Events and Programming
Yours is one of Ōtepoti Dunedin’s most distinctive small venues: a worker-owned café and arts space that hosts live music, drag, theatre, comedy, film, literary events, workshops, markets and community gatherings. Its programme leans towards independent, experimental and locally produced work rather than mainstream touring concerts. Expect punk, hardcore, noise, electronica, folk, acoustic songwriting, post-punk, improvised music and queer performance, often presented in an all-ages, alcohol-free setting.
The venue opened in December 2022, so there are no verified Yours events from 2021 or the first part of 2022. Its opening week established the breadth of the programme, combining a craft afternoon tea, feminist book club, documentary screening, Sri Lankan feast, cutlery-free dining workshop and Indian dance with performances by Saurian, Heinous Coup, Shy Tina, Human Susan, E-kare, Riot Gull, the Negative Space crew, Namu Sound, Keira Wallace, Ghost Coloured Faces, Piu’s Happy Hardcore DJ set and Sewage.
Music has remained central. Verified bookings since opening include local and touring artists such as Fazerdaze in an intimate solo show, Miss June on an all-ages single-release tour, Swiss experimental duo Hyperculte with Sewage, Japanese punk performer DEATHRO with Displeasure, Varda and Ram Raid, and Aotearoa punk band Dick Move. Other examples include Vagina Dry, Hystera, Pretty Dumb, Eris, Bunchy’s Big Score, Give Up, Talking Furniture, Flowerstream, Hōhā and a 2026 acoustic bill featuring Yesterday’s Letters, Keira Wallace, Hamish Waddell and Coward!
Yours is also an important home for Dunedin’s drag community. The recurring Revolution series is described as a monthly drag revue and has featured performers including Ann Arkii, Miss Lola Joint, David Bones, Austin Powerbottom and Alexis Stoned. Pride-related editions have brought together South Island performers in a sober, all-ages environment, helping establish Yours as a regular venue for queer performance rather than an occasional hire space.
Programming is not limited to evening shows. Yours has hosted Small Press Fest workshops, readings and panel discussions; Café Babel language-exchange sessions; Amped Music Project songwriting and live-sound workshops; youth-friendly acoustic afternoons; arts and craft events; food workshops; and sustainability projects. The 2026 MakeShift programme included a preloved clothing market, linocut station, leatherwork and clothing-printing activities, while a Dunedin City Council grant supported a wider repair-and-reuse workshop series at the cooperative.
Recent 2026 examples show the venue’s continuing range: an afternoon collaboration involving free jazz, trumpet, banjo, tenor saxophone, electronic noise and violin drone; Bunchy’s Big Score’s album-release show; the Yours Noise bill of hardcore and harsh-noise acts; the Revolution drag series; Café Babel; and sustainability workshops. This is a venue for emerging artists, local collectives and unusual one-off events as much as for touring acts.
Tickets and Booking
There is no single ticket model at Yours. Event organisers set their own arrangements, and the venue’s published booking information encourages pay-as-you-like, koha or waged/unwaged pricing rather than a compulsory fixed price. Confirmed examples range from free and koha-entry events to approximately $8-plus for Fringe performances, $10 for small local gigs, $10–$15 for some punk bills, $15–$20 for touring shows and $10–$30 for pay-what-you-can drag events. Prices vary by organiser and should be checked against the individual listing.
Some shows use advance tickets, while others rely on door sales, koha or a pay-what-you-can contribution. Door sales have been specifically advertised for community fundraisers, and several Yours listings state the cover charge directly rather than using a formal price tier. There is no publicly documented permanent box office, membership presale or VIP ticket structure. For popular local showcases, arrive before the advertised start time and bring a payment method suitable for the event’s stated arrangement.
Event bookings for hirers are handled case by case by the Ōtepoti Possibilities Cooperative events syndicate. Organisers are expected to explain the event’s format, technical needs, audience, timetable and relationship to the cooperative’s kaupapa. Yours does not charge a standard venue hire fee; it accepts koha, donations or contributions towards operating costs. The published venue information gives an approximate pre-labour, pre-ingredient operating cost of $175 per day.
About Yours
Yours is a worker-owned and managed café and venue operated by Ōtepoti Possibilities Cooperative. Its stated purpose is to imagine a better food system while providing space for radical action, music, art and cooperation. The cooperative also runs associated food, events, art, media and farming activity, making the building more than a conventional gig room. Its name was chosen to suggest shared ownership and belonging, although the deliberately generic name also gives the venue a playful, slightly elusive identity.
