FAQs: Funds and opportunities 2022/23

Our investment for 2022/23 will be higher than pre-COVID times but will be less than the past three years (when we used our reserves to support the sector through our initial emergency response and received one-off funding support from the Government to deliver COVID-19 specific initiatives).

We’ll continue to offer a wider range of opportunities to the sector through our contestable funding programmes. Most funding programmes will remain the same as the current 2021/22 financial year and deliver to our Investment Strategy – the key difference will be the money available and a greater focus on supporting individual practitioners.

We’ll release our Statement of Intent at the end of June/early July 2022 which will set out where we’ll place our focus across all our work for the next four years.

We’ll finalise our budget (through to June 2023) in August 2022 when our funding from the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board Te Puna Tahua is confirmed.

In the meantime, we’re sharing our funding opportunities to allow the arts community the time to plan, ahead of July openings.

Grants funding – what’s staying the same:

• Arts Grants will continue with short decision-making timeframes.
• Annual Arts Grants’ eligibility criteria essentially remain the same.
• Special opportunities and initiatives that were offered in 2021/22 will continue to be offered in the upcoming 2022/23 financial year.
• We’ll continue to offer our usual bursaries, awards and scholarships.
• We’ll continue to offer the Global Networks Presentation Fund and Global Digital New Work Fund.
• We’ll continue to offer the Building Business Capability for Individual Practitioners Fund.
• We’ll continue to support the Creative Communities Scheme.
• We’ll continue to deliver the Pasifika Festivals Initiative.

Grants funding – what’s changing:

• There will be four Arts Grants rounds which will close after 250 applications have been submitted (there were six rounds in 2021/22 with a cap of 225 applications).
• We'll run one round of the Toi Ake – Mātauranga Māori Te Awe Kotuku Fund.
• We’ve shifted the focus of the Capability Building programme from organisational development to building resilience in the sector for individual practitioners.
• We’re making some important changes to Toi Tipu Toi Rea, our programme to support emerging Māori artists or practitioners at an early stage of their career – details to come.
• The bi-annual Berlin Writers’ Residency will be offered.
• The bi-annual Michael King Writer’s Fellowship will be offered.

We’ll also:

• continue delivering to our key kaupapa strategies, Te Hā o ngā Toi—Māori Arts Strategy 2019–2024 and the Pacific Arts Strategy 2018–2023, as well as to the Investment Strategy Te Ara Whakamua 2018–2023 and the Advocacy Strategy 2016–2021
• work with the sector to implement our Remuneration Policy for Artists and Arts Practitioners 2022
• develop an Accessibility Policy focused on Deaf and disabled artists, arts practitioners, tāngata whaikaha Māori and disability communities. The policy will contribute to ensuring our services are accessible to all New Zealanders and will focus on our systems, communications, data collection and research, visibility and promotion, physical access, and staff training
• make improvements to our funding systems and processes to comply with current accessibility standards
• continue to deliver Advocacy and wellbeing initiatives
• support the arts sector to maximise the opportunities associated with digital technologies
• work to improve the sustainability of the arts sector
• honour our commitments to organisations in our investment programmes (Toi Tōtara Haemata and Toi Uru Kahikatea); this includes delivering the Request for Proposals project for funding through the Kahikatea programme 2023-2025 that is currently underway.

Most funding programmes will remain the same as the current 2021/22 financial year – the key difference is that we have less money available.

It’s important to note that this funding programme is one part of our wider work for the next 12 months (our financial year runs from 1 July 2022 through to 30 June 2023), which includes implementing our key strategies, working with partners, and our work to advocate for the value of the arts. We’ll release our Statement of Intent at the end of June/early July 2022 which will set out where we’ll place our focus across all our work for the next four years.

