | 7.30pm | 60 min
$18.50 – $25
Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka discusses his life and literary adventures since winning the 2022 Booker Prize for his astonishing novel, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. Chaired by Kiran Dass.
NIGHT, MA
Twelve years in the making, Night, Ma is Elizabeth Knox’s intimate account of how she and her family contended with a series of calamities in rapid succession. With Kim Hill guiding the conversation, Elizabeth will dive deep on the process of bringing this daring, revealing and compassionate memoir into the world.