Aotearoa's premiere festival of performance art is looking to appoint three lead roles in bringing their 2026 vision to life. This is an opportunity to become a core part of the team for a number of years, working seasonally with performance and live art practitioners from around Aotearoa and the world.​
 

The Performance Arcade is an annual exhibition and festival programme of events located on Wellington Waterfront, with ten years of successful presentations from 2011-2025. Our hybrid gallery/stage architecture is made from an assembly of shipping containers that create a series of spaces for installation, performance art, sonic art, interactive media, video-art, forums, theatre, dance, and live music. Opening onto the bustling Wellington Waterfront, these sites of encounter engage the public in contemporary art and performance practices outside the familiar constraints of gallery or theatre spaces, visited by 50-90,000 people each year.

We recognise the Mana Whenua of Te Upoko-o-te-Ika-a-Maui (Te Ati Awa, Taranaki Iwi, Ngai Tara) where we present our work every year, and are committed to actively promoting diversity, accessibility, and inclusivity in the presentation of artists and audience experience of our event.
 

ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

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This role involves a range of leadership, creative, technical, administrative, and practical skills throughout the process.  We are looking for someone with curation and event directing interests and experience to work alongside Executive Director Sam Trubridge and The Performance Arcade Creative Council on the development and delivery of the creative vision for PA2026

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You would join the team in August/September to develop the creative vision for the event, help select works from artist applications, and begin liaising with artists to develop and prepare works for presentation. This role would develop over the following six months through finalising programming details, developing the event design and branding, preparing artists and team for the vent, and oversee the execution of the creative vision during setup and presentation.

 

This would be a part-time role scaling up from September 2025 to full time in February 2026. In following years this could move toward full directorship, programming, curation, and creative leadership of the event to develop the succession plan for the event.

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
 

 We are looking for someone with producing experience to work alongside Executive Director Sam Trubridge and The Performance Arcade team on the pre-production and delivery of PA2026. The role requires skills in leadership, fund-raising, financial management, planning, and relationship building.

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This role starts with preparation for The Performance Arcade 2026, with the intention of ongoing responsibility for development of the event in following years. Key tasks involve fundraising, partnerships, stakeholder relationships, human resource management, and maintaining the budget. The Producer will work closely with Executive Director Sam Trubridge to orientate in these areas over the first cycle, then could take responsibility for leading the production team for the event in following years.
 

This would be a part-time (0.6) role going from late September 2025 to mid March 2026. 

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SPATIAL DESIGNER

We are seeking an architectural and spatial designer to join our creative team for the 2026 event and ongoing. This role involves working with shipping containers, scaffolding, and other design elements to create a dynamic performance environment for hosting our artists and public. Our spatial designer develops and executes plans for the layout of the event in dialogue with the artists, creative leadership, production team, and contractors. This includes working on resource consent paperwork, container placement, event furniture, signage systems, and on-site supervision of the construction of our overall event design.

 

This would be a part-time role starting in October 2025 scaling up to two weeks of full time  work in February 2026.
 

ALL ROLES
 

We are committed to Living Wage rates for all staff and artists. The Performance Arcade is committed to providing equal opportunities and safe  environments for all its artists, staff, and audiences.

We are also particularly focussed on developing how the event engages Mātauranga Māori and honors our commitments to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Inclusion and cultural empowerment is how we unleash the power of diversity in Aotearoa. We encourage creative agency, diversity, and teamwork, within in our team in ways that reflect the aspirations of Te Tiriti and our diverse communities.

Roles will be supported by the Artistic Director & Executive Producer, Production Manager, Site Manager, Technical Manager, Event Technicians, Construction Manager, Graphic Designer, as well as external contractors and collaborators. 
 

TO APPLY

Send an introductory email with your curriculum vitae to theplaygroundnz@gmail.com by 18 July 2025, with the following statements/info:
1. Which role you are applying for.

2. Why you are interested in this role.

3. The impact you would like to have on The Performance Arcade.

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