Apollo 13: Mission Control by Hackman Productions. Photo by Andrew Kennedy.

Creative New Zealand is pleased that the Government has recognised the importance of the arts to New Zealanders by allocating additional funding.
In May this year the Government announced its first budget which included an additional $1.78 million annually for Creative New Zealand to assist performing arts organisations to maintain their services. Creative New Zealand will work with the performing arts companies it funds prior to decisions about the allocation of the additional funding being made in early September.

Creative New Zealand also received $23,070,913 from the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board ("NZLGB") for 2009/10, an increase on 2008/09 funding of $0.946 million. NZLGB also announced an additional one-off payment to Creative New Zealand of $2.1 million on 25 August, as a result of a record profit made by the New Zealand Lotteries Commission.

Decisions about the allocation of this funding will be made in the coming months but because it is a one-off payment, Creative New Zealand will most likely target the extra funding into periodic rather than ongoing funding so as not to create a gap in the future. What this money does enable Creative New Zealand to do is invest more in artists and arts organisations at a time when a number of them are feeling the sharp end of the recession and diminished support from sponsors, trusts, etc.
 

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.

To find out more about the research click here.