Perlina Lau and Mark Amery will present RNZ National's new format Sunday afternoon arts and culture show. Photo: RNZ
Perlina Lau and Mark Amery will present a new Sunday afternoon arts and culture show on RNZ National, launching in August.
RNZ's Head of Radio David Allan said while the new format programme would incorporate elements from long-running show Standing Room Only, the appointment of Lau and Amery offered an opportunity for a refresh.
"It's really exciting to be able to appoint two people who are so connected with our creative communities to take the lead on our arts and culture show," he said.
"Mark has a long career in the arts and media and has most recently produced Saturday Morning with Kim Hill. Perlina is well known to RNZ National listeners as producer and presenter of Worldwatch, and of course she's an extremely successful creative in her own right as a creator, producer and actor with Flat3 - most notably the hit TV show Creamerie."
Favourite existing segments such as Simon Morris' At the Movies would also be included in the new show, Allan said, with details of the programme's name and format to be released closer to its launch date.
The new show is part of RNZ's ongoing plans to enhance culture and lifestyle content across its radio and digital channels, including the recent appointment of Lucy Corry as Executive Editor, Lifestyle and Entertainment.
Allan said RNZ was committed to celebrating Aotearoa's creative communities and stories and connecting them with its audiences.
"Sunday afternoon continues to be the part of the RNZ National schedule that is specifically dedicated to showcasing our creative industries, events and talent and we're very excited have appointed this powerhouse team of Perlina and Mark to present our re-energised Sunday afternoon programming to audiences in the coming months."
Perlina Lau
Of Kiwi Chinese heritage, Perlina has been involved in the arts for her whole adult life - first as a musician (she plays piano and cello) and then as a creative as part of the wildly successful Flat3. Their latest series Creamerie won Best Drama at the NZ TV Awards and has now been picked up by Australian television and streaming giant Hulu, raising her profile further and seeing her invited to participate on TV for programmes like Celebrity Treasure Island and the Great Comedy Debate 2023.
In media, Perlina worked on the Paul Henry Show as social media presenter and producer, before moving to The Project, with several years in London at BBC World. She returned to Auckland in 2020, joining RNZ to produce and host Worldwatch, continuing her work covering world news.
Three years on Perlina has jumped at this new opportunity to create RNZ's new arts and culture programme in a rare role that allows her to combine her passion for broadcasting and the creative industries.
Mark Amery
Mark has been committed to radio and Aotearoa's arts and culture for over 30 years. Based in Wellington, he is currently lead producer with Saturday Morning with Kim Hill on RNZ National and a weekly culture writer and contributing arts editor at newspaper The Post.
Mark began in radio at 95bFM in the 1990s as weekly producer and presenter of arts show The Culture Bunker for five years. He went on to co-host Radio Active's arts show Caffeine and Aspirin. Pre-Covid he was a relief producer and presenter on RNZ's Standing Room Only and he has been a long-time arts commentator with RNZ and across the print media.
Mark has a passion for the role of culture as central to all our lives. He co-founded public arts organisation Letting Space in 2009 (the subject of a Massey University Press book coming out in October) and this year co-created, with Wellington public housing tenants, a citizen's newspaper and lightbox project: The People's Voice / Te Reo ō Ngā Tāngata.
He is particularly thrilled to be sharing this RNZ work with Perlina Lau, together creating a new show for RNZ as it develops a new arts and culture strategy.