Get Cultured

The city has been the breeding ground for generations of creative talent, right across the artistic spectrum. It boasts a rich heritage in literature, visual art, music, Architecture, fashion, and beyond. From the University of Otago arts fellowships to the underground fringes, Dunedin offers fertile ground for the creatively driven.

  • Fashion

    A noted fashion hub, Dunedin has long been host to the iD Dunedin Fashion Week that showcases both established and emerging designers. Many of the latter come from the Otago Polytechnic Fashion Design School. Unsurprisingly numerous designers choose to take inspiration from the city’s unique mood, with NOM*d, Company of Strangers, Charmaine Reveley, and others working from here.

  • Sport

    In the Octagon there’s a Dunedin Olympic Walk to match the Writers’ Walk. The city has produced many famous sports people, and been host to a raft of memorable sporting moments at venues including Carisbrook, and more recently Forsyth Barr Stadium and the University Oval. The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame can be found in the Dunedin Railway Station, although its future in the city is undecided.

  • Art

    Dunedin’s been called home by some of New Zealand’s best known artists at some point in the careers, including Frances Hodgkins, Colin McCahon, Robin White, Gretchen Albrecht, Shane Cotton, and Ralph Hotere. Some of their works can be viewed at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery in the Octagon. There are also numerous dealer galleries representing all tiers of New Zealand artists.

  • Literature

    Since 2014, Dunedin has proudly claimed the status of a UNESCO City of Literature. It’s well-deserved, as many famous writers, poets, playwrights, and publishers have lived and worked here. Janet Frame, James K. Baxter, Charles Brasch, Roger Hall, Ruth Dallas, A.H. Reed, and Hone Tuwhare are just a few. They’re all represented on the Dunedin Writers’ Walk in the upper Octagon.

  • Music

    The city has a fine musical legacy. The Dunedin Symphony Orchestra has been performing regularly since 1965, while the Mozart Fellowship and the University of Otago Music Department are prominent on the musical landscape. Contemporary music also looms large, from 1970s acts like Lutha and Craig Scott, and bands of the 1980s and 1990s including The Chills, The Clean, Straitjacket Fits, and The 3Ds gaining acclaim overseas. More recently Six60, Nadia Reid, and Anthonie Tonnon have gone on to bigger things.