Cultural Activities

We foster bilateral cultural exchange programs between Germany and New Zealand. We initiate film series, exhibitions, concerts, seminars and festivals, always with the goal to facilitate artistic production, reception and reflection involving actors from both countries.

KinoFest 2024

KinoFest is the Goethe-Institut's annual festival in Southeast Asia and New Zealand for contemporary German cinema. This year's curated programme will take place from 2nd to 10th of November at the Vic Devonport in Auckland.

©Goethe-Institut / Anschlaege.de
Picture me

"Picture Me" brings the rich tradition of European children’s books to Aotearoa New Zealand in a lively festival of art and ideas. Antje Damm from Germany, Aurore Petit from France and Piotr Socha from Poland will be conducting workshops, readings, professional events, and more in Wellington and Christchurch.

©Learners
Sound of X

How can we reconnect with the spaces we live in, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic? The artists of Sound of X propose answers as they explored their sonic environment. The resulting video soundscapes offer a unique experience of our cities.

© Goethe-Institut / Photo: Benny Suhendra Panjaitan / Design: Groupe Dejour
Le Monde diplomatique – The comic page

This unique comic exhibition, curated by Karoline Bofinger, features the comics of 50 German artists and one work of the New Zealand artist Tim Gibson.

© LE MONDE diplomatique
Art Upside Down

The Goethe-Institut New Zealand and Contemporary HUM present a series of portraits about New Zealand artists who have found a new physical - and artistic - home in Germany.

© Isobel Joy Te Aho-White
Queer Comic Conversations

In the comic series Queer Comic Conversations by the artists Illi Anna Heger and Sam Orchard, Illi and Sam take you along on their monthly catch-ups. Illi Anna from Munich and Sam from Wellington meet in different locations, like the CSD, a demonstration, the Munich Pride, Wellington Pride and a gay bar.
Sustainable Tourism

Berlin writer Beatrice introduces us to sustainable tourism initiatives, guided tours and encounters in Germany while Kiwi blogger Jub reports which initiatives there are in New Zealand that support sustainable tourism.

© Goethe-Institut
Lifeswap

Lifeswap is a series of animated Skype chats between Jörg from Germany and Duncan from New Zealand. Facing their respective quarter life crises, they decided it was time for a change.

© Goethe-Institut
Lifeswap - The Lockdown Diaries

Our favourite animated comic duo, Duncan and Jörg from Lifeswap, are back just when we need them. In his first week of coronavirus lockdown in Germany, Duncan has been using his days indoors to video-document his latest hilarious musings on the German language and culture, and he needs a, literally, captive audience.

© Steffen Kreft