On Thursday 12 November at Auckland’s Aotea Centre, 27 of New Zealand’s leading creative practitioners will showcase the breadth, depth, diversity and potential of the creative industries.

Held annually for 18 years, Semi Permanent has brought global creative leaders working across the sector’s broad disciplines to Aotearoa New Zealand to inspire, engage and connect creative professionals.

This year, however, with the creative sector seriously affected by coronavirus pandemic fallout, the event has been repurposed to meet new objectives, including to inspire and help ‘reboot’ the combined creative industries. To that end – and thanks to new sponsors Alt Group, Special Group and Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) – Semi Permanent is free to attend; it’s a way of giving back to the creative communities that have provided support over the years and to inspire a new generation to take up creative careers.

It will also be live-streamed in full (another first), making it freely available to anyone, anywhere. The lineup is a stellar mix of New Zealand’s brightest talents and most influential figures in design, technology, art, architecture, advertising, and screen production. They include leading contemporary artist Lisa Reihana, fashion icon Kate Sylvester, Billy Apple – New Zealand’s greatest artist, Wallpaper* Designer of the Year 2020 Sabine Marcelis, ex-Apple industrial designer Danny Coster, multi-disciplinary artist Coco Solid, and serial entrepreneur Greg Cross, whose latest venture, Soul Machines, is changing the face of human-digital interaction.

There will also be live performances – from the legendary contemporary dance group Black Grace, poet Tayi Tibble, rising rapper and producer Vayne, and Troy Kingi, a multi-genre musician and 2020 Silver Scroll finalist. Associated events include an exhibition at Objectspace, Ponsonby, dedicated to the work of NOM*d, the fashion label founded by Margi and Chris Robertson 35 years ago.

For more information, see semipermanent.com and to register for the free ticket ballot and live stream, click here.