Creative New Zealand is transforming the way it works. This transformation recognises that we need to put artists, arts organisations, and communities at the centre of our thinking. We’ve approached this work in three steps. Each step builds on the previous one to create a coherent set of supports that meet the sector’s needs and our strategic goals.
Step one: We changed the contestable grants programmes
In 2023 we engaged with artists and creatives all over the motu to understand their experience of working with Creative New Zealand. Then we redesigned the contestable programmes to better meet their needs. You can read more about what we heard in the summary report we published in April 2023.
The future of arts development in Aotearoa New Zealand April (pdf. 706KB)
Our For the arts programmes are targeted at early career artists, artists and practitioners, and organisations and groups.
Step two: We’re focusing on arts organisations and their communities
In April 2024 we invited arts organisations to respond to four questions about the types of support that make the biggest impact with communities.
We got 323 responses. These suggest the way we support arts organisations isn’t working for everyone. For those it is working for, there is room to do better. We’ve summarised the responses in this document.
The future of arts development in Aotearoa New Zealand July (pdf. 429.KB)
This video provides a verbal summary of the themes that emerged
Support for Arts Organisations - Overview
Support for Arts Organisations – Support from artists and communities
Support for Arts Organisations – Non-financial support
Support for Arts Organisations – Financial Support
Three things came through clearly
Arts organisations identified three types of support that make the biggest difference for them and their communities.
- Financial support: Long term, flexible funding makes the biggest difference alongside the ability to use this as and when needed to achieve the desired outcomes. We are committed to providing multi-year funding for arts organisations.
- Non-financial support: More than just funding is needed to make an impact, starting with more effective communication, supporting governance, safeguarding ngā toi, practical resources and stronger advocates.
- Support that comes from artists and communities working together: Ongoing support from communities, artists, practitioners, and other organisations is critical because when organisations do well communities do well.
Toi Aotearoa the Arts Council will consider the responses at its August meeting
We’re now looking at the responses alongside the data we’ve collected about our impact to understand how we can deliver support that better meets the needs of arts organsations.
This will include multi-year funding programmes and other supports for artistic development and delivery, business and entrepreneurial capability, community engagement and impact, and philanthropic capability.
The Arts Council will provide strategic direction at its August meeting, and we’ll develop the delivery programmes.
We will share more information by the end of 2024, ahead of making changes from 2025 onwards.
Step three: Recognising and empowering communities
The third step of our transformation is to work towards recognising and empowering communities as decision-makers for arts development.
We’ll start this work from 2025, coming back to hear from you about what this could mean for you and your communities.
Five challenges from the sector
These five challenges emerged from our work with the sector in step one. We’re responding to them more and more as we make progress with our transformation.
- Connection – to build relationships with artists and arts organisations based on trust, respect and longevity so Creative New Zealand can better understand their needs when making decisions that affect them.
- Accessibility – to make it easier for artists and arts organisations to work with Creative New Zealand in both process and interactions.
- Autonomy - to give communities a stronger decision-making role about the arts development activities in, by, for and with their community so that specific and nuanced arts development needs are met more effectively.
- Leadership – to use our status as a crown entity, our resources and our networks to broker relationships between artists, arts organisations, territorial authorities, local governments and businesses to build better communities.
- Advocacy – to use our existing government relationships more effectively so the lives of artists and the value of the arts are better respected and understood.
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