Aoraki Mt Cook to be location for upcoming Tenzing Norgay movie about Everest climb
Directed by Australian documentarian Jennifer Peedom, Tenzing is scheduled to film in Aoraki/Mt Cook next month, with its snow-capped, rugged landscape serving as the backdrop of the world-famous
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
11 hours ago
- Scoop
Michael Reid Art Gallery To Present Major Exhibition Of First Nations Artworks In Washington, D.C.
Leading contemporary art gallery Michael Reid Sydney + Berlin has today announced The Stars Before Us All, a major exhibition of First Nations artworks to be presented in Washington, D.C., USA, from 15–25 October 2025. A bold articulation of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, The Stars Before Us All will present more than 30 works by 20 artists, including Gaypalani Wanambi, Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Regina Pilawuk Wilson, Owen Yalandja, Djirrirra Wunuŋmurra Yukuwa, Nici Cumpston OAM, Dr Christian Thompson AO, Betty Chimney and more. This presentation in Washington, D.C.'s vibrant downtown Golden Triangle district honours the enduring cultural legacy of Indigenous Australia spanning more than 65,000 years. It will mark the United States debut of several exhibiting artists, including this year's Telstra Art Award-winner Gaypalani Wanambi, whose work will be presented to American audiences for the first time. The Stars Before Us All will be Michael Reid Galleries' first foray into the US market in advance of the opening of a new Los Angeles location later this year. The exhibition will bring together leading contemporary First Nations practitioners working across diverse disciplines and spanning the breadth of the Australian continent, including the Tiwi Islands, Arnhem Land, Far North Queensland, the Torres Strait, the Central Desert, the Kimberley, and beyond. With most works being shown publicly for the first time, the paintings, photography, sculpture, weaving and bark works comprising the show are drawn directly from living artists, respected community custodians, and distinguished private collections. Each stroke, mark, and woven thread in the exhibition offers an intimate revelation – an exploration of the profound visual and cultural impact of First Nations contemporary art within the Australian landscape. Michael Reid OAM, Chairman and Director of Michael Reid Galleries, said: 'Michael Reid Sydney + Berlin is delighted to present The Stars Before Us All in Washington, D.C. and celebrate First Nations art and culture in the United States. This exhibition will coincide with the National Gallery of Victoria's landmark touring exhibition, The Stars We Do Not See at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, emphasising new and collectable works as a contemporary counterpart to the NGV's historical survey. As the world recognises the rightful place of Indigenous voices in art history, we are privileged to share the work of these remarkable artists as a powerful celebration of Australia's cultural roots and living heritage.' At the forefront of the exhibition is Gaypalani Wanambi, a Yolŋu artist from Yirrkala in northeast Arnhem Land and recent winner of the prestigious 2025 Telstra Art Award at the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Awards, valued at $100,000. The daughter of the late, great Mr. Wanambi (1962–2022), with whom she worked for many years, Gaypalani is the pre-eminent practitioner within the Found Movement, which reimagines scrap metal road signs salvaged on Country as raw surfaces for extraordinary works of art. Gaypalani's intricate etchings on metal explore themes relating to Wuyal, the ancestral honey hunter, and the life cycles of bees and stringybark blossoms – elements vital to the Marrakulu clan's homeland of Gurka'wuy. Currently showing at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in the historic exhibition Yolŋu Power: The Art of Yirrkala, Gaypalani's art embodies resilience and renewal, situating her at the forefront of an ascendant generation of Yolŋu artists advancing cultural knowledge and contemporary visual practice. Also on the program is Indigenous art luminary Emily Kam Kngwarreye, who began painting in her late 70s, drawing on her cultural life as an Anmatyerre elder and custodian of women's Dreaming sites in Alhalkere. Over an extraordinary eight-year period, she laid the groundwork to become Australia's most celebrated and sought-after artist of the late 20th century. Her lyrical, gestural paintings reflect the cycles of nature and the spiritual significance of her Country, shaped by the desert environment. Kngwarreye's work redefined the global perception of Australian art, making her a fitting candidate to join the show. In 2025, her work is the subject of a landmark solo exhibition at Tate Modern – her first in Europe – further cementing her legacy as one of the most important artists Australia has ever produced. Award-winning painter, master weaver, and 2025 Sir Sulman Prize finalist Regina Pilawuk Wilson adds to the line-up with her captivating paintings, which channel the core tenets of a generations-spanning weaving tradition into complex painterly compositions that pulse with reverberating, rhythmic movement. Born in 1948 in the Daly River region of the Northern Territory, the Ngan'gikurrungurr artist's paintings and weavings are held in leading collections throughout Australia, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, National Gallery of Victoria and National Gallery of Australia, as well as a significant number of international institutions, including The Seattle Museum and The British Museum. Her contribution to contemporary Indigenous art is significant, as she continues to blend ancestral knowledge with modern materials, ensuring cultural continuity through visual storytelling. Wilson is regarded as a leading figure in the preservation and elevation of First Nations art traditions on a national and global stage. Regina Pilawuk Wilson will travel to Washington, D.C., for the opening of The Stars Before Us All. This will be the first occasion for the artist to visit the room named in her honour at the Australian Embassy to the United States, where architects Bates Smart commissioned a custom golden carpet based on her painting, Syaw. Other artists participating in The Stars Before Us All include Owen Yalandja, Timo Hogan, Charlie Tjapangarti, Rover Thomas Joolama, Wik and Kugu Arts, Djirrirra Wunuŋmurra Yukuwa, Nici Cumpston OAM, Dr Christian Thompson AO, Betty Chimney, Maningrida Weavers, Danie Mellor, Emily Cullinan and Vicki Cullinan.
