Depot Sound

@nzmusicmonth kicked off over the weekend at DEPOT with a special evening of music, art and connection at 3 Victoria Road, Devonport 🎶 Brrinhing together the New Zealand String Quartet  with @depotsoundstudio   songwriting winners @emilywtcuff and @siennafitzmusic , the night celebrated emerging and established artists. Emily and Sienna opened with a medley of their winning songs as a duo, supported by DEPOT Sound engineer Nate Selway, setting the tone for the evening before New Zealand String Quartet delivered a sublime and stunning programme of contemporary, classical and folk works. With a full house, the energy carried beyond the performances, as the audience spent time with Chris Melville’s recently opened exhibition Material World, and during the interval explored the @studiod3nz D3 artist spaces upstairs, previously the Devonport Council Chambers. A big thank you to the New Zealand String Quartet, and to Emily Cuff and Sienna Fitzgerald, along with Nate Selway and all the DEPOT team, for what they brought to the evening. We’re also hugely grateful for the support of the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board , @creativenz , @electrickiwinz , @toitoiwines   and @chateaubriant . 📸: @lilys__lens

Last Saturday we recorded Depot Sound School Songwriting Competition Junior runner-up Kiera Fabellar with her infectiously catchy tune, Tonight. This was a real feel-good session, with engineer @nateselwaymusic backing up Kiera on bass guitar and cajon, bringing a bit of rhythm in to turn the song into an upbeat acoustic track. Stay tuned for release! ✨

After nine weeks in the studio with us, @intheworks.nz have wrapped up recording on their upcoming musical, Clockwork ⏰ It’s been an absolute joy to work alongside them and see their vision come to fruition.

Successful first ‘young artists night’ with good music and great chat! Thank you everyone who came and jammed out with us stay tuned for the next one ! #YoungArtistsNight @depotartspace @skycityaucklandcommunitytrust

DEPOT Sound is excited to now be recording sessions for winners and entrants from the 2025 DEPOT Sound Schools Songwriting Competition. 🎵🎤🎸 We recently saw our Senior Division first-place winner Emily Cuff recording her winning song Polly Pocket with DEPOT Sound Lead Engineer Nate Selway, with other finalists recording throughout February. You can listen to the shortlist of competition finalists at the link in bio. Stay tuned as we'll share these songs when they are formally released, and get in touch if you have a music project you want to take to the next level!

That’s a wrap on 2025! 🎆 🎇 One final vocal session with the amazing @talia_gracemusic to cap off the year. 🎤 It’s been a great privilege to hear your songs and stories this year. We look forward to seeing you in 2026! 💫

As 2025 comes to a close, we extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped shape DEPOT this year – our artists, audiences, partners, funders, collaborators, volunteers and wider community. DEPOT exists to support creative practice, connection and opportunity across Aotearoa, and this year showed what’s possible when creativity, curiosity and care come together. Across DEPOT Artspace, Lounge, Whare Toi and 3 Vic Road, we presented a dynamic programme including 26 exhibitions, 106 public workshops and events, and support for 249 artists and 10 artist studios. Highlights included Matariki 2025: Ruaruawhetū – Weaving Design Celebrating the Stars, Siah Finai: Vānimonimo, Jennifer Mason: The Boundary of the Intelligible, Anna Victoria: Time Well Spent, and our inaugural Staff Exhibition – all sparking conversation and connection within our community. DEPOT Sound hosted 6 live gigs and supported 474 musicians, while our Creative Careers Aotearoa team continued to provide emerging creatives with mentoring, industry connections and real-world opportunities at pivotal moments in their careers. We supported 180 creatives, delivering 71 workshops and career labs, championing experimentation, collaboration and bold thinking across disciplines. We were thrilled to open our Ceramics Studio, launch our Online Shop and Gift Vouchers and softly launch our Makers Space at Whare Toi. What a year! We are deeply grateful to our funders and partners, including Creative New Zealand and the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board, and to the artists and communities whose energy and generosity bring DEPOT to life every day. Looking ahead to 2026, we’re excited to share new exhibitions, programmes and creative opportunities, and we look forward to welcoming you back soon. Until then, we wish you a restful and creative festive season. Ngā mihi nui, The DEPOT Team DEPOT | Te Whare Toi – Centre for Creative Futures Devonport, Tāmaki Makaurau Please note: DEPOT Artspace closes from 20 December and reopens Tuesday 13 January 2026. The DEPOT Shop and Ceramics Studio remain open throughout the holidays – visit us at 3 Vic Road for handmade gifts, ceramics workshops, or gift vouchers!

