What to do in Auckland this weekend: Learn about culture, space and photographic history

Visit the magical forest at the Architects of Air: Arborialis Luminarium. Photo / Architects of Air

Looking for something to do this weekend?

There are plenty of inspiring activities taking place in the city - Auckland is a hub of unique and exciting activities - from environmental activities and observatories to unique museums, performances, and beautiful art.

Architects of Air: Arborialis Luminarium

There’s something pretty spectacular popping up in Aotea Square on Saturday. Architects of Air: Arborialis Luminarium is an inflatable walk-in light installation that has winding paths and an “immersive music score” that gives visitors the sense that they’re wandering - perhaps lost - in a magical forest. Architects of Air, a UK-based organisation founded by artist Alan Parkinson, have been constructing these luminaria since the 90s and they’ve taken them all around the world, each one created by hand over four to six months. It’s a whimsical way to experience and interact with art and truly a sight to behold.

April 13-28, Monday-Wednesday 11am-5pm, Thursday-Sunday 9am-5pm. Aotea Square, Auckland CBD. Tickets $17-$20 + booking fees from aucklandlive.co.nz

Visit the Bell House at Howick Historical Village for a unique Eco Day in Auckland. Photo / Howick Historical Village

East Auckland Eco Day and Village Fete

Head out east on Sunday for a unique Eco Day that harkens back to sustainable practices of the past right through to today. East Auckland Eco Day is taking place on the lawns of the Bell House at Howick Historical Village where you’ll find stalls, resources, demonstrations, giveaways, local environmental groups and experts on composting, chicken and beekeeping, and more. Renowned environmentalist Lenny van Heugten will be giving a talk at 11am about the incredible 30-year project to save the kōkako from extinction. And, inside the village itself, there’s a Village Fete Live Day which sees the historic township come alive with practices of yore. You can churn your own butter, make your own rug from fabric scraps, and learn about bees from The Bee Lady. If you need some sustenance to keep your sustainable enthusiasm high, the onsite cafe and sweet shop will be open and the gelato cart is rolling in too.

East Auckland Eco Day: April 14, 10am-2pm. Bell House, 75 Bells Rd, Lloyd Elsmore Park, Pakuranga, Auckland. FREE.

Village Fete Live Day: April 14, 10am-4pm. Howick Historical Village, 75 Bells Rd, Lloyd Elsmore Park. Adult $18; student/senior $14; child $10; family $46; under 5s free.

Discover 60 cultures' unique traditions, food, dance, and music at Tāmaki Makaurau's Culture Fest. Photo / Eyeview Ethnic Trust

Culture Fest

Celebrate the melting pot that is Tāmaki Makaurau this Sunday at Culture Fest where over 60 cultures will be showcasing their unique traditions, food, dance, and music. Part of Auckland Council’s World of Cultures festival, Culture Fest will be turning Mt Roskill War Memorial Park into the most vibrant and diverse party this city’s ever seen. There will be over 100 stalls with food, arts and crafts, clothing, and fair trade goods from all over the world as well as several stages of music, dance, and cultural performances and a photographic exhibition by the Eyeview Ethnic Trust. We’re already salivating thinking about all the delicious kai we’re going to sample.

April 14, 11am-5pm. Mt Roskill War Memorial Park, 15 May Rd, Mt Roskill, Auckland. FREE.

Astronomy lovers are in for a galactic adventure at the Stardome Observatory & Planetarium. Photo / Stardome Observatory & Planetarium

Zeiss Telescope

If pictures of the solar eclipse in the US this week have reignited your interest in planets and stars, you’ll be pleased to hear that the Stardome Observatory & Planetarium reopened its EWB Zeiss Telescope to the public on Friday. The telescope, which was installed at the planetarium in 1967, is one of only 25 of its kind in the world. Sadly, last year the copper roof of the telescope was stolen. Now, after a repair that cost almost as much as a small house outside Auckland, the telescope is once again open for Aucklanders to get glimpses into deep space. Pondering the significance of our existence is optional. It’s open for ticketed sessions on Friday and Saturday nights, weather permitting, with expert commentary as well.

Weekly on Friday and Saturday nights from April 12. Stardome Observatory & Planetarium, 670 Manukau Rd, One Tree Hill Domain, Auckland. Tickets $20 adult; $15 child, student and senior from stardome.org.nz

A photo of a picnic party at Thames in 1884, recovered at the Auckland Museum. Photo / John Martin Hawkins Lush / Auckland Museum Collection

A Different Light

Now that we all carry cameras in our pockets and take snapshots of our lives with almost too much ease and frequency, it’s hard to imagine a time when photography was a laborious, just-burgeoning art form. A new exhibition which explores that era in Aotearoa’s photographic history opened this week at Auckland Museum. A Different Light: First Photographs of Aotearoa delves into our photographic archives to find the earliest examples of photography from the mid to late 19th century, with the earliest recorded daguerreotype dating back to 1848. It’s a fascinating insight into New Zealand life and culture at the time and a stunning visual essay covering the birth of a new technology that has had an immeasurable impact on the way we document, and ultimately understand, the world we live in.