1News
2 days ago
- 1News
Qantas to boost frequency of Auckland to New York service
Qantas will be running daily direct flights from Auckland to New York for part of next year. The Australian airline announced this morning that the daily direct service would operate between June and October 2026. Qantas currently flies from Auckland to the Big Apple five times a week. The airline has been operating the service since 2023, competing directly with Air New Zealand, which also offers direct flights to New York. "Our Auckland - New York flights have been popular with customers, so we're thrilled to be increasing the service to daily from June to October next year," Qantas CEO International Cam Wallace said. ADVERTISEMENT The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including poll numbers paint grim picture for leaders, Trump sending the National Guard into Washington, and where have all the coaches gone? (Source: 1News) "It continues to be an important market for us and we're looking forward to operating the service alongside our future nonstop options between Sydney and New York with Project Sunrise." Qantas also announced it was introducing its 787 Dreamliner on flights between Auckland and Brisbane. "Together with the daily New York service brings more choice and premium seats to our customers in New Zealand."
The Spinoff
2 days ago
- The Spinoff
What is Christopher Luxon doing on top of a mountain?
He's just a man, standing on a mountain, asking a pavlova to love him. Christopher Luxon is a man on top of a mountain. The prime minister of New Zealand is standing high above Queenstown, the soft white powder of fresh snow beneath his feet and crisp blue skies of a winter's day above him. Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese stands next to Luxon, wearing a yellow and green scarf around his neck. The view across the Southern Alps is spectacular, but neither leader is looking at it. Instead, both men are busy staring intently at something far more impressive in front of them. They are gazing at a pavlova. Christopher Luxon's social media video about pavlova marked the climax of last weekend's 24-hour political lovefest between Albanese and Luxon. Albanese flew into Queenstown for the annual leaders meeting between Australia and Aotearoa, and boy, did they have fun. They laughed, they cuddled, they hung out at a billionaire's private retreat. In between, they discussed trade and defence issues, talked about 501 deportees and Gaza. Mostly, they just had a lovely time together. The most bromantic moment of all came when they took a helicopter up a mountain, where they dined on a feast of sweet treats arranged on the snow. Even when standing in one of the most peaceful and unspoiled parts of the world, Luxon couldn't resist tackling one last critical political issue: who really invented the pavlova, Australia or New Zealand? The identities of two nations rest entirely on what is about to unfold. 'Well look, to all our Australian and Kiwi friends,' Luxon begins in the video, holding a cream-splattered knife in one hand and a paper plate in the other. 'Anthony and I have resolved…' We're only three seconds in, but already Albanese has had enough. 'Quite clearly, it's half-half,' he pipes up. The Australian prime minister points his finger at the pav, first to one half, then the other. One side is artfully covered in sliced kiwifruit, while the other is topped with strawberries and Tim Tam biscuits. Job done, let's move on. The bilateral dessert sits on a table covered with a black cloth, which was also presumably hoiked up the mountain in a helicopter. Also visible is a platter of date scones and two containers of butter. Put these delicious treats together with all the eggs and cream in the pavlova, and at Queenstown prices, that tucker is valued at approximately eight million dollars. Can you put a price on pavlova? Luxon doesn't think so. 'This is a compromise solution, we all know the Kiwis invented the pavlova,' he continues bravely. 'They stole it, they try and claim it.' It's a killer blow. Australia might be tempting record numbers of New Zealanders over with its superior pay, better living conditions and greater job opportunities, but there's one thing we won't let them get away with, and that's having the audacity to claim they were the first to put cream on meringue and name it after a Russian ballerina. It could be the altitude or the alarming sight of Tim Tams on top of a pav, but Luxon starts to ramble. 'But you've seen pieces broken out of it up here on this mountain today, in the South Island, eh?' he asks Albanese. Albanese is too distracted by which half is his half to answer. 'This is clearly Australia,' Albanese repeats, pointing at the pav again. 'That's Australia with your Tim Tams,' Luxon agrees, as if he's speaking to a confused uncle who thinks a pudding is a world map. 'And that's us with our kiwifruit, see?' Suddenly, all is right with the world. These leaders have never been more relatable and everything bad has faded away: the collapse of the health system, the rising cost of living, the prolonged recession, the increase in unemployment and homelessness, whether or not to recognise Palestinian statehood (Albanese has since gone with yes, Luxon is still solving that problem). Now, there is only pavlova. 'Problem solved,' Albanese cheers. 'We have solved a centuries-old debate,' adds Luxon, surprising even himself. 'And we had to come up here…' 'To do it,' both leaders say in unison. Pavlova deep, mountain high. This is exactly what happens when powerful men dine from a silver platter on a mountaintop: they solve the big issues. Some may say pavlova is an issue that nobody gives a shit about, but when was the last time they took a helicopter up a mountain and stared destiny in the face? Have they ever put two Tim Tams on a pudding and lived to tell the tale? Only losers eat dessert at sea level, anyway. Christopher Luxon has solved the great pavlova mystery, once and for all: both nations invented it, which also means, nobody invented it. What more do you want, New Zealand?
