10 Sep 2026
Arts organisations are a vital part of New Zealand’s creative ecosystem. They support artists, connect communities, develop creative careers, and build creative opportunities for people to experience and participate in the arts throughout the country.
Reflecting the importance of these organisations to New Zealand’s cultural life, Creative New Zealand has advised applicants of funding outcomes for Tiers 1 and 2 of the Arts Organisations and Groups Fund 2026 (AOG 2026), completing a significant multi-year investment in arts organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand.
Across all four tiers of AOG 2026, Creative New Zealand has offered $116 million over three years to 183 organisations, with $40.8 million invested in 2026/27 alone. The investment supports organisations working across music and opera, theatre, literature, visual arts, dance, craft and object arts, customary Māori arts, Pacific heritage arts and multidisciplinary practice.
Creative New Zealand Chief Executive, Gretchen La Roche says, "This investment recognises the important long term impact arts organisations make to communities throughout Aotearoa, including metropolitan, regional and rural communities, helping ensure New Zealanders can participate in and benefit from the arts wherever they live.
"At a time when many organisations continue to face rising costs and difficult decisions about what they can sustain, multi-year investment helps organisations to plan for the future and work collaboratively with others to increase the impacts.
"This investment is not simply support for individual organisations. It is investment in the cultural, social and economic value those organisations create for communities throughout Aotearoa.”
Arts organisations supported through AOG 2026 include festivals, venues, publishers, artist-run spaces, performing arts companies, cultural organisations and sector support bodies. Together, they provide a wide range of opportunities for access, participation, artistic development, career pathways, cultural leadership and creative expression across New Zealand.
The AOG fund responds to the needs of a changing arts ecosystem. It provides one, two or three -year support to organisations with a dynamic vision for the arts in Aotearoa based on demonstrated, ongoing outcomes and strong impact. By contributing to an organisation’s operational and artistic costs, rather than funding specific activities or outputs as previously, organisations themselves can determine how best to use the funding provided.
A key feature of the programme is its commitment to long-term sustainability. Of the 183 organisations funded, 159 will receive support beyond a single year, helping organisations invest in their future with greater confidence and stability.
Around 42 organisations in Tiers 1 and 2 will now receive multi-year support for the first time, many previously receiving support through annual, one-off or other pathways, significantly expanding access to the kind of long-term investment that organisations consistently identify as most valuable.
Senior Manager Arts Investment, Claire Murdoch says this outcome reflects Creative New Zealand's commitment to a broader and more accessible approach to organisational investment.
"AOG 2026 is the first fully open multi-year investment programme in many years.
"The move from a largely fixed investment model to a fully open and contestable programme has created opportunities for a wider range of organisations to access support and build long-term sustainability.
"The arts environment continues to change and the pressures facing organisations are significant. We know – because they have told us – that access to long-term, flexible funding is the among most valuable kinds of support we can provide.
"This expansion of multi-year investment will give more organisations the certainty to plan ahead, strengthen their practice, and deliver lasting value to their communities."
The reach of the organisations supported extends well beyond where they are based. Across the programme, 83 organisations, representing 45 percent of all funded organisations, deliver nationally, through touring, publishing, festivals, artist development programmes, sector services and other activities that connect communities across the country.
Supported organisations are widely represented across Aotearoa. Thirty-seven South Island-based organisations received funding through AOG 2026, including organisations in Canterbury, Otago, Nelson-Marlborough and the West Coast.
The programme also delivers investment to parts of the country that have traditionally had fewer opportunities to access multi-year organisational support.
"What is particularly encouraging about this programme is the mix of local, regional and national organisations being supported. Many organisations based in one region deliver benefits far beyond their local area through touring, distribution, artist and arts practice development opportunities, publishing and sector leadership," says Claire.
The programme also reflects the diversity of the arts sector in Aotearoa.
Support has been provided to 32 organisations through the Ngā Toi Māori funding pool and 27 organisations through the Pacific Arts funding pool. The new programme also delivers increased support for customary Māori arts organisations, with 12 customary Māori arts organisations funded and nine receiving multi-year investment.
