04 May 2020

This content is tagged as Multi-Artform .

NEWS

Progress on our response to COVID 19

Kia ora arts whānau,

Next Monday 6 April we’ll confirm further details around our  Emergency Response Package, ahead of opening the opportunities on 14 April.

We know the arts are central to so many lives and livelihoods, and our absolute focus is to support the sector in adjusting to the current situation and as it resets (individually and collectively) for the future.

The following sections of this share a consistent theme: most creative practitioners are unable to work in the ways we are used to and need support to see them through this global crisis. We are seeing creatives already adjusting to ‘level 4’ in a range of very interesting ways, which is in fact what happened soon after the Christchurch quakes. This is not a situation anyone wanted, but there are some potential silver linings. In addition to the Emergency Response Package, we signal below other strands of work – some of which we will have more to say about in our next pānui, including advocating for the value of the arts during this time and our work with networks across the country.

Please share our pānui with your own creative networks; we anticipate a lot of interest in the Emergency Response Package and it is also important that as many practitioners as possible are aware of the support that is available to them – both from the Government via WINZ as well as Creative New Zealand.

When there is a crisis we turn to our leaders, especially those in government, to support the people who need it most. In many places around the world, that leadership is highly constrained by differing levels of resources, experience, empathy and determination. Here in Aotearoa we are more fortunate. It is of course the wellbeing of the people that is the bottom line. For us, our bottom line is neatly captured in our mandated purpose, conferred on us by the people of Aotearoa through Parliament: ‘to encourage, promote and support the arts in New Zealand for the benefit of all New Zealanders’.

Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa.
Let us keep close together, not far apart.

Take care and stay safe.

Aku mihi nui,

Stephen Wainwright
Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive

In this pānui:

Apply for WINZ support

We continue to encourage all artists, arts practitioners, arts groups and arts organisations, including our investment clients, to apply for the hardship support available through the Government’s COVID-19 Economic Response Package (extended 23 March to cover self-employed people, charities and others).

Specifically, have a look at WINZ’s COVID-19 wage subsidy webpage, which is also for contractors, sole traders and the self-employed.
 
We’ve included some info on our website, which is an edited version of the WINZ website content (as at 26 March 2020), tailored to the arts community.

He pātai? (Have a question?) Read our FAQs and scenarios

We've heard your concerns and questions, so we've outlined some potential scenarios and compiled some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for you on our COVID-19 webpage.

You can also reach out to us through our dedicated email address: covid19response@creativenz.govt.nz. 

Advocating for the arts through COVID-19

Our recently established Advocacy team is developing the first phase of our arts advocacy response to COVID-19, which will roll out in the coming weeks.

This work has been built around the things we’ve heard the sector call for, and our wider purpose to encourage, promote and support the arts in New Zealand for the benefit of all New Zealanders.

We’ve developed our advocacy plan by testing our ideas with artists, arts practitioners and sector colleagues, and seeking feedback along the way. And we’ve kept our ear to the ground – reading updates from our clients, excellent writing on the impact of the crisis on our arts communities (shout out to The Pantograph Punch, The Big Idea, The Spinoff and others), calls on social media and various sector hui. We’re aiming to enhance – rather than replicate – what others in the arts community are already doing.

So what can you expect to see? First up: a national advocacy campaign promoting the value of the arts during lockdown – which we’ll share with you soon. Behind the scenes, we’re working to increase media attention, shore up support from local government and other significant arts supporters, and help bolster the capacity of Boosted to offer an online streaming and fundraising platform.

This first phase of our advocacy response is funded through the existing advocacy budget (separate to the $16 million Emergency Response Package). Wherever possible, we’re engaging artists to help deliver this mahi. We’ve also started thinking about what advocacy responses the arts sector will need once New Zealand’s alert levels decrease – we’ll update you as our thinking develops.

If you have any questions or comments about the Advocacy team’s work, please feel free to get in touch with us at advocacy@creativenz.govt.nz.