The venue occupies 43 Moray Place in central Dunedin, in a building formerly used by The Asian Restaurant. Contemporary reporting described the restaurant as having operated there for nearly three decades before the cooperative began its transformation. Yours raised $10,936.23 from 122 crowdfunding backers in 2022 towards an initial fit-out budget, reflecting the local appetite for another independent music and arts space at a time when Dunedin had lost several DIY venues.
The property is listed as a commercial building within the Moray Place–Dowling Street commercial Heritage Precinct. Public information does not establish a dedicated architectural style for Yours itself, but the setting places the venue within one of central Dunedin’s protected historic commercial areas. The cooperative’s approach to the interior has emphasised reworking, reusing and adapting existing materials rather than creating a polished corporate event space.
Seating and Layout
Yours has a total stated capacity of 108 people, including workers and staff. That figure is the venue’s overall capacity rather than a published audience-only concert capacity, so the permitted number for a particular event may be lower depending on staging, furniture, production equipment and the organiser’s layout. No public room dimensions, fixed seat count or standard seating plan have been published.
The space can provide a stage, front-of-house area, tables and chairs. In café mode it functions as a communal, flexible room; for gigs, the furniture can be rearranged to create standing space around the stage. Seated layouts suit readings, talks, screenings, workshops and acoustic shows, while standing arrangements are more likely for punk, drag, electronic and noise bills.
There are no published VIP sections, balcony seats or premium sightline areas. The best position depends on the event: stand near the centre for a balanced view and sound, move towards the side or rear if you want more space, and arrive early if you need a chair or a clear sightline. The relatively intimate scale means that audiences are generally close to the performers, but sightlines can change substantially when a show uses tables, a projector or a larger band setup.
Getting There and Parking
Yours is at 43 Moray Place, in central Dunedin. The entrance is directly from the street, and the approach is paved and relatively flat. From the Octagon, follow Moray Place around the southern side of the central green and continue towards the Moray Place–Princes Street area. From the central bus network, use a Princes Street stop and follow the footpath towards Moray Place. Dunedin’s main bus hub is on Great King Street, with city-bound services connecting there from across the network.
On-street parking is available around Moray Place, subject to time limits, meters and event-night demand. There is also a Moray Place parking building nearby. A published Dunedin City Council schedule lists Lower Moray Place building rates of $3 per hour on weekdays during the daytime, $1.50 per hour during weekday evenings and $2 per hour on Saturdays; central-city Sunday charging was introduced in November 2025, so check the signs and payment machine when you arrive.
There is no reserved accessible parking immediately outside the venue. A curbside drop-off on Moray Place is the most practical option for passengers who need to avoid a longer walk, but traffic restrictions and stopping conditions still apply. Taxis and rideshare vehicles can use the central-city street network for drop-off; arrange the pickup point in advance, particularly after a late show when Moray Place may be busy.
Inside the Venue
During normal hours, Yours operates as a café as well as an event room. Food is made in-house and the menu changes. Published examples include naturally leavened bread, toast, savoury dishes, baked goods, soups and meals made from South Island ingredients. Payment is pay-as-you-like: the venue accepts cash, EFTPOS, koha, gifts, food contributions and labour. Yours does not hold a liquor licence, so it is not a conventional bar venue and its events are designed around an alcohol-free environment.
Entry arrangements vary by event. A ticketed show may have a door list or door sales, while a koha event may simply ask for a contribution on arrival. Doors and performance times also vary; published listings commonly show evening doors at 6pm, 7pm or 8pm, with afternoon events starting earlier. Check the individual event information rather than relying on the café’s daytime hours.
The venue can provide front-of-house furniture, a commercial kitchen, EFTPOS and event technicians. The published equipment list does not confirm a dedicated cloakroom, merchandise counter, permanent Wi-Fi service or a standard security procedure, so these should not be assumed for every event. Food and non-alcoholic drinks may be available during a show, but service arrangements can change when the room is converted for performance.
Technical and Production Specifications
Yours publishes a useful small-venue production inventory. The sound system includes a stereo PA with four subwoofers, an MR18 wireless mixer and stage box with DI capability, tablet control, two stage foldbacks, six microphones with stands, an Alron 45-watt guitar amplifier and a Hughes & Kettner BK200 bass amplifier. Music events require a dedicated sound operator; more complex shows may need an external contractor, with the venue estimating an additional cost of about $150 for that service.
Lighting and presentation equipment includes a digital projector and screen, three Fresnel stage lights, effect lights and a lighting mixer. Screenings can use HDMI for the projector and a 3.5mm stereo connection for the PA. The venue therefore suits small concerts, talks, film screenings, workshops, drag shows and multimedia events, although organisers should not treat it as a fully equipped theatre with large-scale rigging, touring backline or a published acoustic specification.
