AWE Artistic Director Benjamin Baker on AWE 2026’s theme.

A good idea can take time. It can grow slowly, out of years of conversation, programming, and the gradual realisation that a cluster of ideas has been circling each other for some time, waiting for the moment to connect. AWE 2026's theme: Lines as boundaries and bridges came to life in this way. 

Nestled beside its glittering lake and framed by snow-dusted mountains, Wānaka offers a slower, more contemplative pace than Queenstown, making it an ideal town to explore before, during and after the chamber music festival. For those who prefer to discover a place on foot, there’s plenty to explore in the town’s galleries, cafes, and along the lakeside walks. If you’re keen to head out a little further, the world’s your oyster!

The 2025 AWE Festival is brought to a close with Horizon, a programme that traces the delicate line between the natural and the human: the music of birds, flowers, and light refracted through the imagination of composers at moments of both calm and crisis. 

Our Friday night programme, Reverie, lingers on the question of form: how to honour it, how to resist it, and when to let it dissolve into something entirely new.

From chamber music and visual arts to contemporary theatre and local festivals, Queenstown is a hub for far more than just mountains and adrenaline. We’re also home to a vibrant arts, culture and creativity scene, with many high-quality events taking place throughout the year right across the Southern Lakes.

New Zealand is fast becoming a hub for world-class chamber music. From the dramatic peaks of Queenstown to the vineyards of Martinborough and the sun-soaked shores of Nelson, chamber music festivals are flourishing, and the At the World’s Edge Festival is at the forefront of this cultural rise.

AWE arrives in Bannockburn with Whorl, a programme inspired by spirals and concentric forms found in nature. It weaves together music old and new with intertwining voices and organic musical structures.

Our first Queenstown programme of AWE 2025 takes us on an imaginative journey through the history of the keyboard. In Claviers, the evolution from harpsichord to piano becomes both a historical and emotional narrative, shaped by two remarkable artists.

Our Sunday programme at Rippon Hall, Barroco, takes its name from the Portuguese word meaning an imperfect pearl — something naturally flawed, yet no less beautiful for it. This idea runs through the programme: that perfection isn't the goal in art or nature, but rather depth and human feeling.