About us | Council and boards | Arts Board
Role
The Arts Board allocates project grants and develops initiatives supporting artists and arts organisations. It also allocates annual or three-year funding to key professional arts organisations.
Members
Members of the Arts Board are appointed by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage for a term of up to three years. Anyone can nominate a person to be considered for appointment to the Arts Board.
Alan Sorrell (Chair) is a barrister at Bankside Chambers Auckland, an Associate of the Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of New Zealand, and is interested in intellectual property issues. He was a member of the New Zealand Film Commission from 1993 to 2002, including six years as its chair. He has a keen interest in the arts and their integral role in New Zealand’s identity.
Sid Ashton is an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Māori and the community. A Christchurch accountant for more than 30 years, he has extensive business, governance and financial experience. He chairs the Christchurch Arts Festival Board and the Charities Commission. From 1993 to 1996, he was the Chief Executive Officer of the Ngai Tahu Māori Trust Board and then served as Chief Executive Officer of Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu to 2002.
Penny Eames has a wide knowledge of arts and community processes. She has experience of Māori, Pacific and Southern African cultures; financial and business processes; and extensive knowledge of committee and management board governance. She is a consultant in New Zealand and internationally, working with cultural well-being and capital and arts industry development. Her particular arts interests include community and recreational arts, and providing access to the arts for people on the margins of society and young people.
Kate De Goldi is the award-winning writer of three young adult novels, a collection of short fiction for adults and three children's picture books. She reviews books on radio and television, and tours schools for the New Zealand Book Council. A regular speaker at conferences and seminars, she has also taught children's and young adult writing at the Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University. In 2001, she was named a New Zealand Arts Foundation Arts Laureate.
Michael Prentice has extensive managerial and commercial skills and is Strategist for Ogilvy New Zealand. He was one of only three New Zealand jurors selected to attend the 2006 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. He established and chaired the Black Grace Trust for six years and is also Acting Director of the Aotea Board of Management, The Edge, and a trustee of The Auckland Opera Studio.
Terry Snow is an Auckland journalist, and former arts editor and editor of The New Zealand Listener. He has written about the arts for more than 30 years, was a music critic in London and an English-language editor at Phonogram in the Netherlands. He has regularly reviewed music, theatre and dance in New Zealand. A pianist and trained music teacher, he composes music for personal interest and has won the Ealing Festival composer/performer prize. He has experience in book publishing and has collaborated in the writing of six books.
Pele Walker is a mediator and until 2006 was Executive Officer for LEADR NZ, an organisation set up to promote and develop mediation skills. She also has governance, business and strategic planning skills. She has a wide knowledge of professional and community arts, with a particular interest in dance and theatre. She is the founding chair of the Wellington branch of PASIFIKA Inc. and is active in developing strategies supporting Pacific women. She is also Chair of the Pacific Arts Committee.
