CUtz'n'kŌrero field days
Anyone for a 'Fencers Fringe' or a 'Rattle ya Dag'..?
Cutz’n’Kōrero at Fieldays was a bold and engaging collaboration between Political Cutz and the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). We brought our signature pop-up salon to the centre of the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest agricultural event, Mystery Creek’s National Fieldays. Set up as a public space and conversation salon, the site offered free haircuts in exchange for honest kōrero about the environment, farming and the future.
Over the course of each year across the four days, a huge range of people passed through the chair... school kids, multi generation farmers, independent scientists, corporate CEOs, and even a few government ministers. Conversations were candid and wide ranging, from climate anxiety to biodiversity, water quality, carbon farming, and the urban–rural divide. While there were clear frustrations, one thing was consistent... people cared deeply about the land, their role in protecting it and what it means to be a good ancestor.
The kaupapa of Cutz’n’Kōrero was grounded in listening with EPA staff gathering insights, recording conversations and even capturing moments through live illustration. The project received warm media coverage and strong engagement online. It showed what we’ve always known, a salon chair can be a place of theatre, trust, and transformation where care becomes conversation, and conversation becomes action.
