Results posted: 3 December 2025
36
Projects funded
$1,273,794
Total funding awarded
342
Eligible applications received
$17,694,349
Total funding requested
36 applications have been offered funding of $1,273,794.25 to make, share, and present work that enriches audiences and communities, encouraging understanding and participation. We received 342 eligible applications with $17,694,349.39 requested.
Funding type summary
- Ngā toi Māori: 11 applicants were offered funding totalling $400,085
$3,973,338.68 was requested by 62 applicants - Pacific arts: 3 applicants were offered funding totalling $125,000
$1,882,188.05 was requested by 37 applicants - General arts: 22 applicants were offered funding totalling $748,709.25
$11,838,822.66 was requested by 243 applicants
Artform summary
- 2 – Craft/Object
- 4 – Customary Māori arts
- 2 – Dance
- 4 – Literature
- 7 – Multidisciplinary arts
- 4 – Music
- 1 – Pacific heritage arts
- 3 – Theatre
- 9 – Visual arts
Key themes and round observations
The Creative Impact Fund is focused on support for artists, practitioners, and groups of collaborators to make, share and present work that encourages knowledge sharing, enriches audiences and deepens understanding and participation in the arts.
In this round we received the most applications from Visual Arts and Multidisciplinary practitioners. Assessment sought to ensure a spread of results across region, career stage and genre as much as possible, with consideration to Creative New Zealand’s investment through other funds and channels.
Strong applications in this round demonstrated these characteristics:
Community and audience engagement
- Clear understanding of their audience and community, delivering tangible benefits
- Celebration and inclusion of the diverse voices of Aotearoa, with a strong commitment to community engagement
- Focus on underserved regional communities and practitioners embedded within them
- Foster long-term audience relationships through outreach, workshops, and participatory opportunities
Artistic and cultural impact
- Support the arts ecology through knowledge sharing, presentation opportunities, and cross-sector collaboration
- Deliver high-quality arts experiences that spark reflection, dialogue, and connection around urgent themes
- Encourage direct audience participation in the creative process
- Presentation opportunities that raise the profile of artistic practices locally and globally
- Publications that fill existing gaps or contribute to artistic advancement through critical discourse
Equity, inclusion, and development
- Support under-represented artists and practitioners through mentorship and skill-building
- Strong commitment to artist employment, fair remuneration, and professional development
- Sustained ecosystem of opportunities by and for Pacific peoples
Innovation and sustainability
- Incorporate digital elements (eg, streaming, online platforms, digital archives) to enhance accessibility and global reach
- Emphasis on long-term sustainability through diversified income streams and future-focused planning
- Strategies for scaling work and supporting ongoing professional growth
Viability
- Detailed budgets aligned with project goals and activities with evidence that assured impactful delivery
Funded projects
$40,000 - towards a group of Māori artists presenting activations at CREA in Venice during the 61st Venice Biennale Vernissage
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: 2026 Paerangi: Venice Māori Artists Collective
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
$10,000 - towards the printing and publication of two original graphic novels
This content is tagged as Literature .
APPLICANT: Adrian Kinnaird
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$11,000 - towards the creation and presentation of three projects in 2026-2027
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: Adrienne Martyn
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$100,000 - towards the Experimental Dance Festival Aotearoa in Tāmaki Makaurau
This content is tagged as Dance .
APPLICANT: Alexa Wilson
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$6,000 - towards enriching the lives of incarcerated wāhine through Hip Hop classes
This content is tagged as Dance .
APPLICANT: Amelia Romijn
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$60,000 - towards a PANNZ Wheako, performing in Denmark and remounting The Valentina for a three centre tour
This content is tagged as Theatre .
APPLICANT: Anders Falstie-Jensen
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$75,000 - towards commissioning new works by six artists for presentation at the 18th Lyon Biennale in 2026
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: Ashleigh Taupaki
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$25,000 - towards Lucky 8, a 6 month programme helping eight artists refine their art, grow their brand, and learn vital business skills
This content is tagged as Multi-disciplinary .
APPLICANT: Bronson Price
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$55,160 - towards the publication of three 'readers' to launch DOCUMENTS, a new independent publishing imprint
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: Christina Barton
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$30,000 - towards the production costs of the One Tree House list for 2026
This content is tagged as Literature .
APPLICANT: Christine Dale
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$35,000 - towards paying for carving labour and carving wānanga to complete a new Waharoa for Piritahi Marae
This content is tagged as Customary Māori arts .
