Funding | Arts Board | Festivals
Are you a multi-artform festival? If yes, this section may be for you.
Are you an artform-specific festival? If yes, click on the links in the menu on the left to go to the relevant artform section.
Once you've read the relevant information in this section, you'll need to start preparing your application. For guidelines on how to put an application together, please refer to the Application Workbook supplement (PDF, 380KB) .
Please note that your project is unlikely to be funded if you have little or no record of achievement in your artform/area of expertise.
If your project focuses on local arts development or arts participation in the community it may be more appropriate to apply to the Creative Communities Scheme.
Project funding for festivals is available only to organisations that meet strict performance criteria, making eligibility highly competitive. In the 2006 calendar year, the Arts Board received 15 applications and was able to fund 14 (93%) of them. Grants ranged from $10,000 to $205,000.
Three key questions
- Are you eligible? (See Step 1)
- Are you in the most appropriate section of this guide? (See Step 2 and Step 3)
- Do you know the closing date for project funding applications?
25 July 2008 (for projects beginning after 25 October 2008)
Arts Board funding programmes
The Arts Board has three funding programmes and each programme has a different aim. The funding programmes and their aims are:
Creative and Professional Development - to support artists and other arts practitioners to develop their skills, experience, knowledge and networks
New Work - to support the creation of original New Zealand work
Presentation, Promotion and Audience Development - to support the presentation and promotion of New Zealand work, and to develop audiences and markets for New Zealand work.
Each application to the Arts Board must be made under one of these programmes. To decide which programme to apply to, first identify the aim of your project.
What's the aim of your project?
If your project meets more than one of the aims below, identify the one description that fits best and then apply under that programme. Is your project's aim:
- the creation of opportunities for artists or other arts practitioners to experiment, develop concepts, develop skills, extend professional knowledge and/or expand networks? Go to Creative and Professional Development funding programme
- the creation (through to completion) of original works? Go to New Work funding programme
- the presentation, promotion or distribution of New Zealand work, or the development of audiences for New Zealand work? Go to Presentation, Promotion and Audience Development funding programme.
Who can apply?
A multi-artform festival is defined as an activity or series of events that:
- involves at least three artforms
- has its primary focus on the development or presentation of the arts, and/or participation in the arts
- has an overall artistic vision and a programme conceived, produced, curated, marketed and presented as an integrated package
- occurs within a defined area/region and within a defined period of time.
To be eligible for this category your festival:
- must be multi-artform
- must have a successful track record of two previous festivals
- must have a successful track record of project funding through Creative New Zealand's artform assessment committees.
Please note:
- You must have confirmed eligibility with Rose Campbell, Senior Programme Adviser (Tel: 04-498 0732 Email: rosec@creativenz.govt.nz), prior to applying.
- Multi-artform festivals funded through the Festivals Assessment Committee are unlikely to receive support for additional components of their programmes through artform assessment committees.
Applications from eligible artform-specific festivals (e.g. literary festival, dance festival, music festival) will be assessed by the relevant artform committee.
Your application should follow the format provided in the Festival template. Please refer to the Festival FAQs and associated template or contact a programme administrator for a hard copy.
Does your project involve arts education for young people?
We don't fund arts education resources, activities or projects focussed on the delivery of national education curriculum outcomes and/or qualification requirements.
Some support may be available for projects that will deliver high-quality arts outcomes for both the young people and professional artists involved.
Creative and Professional Development funding programme
Under this programme, the Arts Board supports artists and other arts practitioners to develop their skills, experience, knowledge and networks. We support projects that focus on research, experimentation, concept development and professional interactions with peers.
Types of activities we fund
- residencies
- masterclasses, seminars, wānanga and workshops
- mentoring
- opportunities for arts practitioners that offer critical debate and analysis
- overseas exchanges and, in some cases, costs towards travel.