During the original fit-out, the cooperative described the stage area as underground and planned insulation and use of existing air gaps to reduce sound transmission. That approach reflects the practical challenge of operating a music venue in a central city building. No formal reverberation, decibel, stage-dimension or acoustic-treatment report is publicly available.
Nearby Amenities
Yours sits close to the Octagon, so visitors have a wide choice of pre-show food and drinks within a short walk. Nearby options include restaurants and eateries around Stuart Street, Princes Street, Moray Place and the Octagon, with cuisines ranging from dumplings and Indian food to Japanese, Mexican and contemporary casual dining. The central city also has late-opening bars and cafés, although Yours itself remains alcohol-free.
Central accommodation is convenient for out-of-town visitors. Options listed near Moray Place include 97 Motel Moray, central backpacker accommodation and hotels around Princes Street and the Octagon. The central location also makes it practical to walk between Yours, the Regent Theatre, cinemas, restaurants and other Dunedin performance spaces. Book accommodation early during university events, graduation periods, major concerts and festival weekends.
For an evening event, arriving 20–30 minutes before the advertised start is sensible if you need accessible positioning, seating, food or a smooth door contribution. For popular all-ages gigs and drag shows, arrive earlier. After late events, pre-book a taxi or rideshare if you are travelling beyond the central city; public transport frequency and late-night coverage vary by route and day.
What Makes This Venue Special
Yours matters because it combines three functions that are usually separated: café, community space and live venue. A young musician can attend an all-ages gig, a drag performer can build a recurring show, an organiser can run a workshop, and a visitor can contribute through koha or practical help rather than a fixed purchase. That model has made the space especially relevant to Dunedin’s emerging artists and youth audiences.
Its cultural identity is deliberately different from a conventional nightclub. There is no liquor licence, the cooperative welcomes independent organisers whose events align with its kaupapa, and the room has hosted political, queer, environmental, literary, food and experimental programming alongside music. Local commentary has identified Yours as one of the city’s few all-ages venues and a significant home for drag, electronica, folk and noise.
The venue’s community impact is visible but not captured by a single economic-impact study. It has provided paid and unpaid opportunities for artists, technicians, cooks, organisers and workshop leaders; supported youth and all-ages events; hosted touring performers in an intimate room; and attracted council and community funding for repair, reuse and sustainability activity. Its importance is therefore less about scale than about keeping experimental and grassroots culture visible in central Dunedin.
Visitor Tips and Information
Yours is wheelchair accessible at the front entrance. The door is 890mm wide, there are no steps at the entrance, and access is via a fairly narrow ramp without a railing. The venue’s published information states that the bathrooms are not wheelchair accessible: there are three stairs to reach them, the bathroom door is 700mm wide and the toilet door is 590mm wide. Service dogs are welcome. Ask the organiser about seating and toilet arrangements before attending if these details affect your visit.
Most events are all-ages because the venue does not have a liquor licence, but age restrictions are set by individual organisers and event content. Check whether a listing is marked all-ages, R18 or otherwise restricted. There is no published dress code. Comfortable clothing and footwear are sensible for standing gigs, while drag, theatre and community events welcome a wide range of personal styles.
Bring the payment method specified by the event and allow extra time for koha or door arrangements. Do not assume that every event has the same seating, food service, start time or ticket policy. Bag rules, photography rules, refunds, merchandise and coat-check arrangements are not published as venue-wide policies, so follow the instructions for the particular show.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Yours in Dunedin?
Yours is at 43 Moray Place in central Dunedin, close to the Octagon, Princes Street, Stuart Street and the city’s main hospitality district. The entrance is directly from Moray Place. The venue is easy to combine with dinner, a central-city hotel or other cultural activities, but allow extra time for parking if you are attending a popular evening event.
What type of venue is Yours?
Yours is a worker-owned and managed café, arts venue and community space operated by Ōtepoti Possibilities Cooperative. It hosts live music, drag, theatre, comedy, screenings, workshops, markets, literary events and food-related activities. It is not a traditional nightclub or formal theatre; its flexible room changes between café, workshop, seated performance and standing gig layouts.
What events are usually held at Yours?
The regular programme includes independent music, punk, hardcore, noise, electronica, folk, acoustic songwriting, experimental performance and drag. It also hosts language exchanges, literary events, youth programmes, sustainability workshops, film screenings, fundraisers and community meals. Programming is strongly oriented towards local artists, emerging performers, queer culture, DIY organising and unusual collaborations.
Is Yours an all-ages venue?
Yours is described by the venue as an all-ages space, and many music, drag, workshop and community events are open to children and under-18 audiences. Individual organisers can apply age restrictions for particular performances, so check the event listing carefully. An all-ages designation does not guarantee that every event has the same start time, seating or content.
