19 December 2025
‘Tis the season to not only be jolly, but to reflect on the year that has been and the year ahead. We asked four artists within the 2026 Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts programme to share their season wishes – whether it be personal or global.
Hone Kouka
Writer and Director of Waiora: Te Ūkaipō, The Homeland
To be honest my Christmas wish would be peace globally in Palestine, Sudan, West Papua, Congo, and an end to war and persecution. Not a light want, but important to me and us as an Indigenous organisation [Tawata Productions].
Michael Norris
Composer and Curator of SoundCathedral
I wish for everyone to have a sonically adventurous holiday season, whether that’s listening to a new artist, a new genre, or just listening a bit more carefully to the people and natural soundscape around us.
Kelly Nash and Nancy Wijohn (Body Island – Motu Tinana)
Mythosoma
Our Christmas wish is for more slow mornings, good coffee, warm beaches, and easy laughter. A summer where everyone gets at least one moment that feels like pure magic. Here’s to rest, joy, and starting 2026 with full hearts.
John Psathas
Composer of Voices at the End
My wish is that we start relearning how to be meaningfully in each other’s presence. To have countless beautiful, memorable times together, escaping the suffocating embrace of technology and electronic media. To experience simple things, enjoyed to the full, in real life, with each other.
Disclaimer: ARTicle includes a variety of content, including interviews, editorial commentary and links to external sources. The views expressed by interviewees, editors and external sources are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Tāwhiri, its team, or its partners.