2008 New Zealand International Arts Festival
The New Zealand International Arts Festival follows is the country's premiere cultural event and one of the leading multi-arts festivals in the world. In 2008, 300,000 people attended 360 events featuring over 800 artists from 35 countries.
Absolute Ensemble
Creativity, freshness, innovation & inspiration
The Festival was much greater than the sum of its parts, with highlights including the legendary Mavis Staples singing acoustically in the intimate setting of our Pacific Blue Festival Club; the sell-out 18-performance season of the National Theatre of Scotland's cultural landmark, Black Watch - further enriched by the ensuing talks and debate in connection with New Zealand Post Writers and Readers Week; the long overdue New Zealand premiere of two of the dance world's greats Sylvie Guillem and Akram Kahn in Sacred Monsters; and giving excited children the chance to storm the stage at Aesop's Fables, as part of our new initiative Kids in the Club.
Once again, audiences have been challenged and excited by a wide range of innovative and inspirational programming. Relevance, creativity, freshness and surprise are key ingredients and the 2008 New Zealand International Arts Festival gave New Zealand the very best.
“There was a standing ovation for what was the most anticipated and memorable festival event so far”
New Zealand International Arts Festival Newsletter
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