The Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival returns in October for its 10th anniversary with new director Jade Baker. Photo / Rafaella Melo
The Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival returns in October for its 10th anniversary with new director Jade Baker. Photo / Rafaella Melo
After being cancelled last year because of financial pressures, the Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival returns from October 9 to 19 to mark its 10th anniversary, with a new director, a new structure, and an all-female team at the helm.
Leading the festival for the first timeis Jade Baker, 32, who moved from Auckland to Hastings at the end of 2023 to take on the role.
Her career covers over a decade in the arts and administration, from community galleries, including seven years at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, to policy and funding roles at the Auckland Council.
Baker told Hawke’s Bay Today she was drawn to the job because it “spans from grassroots through to leading artists”.
Jade Baker bases much of her work with the region's arts community at the Hastings Arts Centre. Photo / Rafaella Melo
Originally from Pukekohe, Baker studied fine arts before realising her passion was not in producing art, but in creating access and participation.
“I enjoyed putting the exhibitions on more than being in the exhibition myself,” she said.
Baker describes her current role as the head of Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival as being like “a conductor, bringing all the elements together to make the festival happen”.
She lives in Hastings with her husband, Alaister, an electrician. The couple have been together 12 years and married for five, and art is part of their lives.
“He [Alaister] is the number one volunteer at Arts Inc Heretaunga ... you will catch him this September in the Blossom Parade. He’ll be one of the mascots in the Paw Patrol costume.”
With a taxidermy collection at home, the pair share their routine with two pugs, Peter and Chicco.
“They’re the funniest little characters,” Baker says.
“They keep me grounded because they don’t really care that I’m directing an arts festival. They want to go for a walk, and they want someone to throw the ball.”
Jade Baker with her pugs, Chicco (left) and Peter, at her Hastings home, where her husband keeps a taxidermy collection.
Baker, who sees arts and creativity as practice rather than pure gift, took on the role after the 2024 festival was cancelled because of financial pressures.
She says the 2025 edition has been designed with a more consolidated, 10-day model.
“We’ve been really conscious of making every dollar count, and part of that is we’ve worked on a diversified revenue model ... from box office to grants, government, donors and sponsors,” Baker said.
Programming decisions were also made with a focus on what audiences have connected with in the past.
“We’ve built the programme around our audience first,” Baker said.
This year’s festival comes with a strong female representation.
The team of six women was the outcome of hiring the best candidates, Baker said.
“We are just the right people for the job right now.
“I think representation does matter, and if having an all-female team does inspire other women and girls to step into leadership roles or to see themselves reflected, I think that’s a really positive outcome.
“The arts festival has a responsibility to reflect the community, and women are a large part of the community.”
Jade Baker leads the festival with an all-female team, a first in its 10-year history. Photo / Rafaella Melo
Although led by women, the programme is for everyone.
“The programme is really broad. It has appeal across genres and ages,” Baker says.
“Not every piece of art is for everyone, but there’s always something in a festival programme which is broad. You can always find something.”
The 2025 festival will feature international, national, and local acts, from Cirque Bon Bon and soul singer Deva Mahal to works by Hawke’s Bay artists, including LJ Creighton and youth theatre groups.
“We also have an exhibition by Scott Brough and Holly Morgan coming to the Art Centre.
"Of Sea and Sky by local musician Dana Parkhill is a musical experience taking place at the Aquarium.
“The other really great local work is This, In Here by Jess Soutar Barron, which is a social theatre piece sharing stories of Hastings’ people in their own words.”
The Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival returns October 9 to 19, with local, national and international acts, including Cirque Bon Bon. Photo / Courtney Henderson
Baker says success will be measured by connection.
“If audiences feel like they’ve connected with other people in the community or with an idea or even with themselves on some level from an experience that they’ve had, that is my measure of success.”
