Annual awards that celebrate and recognise excellence in Pacific arts across a range of arts practices and career stages.
There are eight award categories:
- Senior Pacific Artist Award
- Pacific Toa Award
- Pacific Heritage Arts Award
- Pacific Contemporary Artist Award
- Special Recognition Award
- Emerging Pacific Artist Award
- Iosefa Enari Memorial Award
- Pacific Arts Business Award
See previous Creative New Zealand Arts Pasifika Award winners
Amount
$7,500 to $25,000
Artforms
Who is eligible
Nominees need to:
- be a Pasifika artist working across one or more artforms (either contemporary or heritage)
- be a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident
- have a track record of excellence and achievement, and show potential for contributing to the further development of Pacific arts in New Zealand
- not be a previous recipient of the award in the same award category.
See previous award recipients
In addition, each award has specific criteria outlined below.
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Senior Pacific Artist Award ($25,000): recognises the contribution of a senior established Pacific artist in maintaining or developing their artform in New Zealand and recognises commitment to their practice and mana within the community.
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Pacific Toa Award ($10,000): recognises the contribution of a Pasifika artist with the lived experience of disability to Pacific arts nationally or globally.
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Pacific Heritage Arts Award ($10,000): recognises a major contribution by a Pasifika artist or community group to maintaining, reviving or promoting a Pacific heritage artform in New Zealand.
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Pacific Contemporary Artist Award ($10,000): recognises an artist who has demonstrated innovation within their artform. Artists must have a track record of achievement in their chosen field. Recognition will be given to those who work in a unique artform, or those who continually push the boundaries of their practice.
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Special Recognition Award ($10,000): recognises a Pacific arts practitioner for special contribution to Pacific arts, nationally or internationally. This award recognises an individual whose work, influence and commitment have raised the standards, expectations and reputation of Pacific art and artists. It may be awarded for artistry across any art form or for arts management and could be for a one-off or ongoing contribution to a local or international success story.
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Emerging Pacific Artist Award ($7,500): recognises an emerging artist showing promise and potential in their chosen art form. The purpose of this award is to recognise achievement at this developmental stage, ensuring that the artist will develop their career in their chosen field.
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Iosefa Enari Memorial Award ($7,500): recognises the contribution of the late Iosefa Enari to the arts, in particular his pioneering role in Pacific opera. This award supports the career development of a Pasifika singer, musician or composer across all classical genres and career stages.
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Pacific Arts Business Award ($10,000): recognises the contribution of a Pasifika-led creative business or enterprise that has demonstrated innovation and leadership in business. Recognition will be awarded to a Pacific creative enterprise with a unique and compelling service or product in Pacific arts nationally, digitally or globally. Business sustainability, longevity and turnover/sales will be considered as part of the decision-making process.
How to make a nomination
Complete and submit the nomination form by 5 PM, 24 July 2025.
New Zealanders can make one nomination for each award category, and artists can nominate themselves.
Nominations need to include:
- your name and contact details as the person making the nomination
- the name and details of the person you are nominating
- why the person you are nominating should receive the award and how they meet the award criteria (up to 250 words)
- examples of how this nominee has incorporated Kaupapa Pasifika in their work and made a contribution to the Pacific Arts community in New Zealand (up to 250 words).
In addition, you can choose to include links to:
- websites, articles, critic reviews
- examples of the nominee's artistic work.
Nomination Form - Creative New Zealand Arts Pasifika Awards 2025
How award recipients are selected
Nominations are assessed by an external panel that makes recommendations of award recipients based on criteria. The panel will comprise of registered peer assessors who are Pasifika artists and practitioners or industry experts.
The governing Arts Council of Creative New Zealand approves award recipients.
Notification of results
We will publicly announce the award recipients in November 2025. We will also list award recipients on our website Results - Arts Pasifika Awards
An awards ceremony for the recipients will be held in Wellington at the end of the year.
Who to contact
For more information or advice, email pacificarts@creativenz.govt.nz
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