Senior Manager Te Kaupapa o Toi Aotearoa, Haniko Te Kurapa says, "Ngā toi Māori are a powerful expression of who we are as Aotearoa. Increased support for Ngā Toi Māori organisations recognises the vital role ringatoi play in preserving, sharing and reimagining mātauranga and cultural traditions for future generations.
“By investing in these organisations, we are supporting a future where ngā toi Māori continue to flourish, creating opportunities for artists, strengthening communities, and enriching the cultural life of Aotearoa for generations to come."
The investment also reflects Creative New Zealand's wider commitment to strengthening Aotearoa's arts ecology. Through its long-term strategy to 2040, Tū Mai Rā, Toi Aotearoa, Creative New Zealand is focused on increasing opportunities for artists and organisations, building stronger cultural infrastructure, supporting ngā toi Māori and Pacific arts, and ensuring more people can participate in and benefit from creativity in their communities.
While the fund supports a broad range of work, Creative New Zealand acknowledges the extremely challenging environment in which these decisions were made and their impact on the sector.
Across all four tiers, 450 organisations applied for funding, seeking more than $254 million over three years, against available funding of $116 million. Demand was particularly strong in Tiers 1 and 2, which received 336 applications from organisations seeking organisational investment of up to $125,000 annually.
"The quality of applications was exceptionally high," says Gretchen.
"We recognise that many organisations are operating under significant financial pressure from rising costs and increasing demand for support.
"The fact that we could not support every high-quality application does not diminish the value of the work those organisations undertake within their communities.
“These decisions galvanise our future focus to grow investment in the arts, so that New Zealand can fully realise the cultural, social and economic benefits creativity delivers.”
The outcomes reflect Creative New Zealand's broader commitment to strengthening the arts ecology across Aotearoa, supporting organisations with a dynamic vision for the arts of different scales and stages of development while continuing to provide stability for established organisations.
Creative New Zealand will continue to build capability, grow investment in the arts and ngā toi, strengthen partnerships and ensure communities throughout New Zealand have opportunities to participate in and benefit from the arts.
"Ultimately, the success of this investment – and all of Creative New Zealand’s work – will be measured by whether organisations are stronger, whether more artists can build more sustainable careers, whether communities have greater opportunities to participate in the arts, and whether more New Zealanders can benefit from creativity and culture in their everyday lives,” says Gretchen.
What happens next
Creative New Zealand will now begin making funding offers to the 89 organisations funded through Tiers 1 and 2, completing the Arts Organisations and Groups Fund 2026 programme across all four tiers.
For organisations and groups that were not funded through AOG 2026, Creative New Zealand recognises both the quality of applications received, and the challenges created by strong demand for organisational funding. Creative New Zealand will continue to work alongside these organisations, providing advice and taking an ongoing interest in their success.
As part of the implementation of Tū Mai Rā, Toi Aotearoa, Creative New Zealand is continuing work on future approaches to organisational investment, including exploring tuku rauemi, regional partnerships.
Alongside investment through funding programmes, Creative New Zealand will continue working closely with communities, strengthening national capability, building partnerships, supporting international opportunities, increasing investment into the arts and ngā toi, and growing understanding of the value and impact of creativity across Aotearoa.
Key facts
- 183 grants offered across all four tiers, broadly consistent with previous levels of investment
- $40.8 million invested in 2026/27.
- $116 million invested over three years.
- 159 organisations (87%) receive more than one year of support.
- Around 42 organisations in Tiers 1 and 2 receive multi-year support for the first time, many previously receiving support through annual, one-off or other pathways.
- 83 organisations (45%) deliver nationally.
- 37 South Island organisations funded across Canterbury, Otago, Nelson-Marlborough and the West Coast.
- Investment extends to organisations on the West Coast as part of the national programme.
- 32 organisations funded through Ngā Toi Māori and 27 through Pacific Arts, with many organisations funded under General Arts also contributing to Ngā Toi Māori and Pacific arts.
- 12 customary Māori arts organisations funded, including 9 receiving multi-year support.
More information
A summary of the round is available on the Creative New Zealand website. The full set of results, including organisations offered funding and funding amounts, will be published alongside a detailed summary of the funding round.
Media contact
Paul Lisi
Communications Manager
media@creativenz.govt.nz