This initial funding programme offers key opportunities that:

• offer short-term project funding for New Zealand artists, arts practitioners and arts organisations, including groups and collectives (Arts Grants)
• support artists, arts practitioners and arts organisations (including collectives and groups) to deliver a regular or continuous programme of activity over a 12-month period and/or produce or present a significant event or project (Annual Arts Grants)
• offer selected special opportunities for artists, including awards and scholarships
• focus on career development and sustainability, so that we can support artists to build sustainable careers beyond solely funding – with a greater focus on individual practitioners.

You’ll find opening dates in our 12-month funding schedule

If you haven’t already, sign-up to receive email updates

Full fund details, including eligibility criteria, will be available under our website’s Funds and opportunities section when each opportunity opens.

We’ve developed a 12-month funding schedule to help you plan – this currently outlines the initial funding opportunities we can confirm for 2022/23, and more will be added as our complete 12-month investment plan is finalised (later in 2022).

In the meantime, you might want to look at the web story that provides a snapshot of some of the key funding opportunities. And you can read more about eligibility in our funding guidelines

Yes. You can apply for funding if you've never received Creative New Zealand funding before. You can find general information about eligibility in our guidelines. You’ll need to look at each opportunity as it opens to check the specific eligibility criteria.

If you're unsure whether you have enough experience, contact us to speak to one of our funding advisers for guidance.

You might also find our other sources of funding information useful.

Yes. There will continue to be dedicated funding available for ngā toi Māori, recognising in the arts the role of Māori as tangata whenua and our responsibility under Te Tiriti o Waitangi. There will also be dedicated Pacific arts funding recognising the arts of Pasifika people in Aotearoa and our connections to and place in Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (the Pacific).

As well as applying under ngā toi Māori or Pacific arts funding pools within various opportunities,  other opportunities include:

• Toi Ake – Mātauranga Māori Te Awe Kōtuku Fund
• Toi Tipu Toi Rea – Emerging Māori Artist Fund
• Arts Pasifika Awards
• Ngā Taonga Toi a Te Waka Toi – Te Waka Toi Awards.

This year we’re making some important changes to Toi Tipu Toi Rea, our programme to support emerging Māori artists or practitioners at an early stage of their career. These changes aim to improve access for Māori artists to Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa by approaching this relationship through a Te Ao Māori lens. Registrations of interest for Toi Tipu Toi Rea will open in August 2022 – we’ll share details closer to the time.

You’ll find more about these opportunities in the 12-month funding schedule.

The guiding principles that direct all of our investments (mandated in legislation, in the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Act 2014) are to recognise and uphold:

• the role in the arts of Māori as tangata whenua*
• the arts of the Pacific Island peoples of New Zealand
• the cultural diversity of the people of New Zealand
• participation, access, excellence, innovation, professionalism and advocacy.

*tangata whenua – “people of the land … those who have authority in a particular place”, quoting Te Ara–The Encyclopedia of New Zealand (a great source of Aotearoa New Zealand history).

Our funding decisions are guided by our Investment Strategy Te Ara Whakamua 2018–2023, which recognises and responds to the ways in which Aotearoa New Zealand is changing – such as demographic changes, including increasing diversity, recognising the role of tangata whenua Māori, and the imperative to deliver to under-served communities.

Aligned with this, our work is guided by our Te Hā o ngā Toi - Māori Arts Strategy 2019-2024 and our Pacific Arts Strategy 2018-2023

Yes, if you choose to apply under ngā toi Māori or Pacific arts funding pools your application will be assessed by Māori and/or Pacific peer assessors.

To apply to Māori arts:

• individuals must be Tangata Whenua Māori or your proposed project must be managed or directed by Māori
• organisations must be Māori-led. If an organisation is applying for funding on behalf of an individual, that person must also be Māori.

To apply to Pacific arts – whether you’re an individual or organisation:

• you must be a New Zealand citizen or New Zealand permanent resident
• your project must align to our Pacific Arts Strategy, and Kaupapa Pasifika must be evident in the practice of the project
• non-Pacific individuals or organisations are eligible, but the project must deliver outcomes to Pacific art and artists.