On now until September 2024. Sainsbury Horrocks Gallery, Level 2, Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland Domain, Parnell. Free with Museum entry.

Listen to the majestic performance of orchestra and choir Bach Musica at the Auckland Town Hall. Photo / Bach Musica Source

Bach Musica

On Sunday evening, classical music fans are being treated to the first concert in the 2024 programme of combined orchestra and choir Bach Musica. At the Auckland Town Hall, conductor Rita Paczian will lead a performance of Bach B Minor Mass along with well-known masterpiece Brandenburg Concerto No 3. It’s the first of four concerts for the year, with The Lark Ascending and Best of Dvorak in June; Mendelssohn Symphony No 2 Hymn of Praise, op 52 in September and Bach Christmas Oratorio (parts 4-6) in December. Paczian has called the 2024 season “Music for the soul in our troubled world” and if that sounds like the musical salve you need, there are still some tickets available for Sunday’s performance.

April 14, 5pm. Auckland Town Hall, Queen St, Auckland CBD. Tickets start at $45 + booking fees from ticketmaster.co.nz

Get tickets to watch CMA award-winning artist Kaylee Bell at the Town Hall. Photo / Chontalle Musson

Kaylee Bell

If you hurry, you might just be lucky enough to score yourself some last-minute tickets to CMA award-winning artist Kaylee Bell who’s performing at the Town Hall on Saturday night. This is the second to last stop on her New Zealand tour of Nights Like This, which included two shows in her hometown Waimate. Rapidly becoming Aotearoa’s most successful country music artist, Bell heads off to tour Australia next and then back to Nashville, the town she now calls home. Opening for Bell is local pop up-and-comer NAVVY, who you probably know from her radio hit Til You’re Ready, but what you might not know is that this talented woman has written for Rita Ora and Zara Larsson. There are only a handful of tickets left for the Auckland show but if you miss out, you could just take a wee roadtrip to see her final show in Taupō on April 19.

April 13, 7.30pm. Auckland Town Hall, Queen St, Auckland CBD. Tickets start at $49 + booking fee from ticketmaster.co.nz

Check out some of the best creative talent from Aotearoa at this year's Aotearoa Art Fair. Photo / Aotearoa Art Fair

Plan ahead: Aotearoa Art Fair

Opening on Thursday is one of the biggest art events in the country and your chance to see some of the best creative talent from Aotearoa and the wider Pacific Rim on display. Taking over the Viaduct Events Centre and spilling out into Karanga Plaza, this year’s Aotearoa Art Fair includes a broad range of artistic mediums including interactive art installations and performances. There’s an impressive line-up of galleries participating including Starkwhite, Gow Langsford, McLeavey Gallery, Michael Lett, Jhana Millers Gallery, Two Rooms, Martin Browne Contemporary, Bergman, Tim Melville, Artis, Milford Gallery and more.

Now owned by the organisers of international art fairs like Sydney Contemporary and Tokyo Gendai, this year’s fair is going to be bigger than ever with panel discussions, workshops, food and drinks. Whether you’re a collector or an admirer, a wander around the Aotearoa Art Fair next week is a delightful way to spend your time.

April 18-21. Viaduct Events Centre, Wynyard Quarter, Auckland CBD. Tickets $29 online, $34 on the gate (general entry); concession $27 online, $30 on the gate; opening night $100 admits two (limited release); Premier Art Pass $132 online, $150 on the gate; children under 12 free with a paying adult. Visit artfair.co.nz for more information and tickets.

Watch Silo Theatre's 2024 season shows, starting with Scattergun. Photo / Silo Theatre

Plan ahead: Scattergun

We couldn’t be more excited that Silo Theatre is back with live theatre after taking a performance hiatus last year to focus on artistic development. They’re kicking off the 2024 season with a remarkable one-woman show created and performed by Ana Chaya Scotney (Ngai Tūhoe), known for Millie Lies Low, Cousins and The Breaker Upperers. ScatterGun: After the Death of Rūaumoko follows Scotney’s Agnes over the course of one night in Tāmaki Makaurau following the memorial for her little brother Rūaumoko. Agnes encounters a range of characters during her travels, each performed by Scotney, who received the NZ Fringe Festival Outstanding Solo Performance award and the Sydney Fringe Tour Ready award for ScatterGun. This production, however, is slightly different from earlier iterations, with direction from Silo artistic director Sophie Roberts and dramaturgy from Jason Te Kare. Scotney is an incredible talent and ScatterGun is a must-see production, if only to witness her magic live on stage.

April 18 - May 4. Q Theatre Loft, Queen St, Auckland CBD. Tickets start at $30 + booking fees from qtheatre.co.nz