APPLICANT: Christopher Bailey
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
$16,000 - towards the recording and release of an album of art music and a series of listening events
This content is tagged as Music .
APPLICANT: Cory Champion
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$85,000 - towards 10 exhibitions, associated and operational costs
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: Daniel Sanders
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$25,000 - towards presenting drag workshops in Sāmoa
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: Edward Cowley
FUNDING POOL: Pacific arts fund
$10,000 - towards a long-distance coastal sail by 3 newly built waka tere to participate in Te Hau Kōmaru National Waka Hourua Festival
This content is tagged as Customary Māori arts .
APPLICANT: Frank Kawe
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
$50,000 - towards the research and the creation of a new body of work about taniwha Niniwa, navigation and mātauranga Māori
This content is tagged as Multi-disciplinary .
APPLICANT: Israel Birch
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
$38,000 - towards FRESH LAUNDRY, a site-specific public art installation dedicated to unearthing Aotearoa music
This content is tagged as Multi-disciplinary .
APPLICANT: Jefferson Chen
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$30,000 - towards the development and production of Iti Kahuraki, a kaupapa Māori theatre work exploring identity
This content is tagged as Multi-disciplinary .
APPLICANT: Kahurangi Bronsson-George
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
$50,000 - towards a large scale dance theatre work inspired by Croatian and Ngai Tūpoto Whakapapa
This content is tagged as Multi-disciplinary .
APPLICANT: Kasina Campbell
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
$50,000 - towards mahi tī kōuka revitalisation through papamahi, wānanga, performances and an exhibition
This content is tagged as Multi-disciplinary .
APPLICANT: Louie Zalk-Neale
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
$25,000 - towards the creation of a monograph publication for senior Māori artist Emily Karaka
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: Megan Tamati-Quennell
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
$16,000 - towards the audio recording and filming of a new opera based on the global refugee crisis
This content is tagged as Music .
APPLICANT: Michael Williams
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$25,000 - towards artist collaboration at the Pinakothek Moderne, during SCHMUCKmuenchen 2026
This content is tagged as Craft and Object art .
APPLICANT: Peter Deckers
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$40,000 - towards Asra Creative Development involving collaboration with Crescendo Studio and showing at Te Pou Theatre
This content is tagged as Theatre .
APPLICANT: Rand Hazou
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$15,000 - towards the production of the literary journal Sweet Mammalian, an annual curation of lively poetry online and in print
This content is tagged as Literature .
APPLICANT: Rebecca Hawkes
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$20,000 - towards a photo-based solo exhibition during Artist Open Studios Whanganui
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: Richard Shepherd
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$30,000 - towards the pre-production, production, and marketing of four new pukapuka
This content is tagged as Literature .
APPLICANT: Samuel Walsh
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$50,000 - towards delivering Atiake Performative Arts Tokelau Hutt Valley, a comprehensive, culturally grounded, and Tokelau artists-led programme
This content is tagged as Pacific heritage arts .
APPLICANT: Selina Alefosio
FUNDING POOL: Pacific arts fund
$50,000 - towards theatre and music events to uplift the legacy and visibility of Pacific Arts in Ōtautahi, Te Wai Pounamu
This content is tagged as Multi-disciplinary .
APPLICANT: Tanya Muagututi'a
FUNDING POOL: Pacific arts fund
$70,000 - towards Whakahou Karetao hei Whare Karioi troupe of Māori puppeteers/performers
This content is tagged as Customary Māori arts .
APPLICANT: Taowaru Puppetry and Arts
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
$20,000 - towards a two-day symposium on the cultural and historical significance of wharenui connected to tipuna Te Kooti
This content is tagged as Customary Māori arts .
APPLICANT: Te Tira Whakaari Trust
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
$34,000 - towards recording a new album and touring
This content is tagged as Music .
APPLICANT: The Coolies
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$20,085 - towards a Te Wai Pounamu marae tour of the play "Wahine Mātātoa- the (mostly) true story of Erihāpeti Pātahi"
This content is tagged as Theatre .
APPLICANT: Theatreworks Ltd
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
$20,000 - to deliver a workshop/concert tour that draws on old techniques to question musicians' reliance on consumerist technology
This content is tagged as Music .
APPLICANT: Tom Rodwell
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$30,000 - towards a richly illustrated art book that will recognise and document the work of 15 Māori, Pasifika and Pākehā women carvers
This content is tagged as Craft and Object art .
APPLICANT: Tui Hobson
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
$7,549 - towards transport and installation of work at Gertrude Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: Cindy Huang
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
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