About Us
Running Since 2011
The Performance Arcade is an acclaimed live art event that attracts 60,000–90,000 people every year to Wellington Waterfront. Every year since 2011 audiences have come for an exciting and diverse programme of works by NZ and International artists, presented within an architectural arrangement of shipping containers.
This innovative space for live art, music and performance presentation offers new encounters between artists and the public. Opening onto the bustling life of the Wellington Waterfront, these sites of encounter engage the public in contemporary art and performance practices outside the familiar constraints of gallery or theatre spaces.
The free admission and waterfront location makes this miniature festival accessible to a broad community, developing empowered audiences and participants in the creative and cultural life of Wellington. Over two weekends every summer, The Performance Arcade becomes a vibrant hub on the waterfront: activating the city, and exposing communities to new ideas and cultural perspectives.
10am–11pm Daily
Experience world-class live music, arts and performance from New Zealand and International artists, for free on Wellington Waterfront. The festival is open from 10am–11pm on each day of presentation, with container works running until 10pm.
Container Series
This signature programme has defined The Performance Arcade from the very beginning. Shipping containers house individual works by artists, creating our unique ‘arcade’ of performance experiences. Open daily from 10am–10pm, containers are used as stages, galleries, or workshops. Ramps are provided for easy access to spaces requiring closer engagement or immersive experiences. Step inside and explore a world where art, performance, and curiosity collide.
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Live Music Series
Enjoy a vibrant programme of live music on our specially installed container stage, featuring local and international acts. Relax on the grass with a drink from Double Vision Brewing’s pop-up bar or grab a bite from our food trucks. Curated by Peter Liley, the lineup spans diverse musical genres from sunny afternoons into the evening. At 10–11pm in The Thirteenth Hour, we close the container works and let the sound system go for one last gig—turning the space into a dance celebration.
Bodybox
A specially designed container serving as both gallery and stage, hosting performance art and movement-based works throughout the day and evening. This programme explores how a body within a metal box can become a vessel for powerful expression.
Te Ara Moana Moves
Te Ara Moana Moves curated by Tupe Lualua. A live performance space that acknowledges the forever changing currents. Set against the scenery of Te Whanganui A Tara, Te Ara Moana is a place to share story, connecting movement artists of Aotearoa, Te Moana Nui A Kiwa, South Africa, Liberia and Germany.
Dusk to Dawn
From nightfall to sunrise, experience video, light, and digital media projected onto the large wall of Te Papa behind the PA2026 site. This programme runs through each evening and into the early hours, keeping the site alight and culminating in the welcome of the dawn at 5am each morning.
Travelling Work
Ko Te Ākau is a visual arts installation and curated performance program that unfolds across live and digital spaces. Designed for both group and solo performances, it is presented within a dispersal installation of light, sound, and video projection. The work invites a 'Mātiro Whakamua' perspective (gazing forward toward the horizon) creating a poetic meeting place between difference, ancestral memory, and collective imagination.
The Pop-Up Bookstore
The Pop-Up Bookstore is back for PA2026. Once again, Book Haven and Rebel Press present a selection of books that engages with the overall kaupapa of our event, the programmed works, and our 2026 focus of Haerenga Moana: voyages of separation, transformation, reconnection.
Artist Workshop & Talks
Connect directly with artists and the creative team through workshops and talks held across PA2026. From sessions for children to workshops on dance, writing, performance, and music, this programme offers a deeper dive into the practices behind the performances and artworks.
The Performance Arcade Creative Council
Our Creative Council was established in 2025 to provide support around the creative vision and kaupapa of The Performance Arcade. This group joins the Associate Director, Music Curator, and Executive Director to form the selection panel for proposed works and then develop a vision for that year's delivery. This unique team of performing arts practitioners will continue to contribute to the event throughout its development and delivery, operating as interlocutors, catalysts, and receptors for the developing shape of the event - looking ahead to the future shape/s of The Performance Arcade as it completes its second decade of operation in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, on Te Aramoana, Wellington Waterfront.
HINEMOANA BAKER (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Te Āti Awa, Ngāi Tahu, England, Germany) Hinemoana's four poetry collections, several original music albums and other sonic and written work have seen her on stages and pages in many countries around the world for the last 25 years.
TIAKI KEREI (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa) is a contemporary Māori dancer and choreographer, writer and facilitator. Tiaki continues to broaden perceptions of Māori contemporary dance having established Whakamana Creatives and Embodied Research Lab.
CHARLES KORONEHO (Ngāpuhi, Te Mahurehure, Te Parawhau, Ngāti Hau) Charles Koroneho is an independent artist working in the fields of performance and culture. He explores interdisciplinarity, cultural collaboration and the intersection between dance, theatre, visual arts and design. He was a special guest and contributor to The Performance Arcade 2023.
MIRANDA MANASIADIS is a director, choreographer, dramaturg, and producer working between Aotearoa and Greece. Born in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Miranda has worked with organisations like Footnote Dance, Pirate and Queen, Royal NZ Ballet and Circa Theatre to define her unique approach to live performance.
MELODY NIXON is a writer, essayist, and scholar working between Aotearoa and USA, specialising in creative non-fiction, performance poetry, and cultural critique - Melody has worked with The Performance Arcade since 2021 on the WHAT IF THE CITY WAS A THEATRE? symposium.