Southside Arts Festival premiere event Southside Gig kicks off at 9am at TelstraClear Events Centre today. Auckland Council, which organises the event, says it is pleased to be showcasing top New Zealand talent.

"Today we will get to see the very best hip-hop, breakdance and graffiti art talent New Zealand has to offer," says Leisa Siteine, Festival Coordinator.

"There are so many talented young people out there and Southside Gig brings them all together into a spectacular event for wider Auckland," adds Siteine.

Top-level hip-hop, B-boy breakdance and graffiti-art competitions will run throughout the 12-hour event, which concludes at 9pm tonight.

Event-goers will also have the opportunity to participate in hip-hop and breakdance workshops.

The outline of the day is as follows:

10am - 6pm Graf Art Battle

10.30am - 11.30am Hip-hop workshop

12pm - 1pm B-boy workshop

3.30pm - 4.30pm Hip-hop prelim show

4.30pm - 6pm B-boy Battle

7pm - 9pm Evening showcase and awards

The evening showcase at 7pm will feature performances from the hip-hop and breakdance competitions plus special guest performances by ReQuest Dance Crew and Parris Goebel.

Southside Gig is free to attend, however tickets are required for the hip-hop preliminary show and evening showcase.

For more information about the Southside Gig and Southside Arts Festival go to: www.southside.org.nz-