Who can be nominated

Nominees must:

• 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 recipients

*When we refer to 'Pasifika artist' we are referring to an artist who identifies as per the definition in our Pacific Arts Strategy 2018 – 2023:

The Pacific Island peoples of New Zealand include all New Zealanders with a Pacific Island heritage. Pacific Islands refers to the islands and nations of Oceania, which include the islands and nations of Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. We also use other similar words, like Pasifika meaning people living in Aotearoa/New Zealand who have Pacific Island heritage. You will also see terms for the Pacific like Oceania and Te Moana-nui-a-Kiva, which many consider to be more inclusive.

Who can make a nomination

• Anyone may make a nomination.
• Artists may also nominate themselves.
• Employees of Creative New Zealand and members of the Arts Council may not make nominations.

Purpose

Arts Pasifika Awards recognise artists whose work characterises the richness and diversity of Pacific culture in this country. There are seven award categories:

• Senior Pacific Artist Award
• Pacific Toa Award
• Pacific Heritage Artist Award
• Contemporary Pacific Artist Award
• Special Recognition Award
• Emerging Pacific Artist Award
• Iosefa Enari Memorial Award

Previous Arts Pasifika Award winners

Senior Pacific Artist Award

For: Commitment to their practice and 'mana' within the community.
Amount: $25,000

Recognises the contribution of a senior established Pacifika artist in maintaining or developing their artform in New Zealand.

Pacific Toa Award

For: Recognises the contribution of a Pasifika artist with the lived experience of disability to Pacific arts nationally or globally.
Amount: $10,000

Recognises the contribution of a Pasifika artist with the lived experience of disability to the standing, and standard, of Pacific arts nationally or globally. The award recognises an individual whose work, influence and commitment has raised the standards, expectations and reputation of Pacific arts and artists. It may be awarded across any artform or for arts management. It could be for an ongoing contribution to a local, national or global success story.

Pacific Heritage Artist Award

For: Maintaining, reviving and promoting a heritage artform.
Amount: $10,000

Recognises a major contribution by a Pasifika artist or cultural group towards maintaining, reviving or promoting a Pacific heritage artform in New Zealand. Artforms include language, dance,  music, weaving, tatau and vaka.

Pacific Contemporary Artist Award

For: Innovation
Amount: $10,000

Recognises a Pasifika artist who has demonstrated artistic innovation in their arts practice. The artist must have a track-record of excellence and achievement, with priority given to those who can show they push the boundaries of their practice.

Special Recognition Award

For: Making a special contribution to Pacific arts nationally or internationally.
Amount: $10,000

Recognising a special contribution to the standing, and standard, of Pacific arts locally or internationally. It recognises an individual whose work, influence and commitment has raised the standards, expectations and reputation of Pacific art and artists. It may be awarded across any artform or for arts management. It could be for a one-off or ongoing contribution to a local or international success story.

Emerging Pacific Artist Award

For: Potential
Amount: $7,500

Recognising a Pasifika emerging artist showing promise and potential. The purpose of this award is to recognise achievement at this developmental stage, and to help them to develop their career.

Iosefa Enari Memorial Award

For: Potential
Amount: $7,500

Recognising the contribution of the late Iosefa Enari to the arts and in particular his pioneering role in Pacific opera. The award supports the career development of a Pasifika singer, musician or composer across all classical genres and career stages.

What we assess nominations on

Kaupapa Pasifika / People

We look for the following indicators:

The nominee(s) has:

• Demonstrated delivery to Kaupapa Pasifika.
• Made a contribution to the Pacific Arts community.

Strategic Fit - how well does the nominee honour the purpose of the award?

We look for the following indicators:

Senior Pacific Artist Award

The nominee(s) has:

• Shown significant commitment to maintaining or developing their artform.
• 'Mana' within the community.

Pacific Toa Award

The nominee(s) has:

• Made a special contribution to their artform and/or arts community.
• The nominee's work has raised the standards and expectations of Pacific arts locally, nationally or globally.

Pacific Heritage Artist Award

The nominee(s) has:

• Shown commitment to their specific island community.
• Significantly contributed to maintaining, reviving and promoting a Pacific heritage art form in New Zealand.

Pacific Contemporary Artist Award

The nominee(s) has:

• A compelling track record of achievement.
• Demonstrated innovation within their artform.

Special Recognition Award

The nominee(s) has:

• Made a special contribution to their artform and/or arts industry.
• The nominee's work has raised the standards and expectations of Pacific arts nationally or internationally.

Emerging Pacific Artist Award

The nominee(s) has:

• Shown promise and potential in their artform
• The benefits of this opportunity to the nominee/s future career are likely to be significant.

Iosefa Enari Memorial Award

The nominee(s) has:

• Shown promise in classical music.
• Outstanding potential for a career in classical music.

Scoring nominations

Our assessors use the following assessment scale to score Kaupapa Pasifika/People and Strategic Fit:

5 – Excellent - Exceeds both indicators
4 – Very good - Exceeds one indicator
3 – Acceptable - Satisfies both indicators
2 – Weak - Satisfies one indicator
1 – Unacceptable - Does not meet either indicator

Who assesses your nomination

Nominations are assessed by an external panel who are convened for these awards. The panel will comprise of registered peer assessors with significant expertise in Pacific Arts. Recommendations are forwarded to the Arts Council for approval.

Nominate peer assessors for our funding programmes

External peer assessors are asked to evaluate a range of applications made to Creative New Zealand's funding programmes and initiatives against specific criteria.

Peer Assessor nomination form (doc 167KB)

Peer Assessor terms and conditions (pdf 259KB)

Notification

The recipients of the awards will be contacted following the Arts Council's approval of the recommended recipients in late August.

Public announcement

The awards are announced in a media release. We will list award recipients on our website.

See all winners here

Awards presentation 

We're yet to work through what an official awards event or presentation would look like, given the COVID-19 situation. This will be worked through and shared in due course.

No further action is required of recipients after the awards have been presented to them.

For more information or advice email funding@creativenz.govt.nz