Results posted: 4 June 2025
32
Projects funded
$1,149,958
Total funding awarded
260
Eligible applications received
$12,372,674
Total funding requested
32 applications have been offered funding of $1,149,958 to make, share and present work that enriches audiences and communities encouraging understanding and participation. We received 260 eligible applications with $12,372,674 requested.
Read more about the Creative Impact Fund
Funding type summary
- Nga toi Māori: 7 applicants were offered funding totalling $300,000.
$2,995,317 was requested by 53 applicants. - Pacific arts: 3 applicants were offered funding totalling $125,000.
$1,737,408 was requested by 32 applicants - General arts: 22 applicants were offered funding totalling $724,958.
$7,639,949 was requested by 175 applicants.
Artform summary
- 3 - Craft/Object
- 3 - Dance
- 7 - Literature
- 4 - Multidisciplinary arts
- 6 - Music
- 1 - Pacific Heritage Arts
- 3 - Theatre
- 5 - Visual arts
Key themes and round observations
A wide range of practitioners across various career stages and artforms were supported, with the artforms most represented being Literature and Music, followed by Visual arts and Multidisciplinary arts.
Here we provide key themes and observations of the results for the Creative Impact fund. This fund 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.
Strong applications under the Creative Impact fund tended to:
Community and Audience Engagement
- Clearly understand and articulate the needs of their audience and community, delivering tangible benefits.
- Celebrate and involve the diverse voices of Aotearoa, with a strong commitment to community engagement.• Focus on underserved, regional, and rural communities, especially young people.
- 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 social themes.
- Encourage direct audience participation in the creative process.
Equity, Inclusion, and Development
- Support early-career and under-represented artists and practitioners through mentorship and skill-building.
- Demonstrate strong commitment to artist employment, fair remuneration, and professional development.
- Reflect a sustained ecosystem of opportunities by and for Pacific peoples.
Innovation and Sustainability
- Incorporate digital elements (e.g., streaming, online platforms, digital archives) to enhance accessibility and global reach.
- Emphasise long-term sustainability through diversified income streams and future-focused planning.
- Present strategies for scaling work and supporting ongoing professional growth.
Strategic Alignment and Delivery
- Align well with Creative New Zealand’s strategic goals.
- Involve established practitioners and collaborative approaches that combine diverse expertise.
- Provide feasible budgets aligned with project goals and focus on infrastructure-building (e.g., festivals, journals, digital hubs).
Funded projects
$17,000 - towards the creation and presentation of new taonga puoro & vocal music in the UK, and to establish collaborations
This content is tagged as Music .
APPLICANT: Ariana Tikao
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders participate in the arts
$45,000 - towards exhibition and publication featuring new bodies of work
This content is tagged as Craft and Object art .
APPLICANT: Benjamin Pyne
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders experience high-quality arts
$50,000 - towards the premiere of Mythosoma at the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts 2026
This content is tagged as Dance .
APPLICANT: Body Island Productions
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders experience high-quality arts
$4,968 - towards the premiere of a new full-length work at Pōneke Festival of Contemporary Dance 2025
This content is tagged as Dance .
APPLICANT: Brittany Kohler
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders experience high-quality arts
$65,000 - towards two European tours of an inclusive outdoor aerial dance performance
This content is tagged as Dance .
APPLICANT: Chloe Loftus
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealand arts gain international success
$21,000 - towards materials to create new works for three seperate shows at three prominent Aotearoa galleries
This content is tagged as Craft and Object art .
APPLICANT: Chloe Taylor
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: High quality New Zealand art is developed
$25,000 - towards the creation, development and delivery of artwork in response to the Oceania archives in Scotland
This content is tagged as Pacific heritage arts .
APPLICANT: Cora-Allan Wickliffe
FUNDING POOL: Pacific arts fund
OUTCOME: High quality New Zealand art is developed
$65,000 - towards new multi-modal arts projects production and presentation
This content is tagged as Multi-disciplinary .
APPLICANT: Daniel Belton and Good Company Trust
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders participate in the arts
$34,000 - towards three major publishing projects, print and online
This content is tagged as Craft and Object art .
APPLICANT: Elle Loui August
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders experience high-quality arts
$9,730 - towards creating a digital archive and resource hub preserving Cross St Studios' legacy
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: Genista Jurgens
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders experience high-quality arts
$10,000 - towards an anthology of New Zealand writers and educators discussing New Zealand short stories
This content is tagged as Literature .