We’re working with government to ensure the arts stay in the conversation

You may have heard Ministers, including the Prime Minister, talking about how alert they are to the serious consequences of COVID-19 on the cultural sector, and that they’re seeking advice on how best to respond.

We’re contributing to this advice and providing regular reporting to Manatū Taonga – the Ministry for Culture & Heritage – on COVID-19’s impact on the arts sector. This information is being used to let Ministers know about what’s happening on the ground, and to highlight where gaps might be in the Government’s overall response.

We’ve also been working with the Ministry to ensure the Government’s support package meets the specific needs of artists, arts practitioners, arts groups and arts organisations, and to ensure that our own Emergency Response Package complements what the Government is offering.

We’re also monitoring developments in the few areas where non-COVID-19 related work is continuing. This includes the review of the Public Lending Right for New Zealand Authors Scheme, being led by the National Library of New Zealand. More information is available on the National Library’s website.

Working to sustain Māori and Pacific arts for Aotearoa and te Ao 

We have greatly appreciated hearing from Māori and Pasifika arts leaders about what’s happening in communities across the motu during this global pandemic. We understand the significant challenges many whānau, artists and practitioners are facing at this time.

The Emergency Relief Grants and the Arts Continuity Grants in our Emergency Response Package have been designed to support independent artists, arts practitioners, collectives, arts groups and arts organisations. Māori-led and Pasifika-led arts organisations in the Tōtara and Kahikatea programmes will be able to apply for support via the Short-term Relief for Investment Clients.

More details in our Frequently Asked Questions – see question 3.4

Further details on the new grant programmes will be provided on Monday 6 April, ahead of their opening on 14 April. We’ll continue to provide updates via our website and via tailored Māori and Pasifika e-pānui.

Working towards delivering our Māori Arts Strategy, Te Hā o ngā Toi

We’re currently looking at how we provide immediate support for Māori artists, arts practitioners, organisations, and the wider arts sector at this time. As we collectively navigate our new environment, we are looking at how we can best work with Māori artists, arts organisations and the sector to continue to strengthen ngā toi Māori now and for the future. We'll provide an update on how Te Hā o ngā Toi - Māori Arts Strategy 2019-2024 will be implemented to deliver on the vision (‘ngā Toi Māori to be visible everywhere and highly valued as part of Aotearoa’s distinct identity, which is admired globally’) in May 2020.

Delivering the Pacific Arts Strategy through COVID-19

As we continue to focus on our response to the arts sector, we’re also looking at how we support our Pasifika artists and arts organisations during the pandemic. Guided by our Pacific Arts Strategy 2018 - 2023, we want to continue our collaboration to assist the community at this trying time and ensure that Pacific arts have a strategic pathway for it's continued growth. More to come soon.

More community support announced - Ministry of Social Development

The Ministry of Social Development has created a new fund to support community efforts called the COVID-19 Community Awareness and Preparedness Grant Fund. The fund is designed to support community based groups that are, or will be, providing essential community-led solutions to support local resilience and community wellbeing. 

With this fund, priority is being given to requests that support Māori, Pasifika, older people, people with disabilities, people with current significant health considerations, migrant communities and people who are rurally isolated. The fund is currently open and some examples of initiatives given on the website include:

  • supporting community efforts to establish ways of maintaining links with, and supporting each other in new ways in light of social distancing and other possible requirements
  • wider assistance with self-isolation and development of community outreach programmes.

Resilience and well-being during COVID-19

As we contemplate the impact of lockdown, resilience and well-being are important considerations. Dr Lucy Hone, Director of the New Zealand Institute of Well-Being and Resilience, has kindly supplied us with a link to a webinar, helpful tipsheet and presentation specifically targeted to dealing with COVID-19. Please feel free to share with your colleagues and networks. 

Dr Hone was due to speak at Nui Te Kōrero, an event we recently cancelled due to the impact of COVID-19. 

Other recent Creative New Zealand updates 

COVID-19 related resources and information

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