Some of Aotearoa’s best short stories being read by well-known actors are now available on podcast! ‘Writers Write : Actors Read’ was recorded live at Ockham Collective’s The Nix in Auckland, and recorded by DEPOT Sound. Actors in the series include Jamie Irvine, Elisabeth Easther, John Leigh, Miriama Smith, Jennifer Ward-Lealand, Mele Toli, Donna Brookbanks, Rutene Spooner, Claire Chitham, Millen Baird, and Maaka Pohatu. They read stories by Damien Wilkins, Michelle Duff, Owen Marshall, Patricia Grace, Maurice Gee, Maria Samuela, Amy Head, Keri Hulme, Catherine Chidgey, Airini Beautrais, and Airana Ngarewa. Curator Bridget van der Zijpp says, ‘It was a really heart-warming experience to see these talented actors bring the stories to life in front of an audience this year, and I am excited to have the opportunity to share the recordings more widely through the podcast.’ The stories are available at the link in bio, or through the usual podcast players like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. The stories will also be broadcast on RNZ National over the summer. The series is curated by Bridget van der Zijpp, and recorded and mastered by DEPOT Sound. We love working with the literary world and look forward to recording more audiobooks and podcasts in 2026. Get in touch at depot.org.nz/sound and let’s explore your next project! @ockham.collective @bridgetvdz @rnznewzealand

Lift yourself out of the pre-Christmas swirl with two more episodes of Writers Write : Actors Read now available. Don't miss John Leigh's masterly and moving read of Owen Marshall's wonderful Mr Van Gogh from The Authors Cut (published @penguinbooksnz ). And hear the marvellous @elisabeth_easther_author , read the futuristic story Collateral from @michelleduffwriter 's edgy collection Surplus Women (published @thwupbooks ). Link in bio, or find Writers Write Actors Read on your podcast player.

Ngā mihi nui to everyone who joined us across our spaces on Saturday for our very first DEPOT Day Out! DEPOT 3 Vic Road was buzzing with Christmas gifting in the DEPOT Shop | Toi Toa, alongside Anna Victoria’s exhibition ‘Time Well Spent’. Nearby in the Ceramics Studio, guests spent the day painting their own ceramic Christmas ornaments – perfect for the festive season. Upstairs, members of Studio D3 opened their doors for an Open Studio & Mini Market, giving visitors a rare behind-the-scenes look at the spaces where their incredible creative mahi comes to life. In the evening, we celebrated another first with the opening of our 2025 Staff Exhibition in the DEPOT Lounge, showcasing the artistic talents of the hardworking team who support our creative community every day. To close out the day, folk band hoop., supported by the talented duo Moon Goose, performed their 'Wrap Me Up in Winter' album release show – an unforgettable finale to a vibrant day in the village. A huge thank you to our team for working seamlessly across all our spaces, to the wonderful musicians who elevated the atmosphere, to the Studio D3 studio artists for sharing your mahi, to our hospitality partners for their ongoing support, and to all the friends, whānau and Collective members who came along to celebrate with us. Not a bad way to kick off the summer. 😎 @fionamackayceramics @janetmaz @alisongilmour_artist @celiawalkerprint @karenrubado @virginiejg.jewellery @rosebudevans @steveboltonstudio @gelli_plate_adventures @maskelljosie @bingata_mama @beatricecarlsonart @annavictoria.ppt @hoop_band_nz @moongoose_folk @icecreambuzzz @devonportvillage

Thank you to everyone who submitted their original song into the 2025 DEPOT Sound Schools Songwriting Competition, we’re absolutely thrilled with the volume and quality of entries this year! We are delighted to announce the WINNERS, runners-up, and special mentions, as well as be able to share our shortlist of finalists for your listening pleasure. Junior First: ‘Human Enough’ by Siena Fitzgerald (Northcote College) Junior Second: ‘Tonight’ by Kiera Fabellar (Northcote Intermediate) Junior Special Mention: 'Wake Up Call' (co-written by band Vortex) and 'Dishwash Cleaner', both by Laura Alchin (Northcote College) Senior First: ‘Polly Pocket’ by Emily Cuff (Long Bay) Senior Second: ‘Notice’ by Levol Y (Manurewa) Senior Special Mentions: ‘Do You Remember’ by Millie Liu (Rangi Ruru) and ‘Hold On’ by Jouitta (Southern Cross Campus) Congratulations to our winners, and a huge shoutout to Electric Kiwi for powering this important competition and supporting the next generation of musicians! ⚡🦾 Link in bio to listen to the Top 20 picks from this year’s entries! The standard this year has been incredible, and narrowing it down was no easy task. Well done and thanks again to everyone who entered, and see you for next year’s competition! @electrickiwinz

For your listening pleasure ... if you couldn’t get to the Writers Write : Actors Read live sessions you can now hear them on podcast! Go to the link in bio to hear the first two stories in the series. @jamie__irvine reads @damienwilkins103 genuinely funny American Microphones, and the majestic @jen_wl_te_atamira reads Maurice Gee’s School Days so wonderfully that after witnessing it Steve Braunias called for her to be appointed our next Governor General on Newsroom. New stories will be released weekly until early January and from 5th of January they will be played nightly on RNZ National. Thanks to Depot Sound for recording, editing and mastering and Ockham Collective and Auckland Council and the Creative Communities Scheme for supporting the live events.