Story Worlds Festival: A Celebration of Storytelling

A new festival celebrating storytelling is coming to NPDC’s iconic Puke Ariki and Govett-Brewster Art Galley | Len Lye Centre between 11 to 14 September.

Story Worlds is presented by the two venues and will welcome 21 speakers for 20 events over four days where   audiences will experience storytelling as an interconnected practice.  There is a brilliant line-up of thinkers, storytellers, authors and artists to explore how stories shape our understanding of the world—organised according to the festival themes of language, ecology, and participation.

Visitors can expect conversations and hands-on workshops that connect to literature, film, indigenous worldviews, kids’ storytelling sessions, illustration, creative practice, risograph printing, and more.

Keynote storytellers will take to the podium each day: Kaye-Maree Dunn, renowned Māori tech entrepreneur; Naomi Arnold, author of Northbound, one of Puke Ariki’s most frequently issued books in 2024; Catherine Chidgey, author of runaway bestseller and Women’s Prize for Fiction-longlisted The Book of Guilt. Athens-based artist and author James Bridle will livestream to audiences in an environmentally-responsible keynote session to talk about his book Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence.

The festival is the first combined project bought to you by NPDC’s Cultural Experiences teams, comprising Puke Ariki Museum and Libraries and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery | Len Lye Centre.

“This is our first chance for Ngāmotu (New Plymouth) communities to experience all that’s possible now that our much‑loved Ngāmotu cultural institutions are connected,” says Public Programme and Learnings Lead, Lleah Smith.

“We are spaces for telling stories — it’s what we share in common — we just share them differently. This festival celebrates that.”

Story Worlds offers an open invitation: to listen deeply, speak honestly, and imagine boldly—together.

“The programme has been designed by our teams to meet the interests of diverse age groups and promote intergenerational connection through being curious about ways we explore, learn about and share ideas about the world,” says Zara Stanhope, Manager Cultural Experiences.

Prices for sessions have been intentionally kept affordable or free to ensure that the whole community can experience Story Worlds.

“Whether you’re a reader, researcher, digital art enthusiast, arts lover, parent, educator, technologist, or simply curious—we look forward to sharing Story Worlds with Taranaki.”

Story Worlds is 11–14 September 2025 at Puke Ariki Museum & Libraries and Govett-Brewster Art Gallery | Len Lye Centre.  Explore the programme at pukeariki.com/story-worlds.

Fast Facts

• The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery opened in 1970, funded by a bequest from local woman Monica Brewster (nee Govett).
• Puke Ariki, meaning Hill of Chiefs, stands on a former prominent Pā site in central New Plymouth, and opened as a combined library and museum in 2003.
• New Plymouth District Council brought Puke Ariki Museum and Libraries and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery | Len Lye Centre together to form Cultural Experiences in 2024.
• Around 779,589 people visit NPDC’s cultural experiences institutions each year.
• Across the two cultural institutions visitors can see exhibitions of contemporary art, history and culture; events and education programmes; an independent cinema within the Len Lye Centre, Isite and ticketing hub, cafés, and retail stores.

Caption: From left, top row Ankit Mishra, Catherin Chidgey, Clare Moleta, Clarence Slockee and Natasha McKinney.  Second row Elisapeta Heta, Glenn Martin, Holly Shanahan, Hamish Cameron and Tim Jones.  Third row, Inga-Wiktoria Påve, James Bridle, Kay-Maree Dunn, work by WharehokaSmith and Mikaela Nyman. Bottom row, Kirsty Wadsworth, The Lalaga Youth Ambassadors, Dr Mahutoa ‘Pasha’ Clothier, Michael Bennett and Naomi Arnold.