Māori and Pacific artists can also choose to apply under our general funding category.

We also offer ‘special opportunities’ with a focus on supporting projects that align with the Māori and Pacific arts strategies. For example, the Toi Ake – Mātauranga Māori Te Awe Kōtuku Fund, Toi Tipu Toi Rea – Emerging Māori Artist Fund, Arts Pasifika Awards and Te Waka Toi Awards.

Our overall programme is aligned with our Diversity in the Arts policy, with funding available for work that is by, with and/or for under-represented groups.

One of the Arts Grants programme purposes is: “Opportunities for diverse communities to access and participate in high-quality arts experiences.” That purpose is aligned with our over-riding Investment Strategy Te Ara Whakamua 2018–2023, which reflects our commitment to diversity and reach as a key feature.

We work to maintain and develop:

• Investment in a range of arts practices reflecting New Zealand’s growing diversity.
• Investment that ensures communities across New Zealand can participate in and experience the arts, and investment that engages with under-represented communities.
• Investment that engages with new audiences, in New Zealand and internationally.
• Investment in the delivery of art through digital channels in order to increase digital content, arts participation and audience size.
• Investment aligned with international opportunities that expand arts practices and demand for New Zealand arts.

We’re currently developing an Accessibility Policy focused on Deaf and disabled artists, arts practitioners, tāngata whaikaha Māori and disability communities. The policy will contribute to ensuring our services are accessible to all New Zealanders and will focus on our systems, communications, data collection and research, visibility and promotion, physical access, and staff training.

We’ll also continue to further explore the key findings of the latest Audience Atlas Aotearoa 2020 research, aimed at helping artists, arts and cultural organisations understand the needs, value and potential of the culture market. This resource provides detailed insight into New Zealanders’ relationship with arts and culture – including those of Māori, Pasifika and Asian communities – which our clients and other arts organisations can use to increase engagement with their audiences.

Our main source of revenue continues to come from the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board, which distributes the profits of Lotto NZ. In a normal year, around two-thirds of our revenue comes from the Lottery Grants Board, with one-third coming from the Government.

Overall, Creative New Zealand’s revenue for the 2022/23 financial year is forecast to be approximately $51 million at this time. The actual revenue we work with fluctuates quite a lot depending on the available contribution from lotteries.

This overall revenue includes baseline funding of $16.689 million investment from the Government.

Phase 1 was an emergency response to COVID-19, to support the arts sector when it was suddenly unable to work (for example, due to limits on mass gatherings and then lockdown). It covered the 2019/20 financial year (up until 30 June 2020). The focus of the first phase of our COVID-19 response (ie our Emergency Response Package) was about getting support to as many eligible people and projects as possible through focusing on fewer opportunities.

Our second phase (our 12-month investment programme 2021/22) introduced more variety in offerings across the 2020/21 financial year. This was about supporting the sector to survive and adapt to a ‘new normal’, in an environment that still has challenges and uncertainties due to COVID-19.

2021/22 was our Phase 3 response to COVID-19 – ie, our plan to support the sector from July 2021 through to June 2022.

In our 2022/23 programme, we’re incorporating learnings and feedback from all three phases of our COVID-19 response, by providing opportunities for support that remain efficient, effective and flexible, as well as sustainable for our organisation and the sector. Most funding programmes will remain the same as the current 2021/22 financial year and deliver to our Investment Strategy – the key difference will be the money available and a greater focus on supporting individual practitioners

Our offerings for the 2022/23 financial year are a blend of what we offered pre-COVID and during our COVID-19 response.

The International Programme, Karangarua – Two Voices, has significantly shifted over the past two years, we continue to focus on new ways of working, including digital engagement and delivery, as well as hybrid activity, given that travel is now resuming.  

With our partners here and offshore, we’ll continue to offer a suite of opportunities and funding that provide artists, organisations and practitioners with the knowledge and networks to support their practice, adapt to the evolving arts landscape, promote their work to international markets and audiences and reconnect and collaborate in innovative ways with international peers.