Mentoring
Support may be provided for established artists or other arts practitioners to mentor less experienced practitioners (the protégé). Mentoring may involve providing feedback, helping with skill development or helping to build contacts. Support usually takes the form of a fee for the mentor and reasonable expenses (e.g. telephone calls, transport). Proposals are accepted from the protégé and must include the name of the intended mentor, written evidence of their consent and ability to act as a mentor, the specific area of knowledge to be focussed on, and an outline of the intended mentoring process and programme.
Types of activities we can't fund
If you haven't already checked whether your project is eligible for funding, please work your way through Step 1: Can I apply?
Assessment criteria
Your application will be assessed against the following criteria. To read about the application assessment process, please go to our FAQs.
1: Good project planning
A strong application will provide a thorough project plan and a detailed, realistic budget. Please refer to the Festivals FAQs.
Contribution to artists' and/or artform development
A strong application will provide evidence of:
- artistic excellence
- artistic innovation
- involvement of experienced arts practitioner/s
- the project's potential to reference New Zealand culture
- the project's potential to foster increased understanding of Māori arts, in partnership with tāngata whenua*
- the project's potential to foster interactions between communities and professional artists*
- the project's potential to foster debate on arts practice in New Zealand.*
* Please note: factors with an asterisk will not necessarily apply to all projects.
3: Opportunities for artists
A strong application will provide evidence of:
- opportunities for artists or other arts practitioners to develop their skills
- opportunities for artists to experiment and explore new directions in their work*
- opportunities for Māori artists and non-Māori artists to work in partnership.*
* Please note: factors with an asterisk will not necessarily apply to all projects.
Budget notes
For general advice on how to put your budget together please refer to the Festivals FAQs.
Support material
For general advice on gathering and presenting your support material please refer to the Festivals FAQs and associated template
New Work funding programme
Under this programme, the Arts Board supports the creation of original New Zealand work. We also support organisations to commission or employ artists to create new work. Projects funded under this programme should result in works of art that are ready for an initial presentation to the public. Commissions should have a public outcome: e.g. a performance, an exhibition or a manuscript for publication.
Types of activities we fund
- direct support for artists to complete a project over a specified period of time.
If a festival is seeking funding to develop and present a new work premiere, we recommend that evidence is provided that at least two other festivals or venues are interested in presenting the work. The work may be initially presented through the Show and Tell programme administered by the New Zealand International Arts Festival. For more information please contact Rose Campbell, Senior Programme Adviser (Tel: 04-498 0732 Email: rosec@creativenz.govt.nz) or visit the New Zealand International Arts Festival website (www.nzfestival.telecom.co.nz).
Types of activities we can't fund
If you haven't already checked whether your project is eligible for funding, please work your way through Step 1: Can I apply?.
If you're applying for funding to present a work that's already been presented (e.g. produced, performed or published), you should apply under the Presentation, Promotion and Audience Development funding programme.
Assessment criteria
Your application will be assessed against the following criteria. To read about the application assessment process, please go to our FAQs.
1: Good project planning
A strong application will provide a thorough project plan and a detailed, realistic budget. Please refer to the Festivals FAQs
2: Contribution to artists' and/or artform development
A strong application will provide evidence of:
- artistic excellence
- artistic innovation
- involvement of experienced arts practitioners
- the project's potential to stretch boundaries within and across artforms*
- the project's potential to reference New Zealand culture*
- the project's potential to foster increased understanding of Māori arts, in partnership with tāngata whenua*
- the project's potential to foster debate on arts practice in New Zealand.*
* Please note: factors with an asterisk will not necessarily apply to all projects.
3: Opportunities for artists
A strong application will provide evidence of:
- opportunities for artists to create or complete a new body of work
- opportunities for Māori artists and non-Māori artists to work in partnership.*
* Please note: factors with an asterisk will not necessarily apply to all projects.