Does Yours have a liquor licence?
No. The venue’s published information states that Yours does not have a liquor licence. This makes it suitable for sober audiences, younger visitors and events that do not want alcohol to shape the atmosphere. Food and non-alcoholic drinks may be available, but the exact service depends on the event and the café’s operating arrangements that day.
How much do tickets for Yours events cost?
Prices vary because organisers choose their own ticket model. Verified examples include free entry, koha, pay-what-you-can contributions, $8-plus Fringe performances, $10 local gigs, $10–$15 waged and unwaged pricing, and approximately $15–$20 touring shows. Some drag events use a $10–$30 contribution range. Always check the individual listing for the current price.
Can I buy tickets at the door?
Sometimes. Some Yours events advertise door sales, while others use advance tickets, guest lists or koha on arrival. There is no permanent venue-wide box office or universal door policy. If the event is popular, advance booking is safer where offered. For a door-sale show, arrive early and bring the payment method requested by the organiser.
Does Yours have reserved seating?
There is no permanent reserved seating plan. The venue can provide tables and chairs for seated shows, but furniture may be removed or rearranged for standing gigs, drag and dance events. If you require a chair, wheelchair space or a particular sightline, arrive early and speak with the door or event team before the room fills.
What is the capacity of Yours?
The published venue specification gives a total capacity of 108 people, including workers and staff. That is not necessarily the audience capacity for every concert. Staging, tables, chairs, production equipment and accessibility requirements can reduce the number admitted for a particular event. No public room dimensions or standard audience-only capacity have been listed.
Is Yours wheelchair accessible?
The front entrance is wheelchair accessible, with an 890mm-wide door, no entrance steps and a narrow ramp. The approach from the street is paved and relatively flat. The bathrooms are not wheelchair accessible because they are reached by three stairs. There is no reserved accessible parking at the venue, and service dogs are welcome.
Where are the accessible toilets?
The published venue information does not identify an accessible toilet. It states that the bathrooms are three steps above the main area, with a 700mm bathroom door and 590mm toilet door. If bathroom access is essential, contact the event organiser before purchasing or arriving so that you can understand the available arrangements.
Is there parking near Yours?
Yes. On-street parking is available around Moray Place, subject to meters and time restrictions, and a parking building is located nearby. Lower Moray Place is a practical option for visitors who prefer covered parking. Rates and Sunday charging have changed in central Dunedin, so check the signs, meter or payment machine rather than relying on an older parking guide.
How do I reach Yours by bus?
Use a bus stop on Princes Street and walk towards Moray Place. Dunedin’s central bus hub is on Great King Street, and city-bound services connect there from many suburbs. Routes and timetables change, particularly during roadworks, so allow time for the final walk and check the current Orbus information before travelling to a late event.
Does Yours serve food during events?
Yours is a café as well as a venue, and its kitchen prepares changing menus, bread, baked goods and savoury food. Food service during an event is not guaranteed because the room may be set up for performance. The café uses a pay-as-you-like model and accepts cash, EFTPOS, koha and various non-cash contributions.
Can I bring alcohol to Yours?
Yours does not have a liquor licence, so visitors should not treat it as a BYO bar or assume that alcohol is permitted. The venue’s identity is built around an alcohol-free environment, and event organisers may publish additional rules. If you are unsure about a particular drink, ask the event team before bringing it inside.
What sound equipment does Yours have?
The published inventory includes a stereo PA with four subwoofers, an MR18 wireless mixer and stage box, two foldback monitors, six microphones, microphone stands, a guitar amplifier and a bass amplifier. The venue also has a projector, screen, three Fresnel stage lights, effect lights and a lighting mixer. Larger shows may need an external technician.
Does Yours have a stage?
Yes. The venue lists a stage among its available facilities. The original fit-out described the performance area as underground, which helped the cooperative think about sound separation in a central-city building. Exact stage dimensions, rigging limits and technical load-in details are not publicly listed, so touring or complex productions should confirm requirements in advance.
Does Yours host drag shows?
Yes. Drag is one of the venue’s best-established recurring forms of programming. The Revolution series has been presented as a monthly drag revue and has included local performers, Pride editions and themed specials. Shows may be all-ages, R13 or otherwise restricted depending on the production, so check the age classification and content notes for each performance.
Can I hire Yours for a private or community event?
Potentially. Event bookings are assessed case by case by the Ōtepoti Possibilities Cooperative events syndicate. Organisers should provide information about the event, audience, schedule, technical needs, food requirements and intended outcome. Yours does not publish a standard hire fee; it accepts koha, donations or contributions to operating costs instead.
