Te Ahurei Whakaari o Kōanga 2026 | Kōanga Festival 2026
Celebrating new Māori storytelling at the time of Kōanga
Te piko o te whakaaro, te tupu o te whakaari, tākiritia!
Our 12th Festival is a time to celebrate the beauty and audacity of our creative natives and Tangata Moana mates in these trying financial and political times. Set against the bleak and extremely challenging financial and political landscape, our story makers spring forth with new ideas, they continue to keep their stories alive and thriving. This year's festival programme hums with vibrant new voices and new showcases alongside acclaimed established artists and stories.
Kōanga will be a bright burst of energy and life filled with a smorgasbord of shows and experiences.
Check out the 2026 Kōanga Festival Programme...
Related Events
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TĀKIRITIA
10 SEPTEMBER
Festival opening event with opera, waiata, poetry, and prose.
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WHĀNAU DAY
12 SEPTEMBER
Free family-friendly event open to all. Storytelling, kapa haha, kōrero, and kai.
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TE ARERO TOI
13 SEPTEMBER
Free writing wānanga for kaituhi Māori.
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IHIRANGARANGA
13 SEPTEMBER
Live collaborative performance blending taonga puoro, spoken word, and real-time painting.
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GRASS ROOTS
16 SEPTEMBER
A musical comedy about the (very) queer son of a rugby player.
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I WAS BORN TO SPEAK
17—18 SEPTEMBER
A bilingual show using spoken word, theatre, and kapa haka to shine a light on the silencing of te reo Māori.
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WAI TAWHITO
17—18 SEPTEMBER
An acknowledgement story, a ritual, a challenge to the perception of time.
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SCRIPTS & SIPS | SATURDAY
19 SEPTEMBER
Play-readings of new works by Ellen-Moana Smith, Poe Tiare Tararo, and Roy Iro.
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AROHA-HA
20 SEPTEMBER
A celebration of Māori comedy, bringing together some of the funniest voices in the motu for one unforgettable night.
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SCRIPTS & SIPS | SUNDAY
20 SEPTEMBER
Play-readings of new works by Maioha Allen, Reon Te Aorangi Max Rose, Huia Max Rose, and Parekawa Finlay.
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UPU
20 SEPTEMBER
A stunning theatrical experience of Pacific poetry on stage. Festival closing event.
WHAKAPAPA | Kōanga Festival
2026 marks the 12th annual Kōanga Festival. As we continue to move into double digits, we honour the journey taken to get to these special milestones. 2024 marked the biggest festival to date, spanning three and a half weeks with 11+ events – it was our most extensive national programme of whakaari Māori. In 2025 we went intimate, intentional and intergenerational. Focussing on supporting upcoming artists and playwrights across theatre works, contemporary dance and music. As well as celebrating our kaumatua and programming some of our key Māori creatives from Te Ao Whakaari and beyond.
Kōanga Festival has supported 44 new whakaari, and 51 new kaituhi since its inception.
We mihi to the very talented Tyrone Ohia & team at Extended Whānau, who held us through wānanga to deliver the fresh āhua of Kōanga Festival that will see us into the future of Māori storytelling.
The Kōanga Festival look you see today sprouted from the want to whakamana our ingoa through waituhi, giving strong visual symbolism to the name Kōanga and the unfurling of Māori stories. We went bold with the kōwhai; embracing our festival whakapapa, the kōwhai flower, happiness, sunshine, warmth, creativity, energy, and fun – everything that we believe the festival represents.
This year, we hero Te Henga, black sands, rugged West Coast whenua and the crashing moana . We are grateful to have our whare stand on the whenua of Te Kawerau a Maki and have immense pride in residing in the West
