Annual Report 2025/26 for the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa (Creative New Zealand), for the year ending 30 June 2026. The report has information on our role and environment, the year in review, and organisational and financial performance.
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- Annual Report 2025/26 (Word)
- docx
- Size: 543.95 KB
On this page:
- Our Chair and Cheif Executive's Foreword
- Stories about our work and achievements
Forward | Kupu whakataki
Creative New Zealand is the national arts development agency of Aotearoa New Zealand. We encourage, promote and support the arts in New Zealand for the benefit of all New Zealanders.
This year brought both achievement and change. Alongside supporting artists, practitioners and organisations across the country, we made important decisions about where Creative New Zealand needs to focus its effort in the years ahead.
The arts have an important role in connecting people, expressing identity and strengthening communities. Whether through local community projects or major cultural events, creativity helps people understand who they are, where they belong and how they relate to others. The impact of the arts is often deeply personal, but it also contributes to the social, cultural and economic wellbeing of our communities and country.
During 2025/26, we invested $60.9 million in the arts and ngā toi Māori. That investment supported more than 340,000 participants, generated more than 5.3 million attendances at funded arts experiences, and enabled the creation of 5,900 new New Zealand artworks. These results reflect the talent, commitment and hard work of artists, ringatoi, practitioners, organisations, volunteers and communities throughout the country.
A more challenging reality sits behind these achievements though. Demand for funding is at a historically high level and continues to greatly exceed the resources we have available. We know many artists and organisations are under significant pressure. Rising costs, constrained funding environments and increasing competition for support are affecting organisations of all sizes, as well as individual practitioners trying to build sustainable creative careers. These realities shaped many of the conversations and decisions we had throughout the year.
One of the most difficult parts of our role is making funding decisions when there are significantly more strong applications than we can support. We know many of the applications we’re not able to fund are indeed strong proposals from talented artists, organisations and communities. This is deeply disappointing for applicants and difficult for us as decision-makers. While we have a responsibility to make careful choices about how we invest public funding, we never lose sight of the fact that those decisions affect real people, creative careers and organisations that contribute enormously to their communities. It’s not a responsibility we take lightly.
At the same time, the strong demand for support shows the ambition, creativity and potential that exists across the sector. It’s also one of the reasons we’ve been thinking differently about how resources are distributed, who makes decisions, and how communities can play a greater role in shaping their own creative futures.
A significant milestone this year was the launch of our new long-term strategy, Tū Mai Rā, Toi Aotearoa, alongside a refreshed strategy for ngā toi Māori and renewed direction for Pacific arts. Together, these strategies set out our goals across the medium-term and to 2040. They reflect a belief that thriving arts communities are built through strong local leadership, enduring partnerships, and decisions made closer to the people and places most connected to creative activity.
This represents an important shift in how we see our role. We’ll continue to invest nationally and champion the value of the arts, but we also want to strengthen the ability of communities to determine their own priorities and shape their own futures. Moving from investing on behalf of communities to investing with and through communities will take time and require us to work in new ways. We believe it’s an important step towards a more connected, resilient and sustainable arts ecosystem.
We also continued work to improve equity, accessibility and participation in the arts. Progress under the Tapatahi Accessibility Policy and Action Plan and development of our new Equity in the Arts Policy — Te Ara Mana Tautika o ngā Toi reflect our commitment to reducing barriers and making sure more people can create, participate in and benefit from the arts and ngā toi.
As part of delivering our new strategy, we’ve started to reshape our organisation. We don’t undertake change lightly, particularly when the sector itself is facing significant challenges. However, it’s important that Creative New Zealand remains focused, effective and able to deliver the greatest possible impact from the resources entrusted to it. The changes underway are intended to support that goal and better position us for the future.
We remain grateful to our partners and funders, particularly the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board Te Puna Tahua and the Government. Their support lets us fulfil our statutory purpose and invest in the arts for the benefit of all New Zealanders. We also acknowledge the artists, ringatoi, practitioners, organisations and communities whose creativity, resilience and generosity continue to inspire our work every day.
Looking ahead, we’re optimistic about the future of the arts and ngā toi. That optimism comes not from ignoring the challenges before us, but from what we continue to see across the country: creativity, ambition, innovation and a deep commitment to enriching the lives of others. Those strengths give us confidence around the arts’ vital role in shaping the future of Aotearoa New Zealand. We look forward to continuing our work, alongside the arts community and others, to realise that potential.
Ehara taku toa, he takitahi, he toa takitini.
My success is not mine alone but comes from the many.
Kent Gardner
Manukura—Chair, Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa
Gretchen La Roche
Tumu Whakarae—Chief Executive, Creative New Zealand
Developing the arts
Developing the arts sector’s capacity to succeed and undertaking initiatives to develop the arts
Leading in the arts
Promoting the value of the arts and ensuring the arts sector is well positioned to respond to change
