Creative New Zealand increases support for festivals and arts grants

Creative New Zealand - Toi Aotearoa,
05 April 2023, New Zealand

In February the Government announced that it was providing Creative New Zealand with a one-off top-up of $22 million to help alleviate some of the impact COVID-19 had had on the sector. The funding covers two initiatives: Support for artists, arts practitioners and arts organisations ($12 million) and Support for festivals ($10 million). 

Today we're announcing that the Arts Council has allocated $18.7 million for arts funding across the motu says CE, Stephen Wainwright. 

“We welcome this one-off support for the arts community. This funding means we can provide critical support for creative practitioners and arts organisations during a period of ongoing uncertainty as well as increasing the opportunities for New Zealanders to engage with the arts.”

Festivals will be able to apply for dedicated funding from May onwards, with $6.7 million available. This will be allocated across three festival-related streams: a contestable fund to support delivery of festivals, a commissioning fund for larger works within festivals and additional support for local and community festivals through the Creative Communities Scheme. 

“Increased festival activity will bring joy and excitement to communities and provide employment for creative practitioners,” said Wainwright. 

Gretchen La Roche, Senior Manager Arts Development Services says it’s going to give a big boost to the arts in Aotearoa. “A combination of ongoing COVID impacts and a tough economic climate means Creative New Zealand is receiving more applications for grants than ever before.” 

During 2023, an additional $10.6 million will be invested in grants programmes, including Arts Grants and Annual Grants. A further $1.4 million will be distributed to multi-year funded organisations.

So far, $1.7 million has distributed through the February Arts Grants round – which saw the numbers of artists, organisations and projects receiving funding significantly up on previous rounds. The next Arts Grants round – opening in late April 2023 – has been allocated an additional $3 million approximately, giving a total budget of around $5 million. 

Creative New Zealand is also working to progressively remove the cap on applications for Arts Grants. Gretchen La Roche acknowledges that the caps have caused stress for applicants.

“We recognise that the caps simply don’t feel fair, and that they’re a barrier for many people – so we’re working to remove them,” said La Roche.

https://www.creativenz.govt.nz/News-and-blog/2023/04/05/03/25/40/Creative-New-Zealand-increases-support-for-the-arts