Creative New Zealand funds more sustained support for arts organisations and artists

Monday, 5 October 2009

Creative New Zealand has awarded over $4 million to arts organisations and artists for substantial projects under its new funding system.
 

At the start of 2009 Creative New Zealand introduced a new contestable funding system which responded to the demand from arts organisations and artists for sustained support for complex, longer-term projects.
 

For the Arts Investments and Sector Investments contestable funding rounds, 64 grants totalling $4,044,050 were offered to support projects by New Zealand artists, practitioners and arts organisations. Over $7.1 million was requested from 92 applications.
 

Creative New Zealand’s Chief Executive Stephen Wainwright said for arts organisations and artists having the option of funding pathways which respond to the variable time frames and complexity of projects and initiatives was an important factor in developing the new system.

View the recipients of the Arts and Sector Investments funding rounds.

Contestable funding for Arts and Sector Investments differ from the recurrent funding Creative New Zealand allocates to 35 arts organisations. (View recurrently funded organisations).

 

An additional $1.78 million annually from 2010 to assist performing arts organisations to maintain their services was announced in the May 2009 Budget. For some of these performing arts organisations the additional funding represents a welcome baseline increase of over 25 percent.
 

As a percentage of the recurrently funded performing arts companies’ annual revenue, Creative New Zealand’s core operating grants had only increased from 23 percent to 26 percent between 1998 and 2007 leaving them vulnerable to fluctuations in sponsorship and trust funding.

This financial backing reflects New Zealanders' increasing support for and identification with the arts. The Creative New Zealand research report New Zealanders and the arts: Attitudes, attendance and participation 2008 revealed that:

• four out of five people agree that the arts help define who we are
• 86% of New Zealanders attend and/or participate in the arts
• 79% of those surveyed agreed the arts should receive public funding.

View more about the research (pdf 2.3MB)