4. Opportunities for audiences
A strong application will provide evidence of:
- opportunities for audiences to experience new New Zealand work
- opportunities for audiences to experience Māori arts, in partnership with tāngata whenua*
- the project's potential to involve young audiences.*
* Please note: factors with an asterisk will not necessarily apply to all projects.
Budget notes
Please refer to your artform FAQs (coming soon).
Support material
For general advice on gathering and presenting your support material please refer to the Festivals FAQs and associated template.
We require at least two copies of the whole application, including all support material.
Presentation, Promotion and Audience Development funding programme
Under this programme, the Arts Board supports projects that present and distribute New Zealand work. We also support projects that develop and extend current and new audiences and markets for New Zealand work.
Types of activities we fund
- the presentation and promotion of work that challenges and engages audiences by crossing artistic boundaries
- the presentation and promotion of work in diverse sites and contexts
- the presentation and promotion of work to broader audiences within New Zealand and overseas. Arts festivals can apply for grants for each discrete component of a forthcoming festival or they may be eligible to submit a single application for an integrated programme of work. See above for more detailed information.
Please note: multi-artform festivals applying for Arts Board funding the first time must apply to the relevant artform committees for each artform component of the programme (e.g. for the New Zealand music component of the programme, you should apply to the Music Assessment Committee). If you are eligible to apply to the Festivals Assessment Committee, you must still discuss your application with Rose Campbell, Senior Programme Adviser (Tel: 04-498 0732 Email: rosec@creativenz.govt.nz).
Types of activities we can't fund
If you haven't already checked whether your project is eligible for funding, please work your way through Step 1: Can I apply?. In addition, we can't fund projects that are:
- self-publishing activities
- overseas organisations presenting in New Zealand
- overseas trips trips for non-professional arts groups
- contests and competitions unless there is a significant focus on accessing new audiences
- activities demonstrating little evidence of demand (e.g. box-office income, fees from venues or presenters) unless they are part of a strategic programme for reaching new audiences or markets.
Festivals wishing to apply for project funding to present the work of any of Creative New Zealand's recurrently funded organisations should contact Rose Campbell, Senior Programme Adviser (Tel: 04-498 0732 Email: rosec@creativenz.govt.nz) to check for eligibility.
Assessment criteria
Your application will be assessed against the following criteria. To read about the application assessment process, please go to our FAQs.
1: Good project planning
A strong application will provide a thorough project plan and a detailed, realistic budget. Please refer to the Festivals FAQs and associated template.
2: Contribution to artists' and/or artform development
A strong application will provide evidence of:
- artistic merit of the work to be presented or distributed
- involvement of experienced arts practitioners
- the project's potential to develop new audiences
- the project's potential to develop sustainable markets for New Zealand arts
- the project's potential to foster interactions between communities and professional artists*
- the project's potential to reference New Zealand culture*
- the project's potential to foster increased understanding of Māori arts, in partnership with tāngata whenua*
- the project's potential to foster debate on arts practice in New Zealand.*
* Please note: factors with an asterisk will not necessarily apply to all projects.
3: Opportunities for artists
A strong application will provide evidence of:
- opportunities for New Zealand artists to advance their careers and build their profiles
- opportunities for Māori artists and non-Māori artists to work in partnership.*
* Please note: factors with an asterisk will not necessarily apply to all projects.
4: Opportunities for audiences and markets
A strong application will provide evidence of:
- opportunities for audiences to experience and understand new and innovative New Zealand work nationally and internationally
- opportunities for audiences to experience artistically significant work
- the project's potential to reach audiences that reflect New Zealand's cultural diversity
- the project's potential to reach communities that have limited opportunities to experience professional arts
- opportunities for audiences to experience Māori arts in partnership with tāngata whenua*
- the project's potential to involve young audiences.*
* Please note: factors with an asterisk will not necessarily apply to all projects.
Budget notes
For general advice on how to put your budget together, please refer to the
Festivals FAQs and associated template.
Support material
For general advice on gathering and presenting your support material please refer to the Festivals FAQs
