Upcoming Events
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1 August 2025 to 29 September
Zealandia Art Gallery - Underwater Forests of Wellington
Friday 1 August to Monday 29 September 2025, 9.00am-4.30pm
Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne, 53 Waiapu Road, Karori, Wellington
Much like the ancient forests of Zealandia and Otari Wilton Bush, the towering underwater forests along Wellington’s coast form rich and diverse habitats. Often within a stone’s throw from shore, these remarkable marine ecosystems are hidden gems that mirror the complexity and wonder of our land-based forests.
The exhibition invites visitors to explore Wellington’s coastal marine space, Wellington’s Blue Belt, from a new perspective. Centered on striking photographs and artworks, the exhibition reveals the extraordinary diversity and the marine life seaweeds sustain within our coastal waters and highlights the urgent need to protect these vital ecosystems.
All profits from artworks sold support Explore Your Coast.
13 & 14 September 2025
South Coast Arts Trail - Island Bay
Sat-Sun, 13 & 14 September, 10am-4pm
Island Bay Presbyterian Church, 88 The Parade, Wellington
More information on the 2025 South Coast Arts Trail here.
Discover seaweeds from a new perspective and explore the diversity of Wellington’s coast by taking a virtual dive on the VR headsets of the Friends of Taputeranga Marine Reserve. Nicole Miller’s striking photographs and artworks reveal the extraordinary diversity and the marine life seaweeds sustain within our coastal waters.
All profits from artworks sold support Explore Your Coast.
19 September 2025
Exploring Kāpiti's Marine World
Friday, 19 September, 5.30-8.30pm
St Peter’s Village Hall, Paekākāriki, Corner Beach Rd and Ames St
Online tickets ($17.50 plus booking fee): https://events.humanitix.com
Door sales: $20 (cash or bank transfer)
More information: www.exploreyourcoast.co.nz/explorekapiti
This interactive event brings the marine world of the Kāpiti Coast to life through film, discussion, art and immersive storytelling. Learn about local marine ecosystems and biodiversity, take part in a panel discussion on sustainable marine management, and be inspired by seaweed art and 360-degree immersive experiences. Part of Kāpiti Coast District Council Sustainable Spring Programme.
24 September 2025
Movie screening with Q&A and kina tasting, Wellington
Wednesday, 24 September, 6-9pm
Worser Bay Boating Club, Karaka Bay Road, Seatoun
Get your ticket (20 NZD) here: https://www.wbbc.org.nz/events/seaweed-a-love-story
Venue opens at 6pm, kina tasters from 6.30-7.15pm, movie screening and Q&A from 7.15-8.15pm. Stay on to mingle and to share seaweed stories and seaweed art.
Join us for a fundraising screening of Seaweed, A Love Story and some kina tasters! We’ll cook and share some of our favourite kina recipes (incl. a new one!) ahead of the movie. It’s a fun chance to see how you can prepare and taste kina in different ways. Nicole’s striking photographs and seaweed artworks will be available for purchase. All profits from artworks sold support Explore Your Coast.
Past Events
Seaweed Movie & Seaweed Beer
28 August, Heyday Beer Co, Wellington
A NIGHT INSPIRED BY SEAWEED – with seaweed on the screen and in your glass. Watch the short documentary ‘SEAWEED, A Love Story’, followed by a Q&A with film lead Nicole Miller. Explore seaweed art and enjoy HEYDAY’s UNDERWATER FOREST Peated Kelp Stout .
TALK - A Look Under The Waves of Wellington
20 August 2025, Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne, Wellington
This Conservation Kōrero takes you on a visual journey through Wellington’s Blue Belt and explores current conservation successes & challenges. Drawing on years of diving, photography and local restoration work, Nicole will highlight the beauty and fragility of the towering seaweed forests and colourful sponge gardens of Wellington’s coastline. Like forests on land, these underwater habitats support a remarkable diversity of life, yet they face growing pressure from human activity and environmental change and it is more important than ever to bring changes to the surface.
TALK - Shipwrecks of Aotearoa: The Changing World Beneath the Waves
29 July 2025, University of Third Age (U3A), Wellington City
Shipwrecks connect us to the sea and our past, offering powerful reminders of both history and transformation. In this visual talk, Dr. Nicole Miller takes us on a journey through some of Aotearoa’s most significant shipwrecks, using them as windows into the ecological shifts unfolding beneath the waves. From thriving marine life to kelp forest decline, urchin barrens, and the growing threat of oil spills, this talk reveals how change is shaping the world below the surface of the sea.
Gallery Opening - Studio Te Mapunga
20 July 2025, Studio Te Mapunga, Island Bay
Bronze and Ceramic Sculpture by Jenny Hartley & Tanya Ashken. Paintings by Ian Logan, Bill Allan, Gavin Griffith-Jones, Douglas McArthur, Kathryn Furniss, Neal Palmer, Els Noordhof and large scale photographic prints by Nicole Miller. Nicole’s ocean-inspired art will be available for purchase at the gallery with all profits supporting Explore Your Coast.
Movie screening with Q&A and kina tasting, Wellington
19 July 2025, Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, Wellington
Fundraising screening of Seaweed, A Love Story, followed by a Q&A with RPNYC Clean Club lead and Nicole Miller. After the film, we’ll be cooking up some of our favourite kina recipes – with a few seaweed sprinkles, of course! It’s a fun chance to see how they are prepared and try these local delicacies.
Movie screening with Q&A with local representatives, Wellington
12 June 2025, Vogelmorn Bowling Club
Join us for a screening of Seaweed, A Love Story, followed by a Q&A with followed by a special Q&A session with local representatives, including Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter and GWRC regional councillor Quentin Duthie.
TALK - Shipwrecks and the Hidden Life of Our Coast
22 May 2025, Thistle Hall, Wellington
A talk for anyone interested in shipwrecks, New Zealand’s maritime history and the marine life around New Zealand. I’ll be touching on urchin grazing, seabed mining, the looming oil spill threat in the Hauraki Gulf and local Wellington shipwrecks.
At the Thistle Hall as part of the shipwreck exhibition ‘Fair winds and following seas.