APPLICANT: Gigi Fenster
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders experience high-quality arts
$15,000 - to promote and administer the competition, inspiring teenagers to become confident participants in the arts
This content is tagged as Literature .
APPLICANT: Glyn Strange, Francine Bills
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders participate in the arts
$25,000 - towards presentation and post-production costs for the premiere of The Aotearoans
This content is tagged as Theatre .
APPLICANT: Helena-Jane Kilkelly
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: High quality New Zealand art is developed
$50,000 - to share knowledge and skills in Te Tai Tokerau for the creation, development and appreciation of Māori Theatre
This content is tagged as Multi-disciplinary .
APPLICANT: Jessica Collins, Katrina Chandra
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders participate in the arts
$50,000 - towards artist fees to rehearse, record, master and release a new visual album focussing on storytelling in Te Reo Māori
This content is tagged as Music .
APPLICANT: Jimmy Colbert, Eugene Temara
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders experience high-quality arts
$45,000 - towards creating an ongoing creative arts program at the Te Mātāwai social housing residents
This content is tagged as Multi-disciplinary .
APPLICANT: Joeli Thacker
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders participate in the arts
$37,500 - towards the development and presentation of original works by a highly collaborative cross-discipline large ensemble
This content is tagged as Music .
APPLICANT: Joshua Worthington-Church
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders experience high-quality arts
$70,000 - towards the development of Ocean, Ocean- a family-friendly show with an ecological focus on the cycles of water
This content is tagged as Theatre .
APPLICANT: Laurel Devenie
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: High quality New Zealand art is developed
$40,000 - towards producing issue four of Marinade- Aotearoa Journal of Moana Art
This content is tagged as Literature .
APPLICANT: MARINADE
FUNDING POOL: Pacific arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders experience high-quality arts
$35,334 - towards researching and writing a non-fiction book about the seven sons of Bishop Bennett who went to WWII
This content is tagged as Literature .
APPLICANT: Michael Bennett
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders experience high-quality arts
$50,000 - towards touring 'ration the Queens Veges' in Te Whanganui a Tara, Rotorua, and Hamilton
This content is tagged as Theatre .
APPLICANT: Ngahiriwa Rauhina
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders experience high-quality arts
$70,000 - towards "THE SPECTRUM" a community development project, sharing about Autism & ADHD through theatre, dance, sensory & sound
This content is tagged as Multi-disciplinary .
APPLICANT: Rangipo Puti Ihakara
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
OUTCOME: New Zealand arts gain international success
$12,666 - towards production of new paintings for the Sāo Paulo Bienal 2025
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: Raukura Turei
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders participate in the arts
$39,000 - towards the creation and presentation of innovative new work for ensemble by six composers
This content is tagged as Music .
APPLICANT: Samuel Holloway
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders experience high-quality arts
$60,000 - to elevate Māori and Pacific electronic music on a global scale
This content is tagged as Music .
APPLICANT: Shakaiah Perez
FUNDING POOL: Pacific arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealand arts gain international success
$21,500 - towards workshops and a concert celebrating the musical aspirations of the disability community
This content is tagged as Music .
APPLICANT: Sinead Hegarty
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders participate in the arts
$17,667 - towards a book on the relationship between art and environment in Aotearoa
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: Susan Ballard
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders experience high-quality arts
$30,000 - to attend IWP in the fall 2025 to present work and represent Aotearoa in a literary cultural exchange
This content is tagged as Literature .
APPLICANT: Tayi Tibble
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealand arts gain international success
$40,000 - towards a creative writing and storytelling programme for underserved rangatahi
This content is tagged as Literature .
APPLICANT: Te Kahui Creative Writing
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders participate in the arts
$32,000 - towards a comprehensive, vital follow up to the two volumes titled Te Awa o Kupu and Ngā Kupu Wero (Penguin Random House 2023)
This content is tagged as Literature .
APPLICANT: Vaughan Rapatahana, Witi Ihimaera Smiler
FUNDING POOL: Ngā toi Māori fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders participate in the arts
$18,193 - towards three artists and one curator to travel to Tokyo to hold an exhibition and extend their professional networks
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: Victoria Wynne-Jones
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealand arts gain international success
$44,400 - to support my upcoming exhibition tour throughout Aotearoa
This content is tagged as Visual arts .
APPLICANT: Yaniv Janson
FUNDING POOL: General arts fund
OUTCOME: New Zealanders participate in the arts
Share this