We’ll continue to evolve and redesign specific initiatives to ensure that we offer a programme that is relevant and responsive, and as we have done over the last two years, we’ll roll out new offerings at different intervals. We’re reframing our support in the international space to adjust to the changed environment, and like 2021/2022, we’ll roll out new offerings at different intervals.

Through our International programme, we’ll continue to:

• offer a bespoke capability building offerings within the Global Wayfinding programme, drawing on expertise and platforms here and offshore 
• offer a multi-pronged market development programme delivered through a variety of partnerships to encourage sales of art works and fee-paying invitations
• focus on digital with the Global Digital New Work Fund and the Digital Fellowship
• offer support to acknowledge the international relationships that have been fostered and the resulting presentations opportunities through the Global Network Presentation Fund
• deliver a revamped and expanded the Indigenous Exchange programme
• deliver New Zealand’s presentation at the 2022 Venice Biennale, including a public engagement programme in Aotearoa (delayed due to COVID restrictions).

Funding is still available through our Arts Grants, to support New Zealand artists, arts practitioners arts groups and arts organisations to engage in a variety of international activity, including the presentation of art works – please refer to our guidelines

Read more about the International programme and sign-up to receive our bi-monthly e-newsletter

We’ll honour our commitments to organisations in our investment programmes (Tōtara and Kahikatea). 

New agreements for funding through the Toi Uru Kahikatea programme for 2023-2025 will be negotiated as part of the RFP process that is currently underway.  We’ll also contract funding amounts for 2023-2025 for members of the Tōtara programme as these relationships reach the mid-point of their six-year term. 

Due to our budget constraints, there will be no additional funding rounds offered to investment clients in the 2022/23 financial year (in 2021/22 we offered the Adaptation, Revenue Generation and Resilience Funds). 

We will, however, provide an opportunity for the Board Chairs of the Tōtara, Kahikatea and Te Puāwaitanga organisations to kōrero about the leadership challenges facing the arts sector.

We’ve shifted the focus of our Capability Building programme from organisational development to building resilience in the sector for individual practitioners and individual artists who have been critically impacted over a period of time by COVID-19.

The 2022/23 programme includes the following:

• Building Business Capability for Independent Practitioners Fund. Applicants who were successful in the 2021/22 round will not be eligible to apply a second time.
• Sustainable Careers for Artists (new initiative that could include research, tools, and resources to support the implementation of the Remuneration Policy).
• The Arts Council has approved taking a first step to engage with those who can or could potentially provide services to connect the arts and cultural sector with emergent digital technology to transform the sector’s ability to create, distribute and reach new audiences.

Each year Creative New Zealand provides funding to city and district councils for distributing in their area. The scheme supports more than 1,800 projects every year. Applications are made directly to your local council and closing dates vary.

Read more about the Creative Communities Scheme

Our first priority will be to monitor any situation and position ourselves to respond quickly, with flexibility, so that we are able to further support the sector as required.

When applying for funding, you must include a COVID-19 Contingency Plan. This plan must be submitted as an attachment with your application. It should include how you will undertake or adapt your project under the New Zealand Government COVID-19 Protection Framework (traffic light settings) and any government advisories for the country where the project is to take place. For further guidance and a template plan see our Funding guidelines - A guide to developing your COVID-19 contingency plan. Your application will be made ineligible if this is not included in your application.

While we hope any increased alert level or change in traffic light colours will be temporary, we can’t rule out changing the 2022/23 programme, including funding opportunities, to enable us to respond where the need is greatest.

We’ll also continue to comply with government advisories (including alert levels) and/or border controls and exercise our judgement regarding our programmes and funding opportunities. For this reason, when making funding decisions, we may decline a programme or project if it is not viable at the time of notification, regardless of when the project is planned to take place.

We’ll continue to provide regular information on our website and in social media so you can easily keep up to date with any changes.