TAFT 30 years logo
TAFT 30 years logo

Arts thrive here

TAFT is dynamic, modern and iconic, our hand is on the pulse of cutting-edge creative energy.

Here at the Taranaki Arts Festival Trust, we’ve been enriching the lives of our people since 1991. We’re proud to present some of the best, world-class festivals and events right here in Taranaki, New Zealand.

Womad, the Centuria Taranaki Garden Festival, Tropfest, Kinetika and the hugely successful Taranaki Arts Festival have brought together people, performers and the community and have become part of the fabric of Taranaki life.

Where it all began

TAFT presented it’s first festival in March 1991.

A first of its kind, the Taranaki Arts Festival attracted considerable national attention and generated extraordinary enthusiasm locally.

Taranaki was set alight with world-class entertainment, feeding people’s appetite for the cultural ‘stuff’. It was an unprecedented success.

The festival showed that arts and live performances could become a major catalyst for encouraging tourism within the region, stimulating the city, businesses, and people ignited by the 150 shows and 500 artists curated into the programme.

You can browse our archive of festivals, shows, photos and videos here:

Spiegel Fest 2022

Taranaki Arts Festival presents Spiegel Fest!

It is a real treat for us here at Taranaki Arts Festival Trust (TAFT) to dust off the incredible Pacific Crystal Palace Spiegeltent and bring it back after a lonely few years of sitting in containers due to COVID disruptions. 

Spiegel Fest 2022 celebrates the power of the arts.

It celebrates the power to add vibrancy to our community and to enrich our region culturally. It celebrates the economic power – to inject spending into our CBDs and our hospitality businesses and attract visitors. But most importantly, the power to make us feel good – to invigorate social connections and community well-being. It’s the end-of-year celebration we all deserve.

Arts Festivals are all about bringing people together, building connections, and sharing live experiences, and that has been a difficult thing to do in a pandemic. Yet research found that as a country, we’re more optimistic than ever about the vital role the arts play in our lives, particularly navigating life in a pandemic. Evidence has shown regular engagement in arts and culture is associated with higher levels of life satisfaction, lower mental distress, and better mental functioning. We firmly believe the arts matter and have a crucial role in our recovery.

We invite you to buy a ticket or attend one of our free events — to connect, participate and celebrate. 

We look forward to seeing you in the Spiegeltent this November!

Spiegel Fest proudly brought to you by Baker Tilly Staples Rodway

Follow the festival

Enriching your social feed with festival inspo!

Celebrating its 20th anniversary of the festival at the award-winning Bowl of Brooklands and Brooklands Park, in New Plymouth. WOMAD NZ will welcome performers back for 2023 from around the world and across Aotearoa. 

Rediscover the world and experience its goodness through music, multiculturalism, art, workshops, and food. People of all ages can discover and be exposed to new experiences, be enlightened, and build memories with their friends and whanau.

WOMAD 2023 is one of the most anticipated tickets on the festival calendar; with limited tickets on sale for 2023, don’t miss the WOMAD NZ 2023, an epic 20-year celebration!

Follow our socials for all festival updates!

The Latest News

Explore our festivals

Subscribe to our newsletters

For those who like an exciting events calendar

Keep up to date with our latest news and events, including upcoming festivals, pop-up gigs, featured artists and performers, and other interesting updates.