At some point in my mid-twenties, I decided to stop staring mournfully into my long black, complaining about how little there was for me in my hometown of Wellington. Instead, I decided to embrace living here wholeheartedly, starting with writing a regular blog about the people I knew.
Now 31, I've seen people my age or older complain that Wellington's lost its edge. I strongly disagree – it might just be that it's time to hand the baton to the next generation. While researching my book The Residents: Made in Wellington, I found plenty of fresh talent. For those looking, there are plenty of bright young things and exciting new haunts to discover – if you only get off your sofa and look.
Here are 9 things that prove that the next generation of Wellingtonians are leading the way.
1. The Nightlife: Club 121 - While many might look back on their youth and remember 'the golden years' of Wellington, I'd advise those who feel like Wellington has passed its heyday to take a look in the mirror and ask what they're doing to support the up-and-coming crowd for the future. The current generation of twenty-somethings Gen-Z's don't pine for Mighty-Mighty, a nightclub they never had. They dance their ironic-90's tube socks off at Club 121 - opened by Olly de Salis and Cameron Morris in 2018. The line to get in is always long on a Saturday night, but once you're in, it's worth it. Pure rave, strobe lights, furry cowboy hats, and sweat drench the dance floor, which goes until 4 am. Their Halloween Party is legendary. "It's not about whose DJ'ing," says one goer. "It's about the experience."
2. The Bar Scene: Nightflower – This Summer, it seems to all be about seltzers. However, when you're not drinking at home, you might wish to head to the secret bar Nightflower, a bar so discreet even reviewers can't find it. Hidden unassumingly between Cuba Street's 1154 Pastaria and The Rogue & Vagabond, it is tucked away in a gothic building off Cuba Street. It boasts fragrant cocktails, secluded spots to chat, and is supposed to be the hang-out for local names-about-town.
3. The Restaurant: Hiakai. Some may wistfully remember Martin Bosley's white table cloths at the Port Nicholson Yacht Club, but that was mostly before my time. You'd have to have asleep for the past five years if you weren't aware of Hiakai and Bosley's protégé Monique Fiso. Surprisingly, however, many Wellingtonian are yet to eat at Hiakai, just up the hill in Mount Cook. My husband and I recently did a degustation for his 30th. We were blown away by food that wove seasonal foraged New Zealand edibles with Maori myth and legend, accompanied by delicious non-alcoholic drinks. Honourable mentions go to Highwater Eatery and Rita in Aro Valley.
4. Shopping: Instagram is more than a social network for Gen Z – it's also their first port of call to find unique and one-of-a-kind clothes. As a teen, I used to lust for New Zealand designer brands I'd seen in Fashion Quarterly (RIP) like Karen Walker and Workshop. Today, almost all fashion is happening on Instagram or in op-shops. Many young fashion companies, like Layplan – founded by Talia Soloa and Lavinia Ilolahia - are breaking the rules, selling direct to customers, and bypassing bricks and mortar stockists. They also make custom pieces, which is likely what drew Parris Goebel to ask them to make her a dress for the 2018 National Pacific Business Trust Awards.
5. Festivals: Homegrown is long over. In 2020, it's all about Downtown Shakedown (5 December). This Waitangi Park-based festival kicks off the music season, fusing old school (Fat Freddy's Drop) with new-school icons (Benee). If you enjoy a more Woodstock-inspired muddy multi-day experience, Nowhere Festival – organized by Wellington's Eyegum – kicks former millennial cult favourite Camp-A-Low-Hum to the curb. If you want in, you'll have to add your email to the waitlist – it's all sold out. Honourable mentions also go to Peachy Keen, an all-female line-up - the first of its kind in New Zealand.
6. Drag: Wellington's people are broad-minded, allowing individuals to discover who they want to become – nowhere more so than the drag scene at Ivy and Fringe Bar. These glittery, underground venues have given birth to a new generation of drag kings in recent years. Father of the drag-king scene, George Fowler, trans-man and drag King (winner of House of Drag), believes being based in Wellington was critical to his success as a drag king and trans-man. "It could have turned out differently in a different place. Wellington, as a city, on the whole, is liberal and accepting. There is a culture here that you can be who you are."
7. Fintech: Two Wellington women took home the Westpac Women of Influence Award in 2020 – joint founders of Sharesies Sonya Williams and Brooke Roberts. They aimed to create the most financially empowered generation – and judging by their platform's popularity, which lets all people invest for as little as $5, it's working. It has $7 million invested in the platform and is hiring rapidly in the Wellington region.
8. Culture: Rumour has it that Tāwhiri (directed by the New Zealand Festivals Meg Williams) is working on getting funding for a new immersive/interactive theatre event for next year, based on the experience of going overseas. For those unaware, they created second unit – creating the highly successful What Will You Do in the Shadows? a couple of years back (where members of the public experienced what it was like to be on-set of What we do in the shadows). Given the success of that, there should be plenty to enjoy.
9. Art: Naenae born visual artist Chevron Hassett is a Maori artist revisiting colonisation through the lens of his camera. His work questions the inherently political act of being an artists and an indigenous man. His new exhibition ‘JustUs’ shows pixelated men in jumpsuits pixelated out. Opening 10 December at Enjoy Gallery in Wellington. He recently said to Artzone: “To uphold a Maori voice is a great responsibility which I try to whakaman and manaaki at every level in my life…It’s important to understand that and my place in the world.”
Read about these stories and many more in my book, The Residents: Made in Wellington.