Details of Creative New Zealand’s 12-month investment plan, ahead of August openings

Posted: Friday Jul 10, 2020

Following its announcement on Friday 3 July, Creative New Zealand can now provide more details about its COVID-19-driven investment plan for the next 12 months, ahead of August openings.

Announcement summary:

• Further details, including the purpose of key opportunities, who they’re for, relevant timeframes and a funding calendar.
• We’ll be offering new and revised or re-purposed opportunities – including some we had to suspend while we focused on our COVID-19 emergency response.
• Two key opportunities: Annual Arts Grants (to support annual planning and significant projects/events) and Ngā Toi ā Rohe – Arts in the Regions Fund (supports regional and community arts infrastructure).
• We’re increasing the number of Arts Grants rounds while limiting the number of applications each round, to manage demand and budget and speed up decision-making timeframes.

The programme is designed to be flexible in an uncertain environment, while offering support and funding across the arts community as it builds its resilience and adapts to new circumstances. A number of these opportunities – for individual artists, arts practitioners, arts groups and arts organisations – will open on Monday 3 August, with others to follow.

The programme, consistent with the organisation’s investment, ngā toi Māori and Pacific arts strategies, includes investment in critical core arts sector infrastructure and new and revised or re-purposed, opportunities. Two of these opportunities are the previously announced Annual Arts Grants (to support annual planning and significant projects/events) and Ngā Toi ā Rohe – Arts in the Regions Fund (supports regional and community arts infrastructure). These funds had to be suspended earlier in the year for Creative New Zealand to focus on its COVID-19 emergency response.

“We appreciate the arts community will be eager to understand our direction and what’s being offered through this programme as we fine-tune the details. We have taken the approach of providing as much detail as we can about these new and adapted opportunities ahead of them opening,” says Creative New Zealand Chief Executive Stephen Wainwright.

“We’ll be offering many of the funds and ‘special opportunities’ we had to suspend while we focused on our COVID-19 emergency response, including a number that align with our Māori and Pacific arts strategies,” says Stephen.

Today Creative New Zealand can confirm:

• further details on its 12-month programme, including the purpose of each opportunity, who they’re for and relevant timeframes (snapshots at end of this release)
• a 12-month funding calendar to give the arts community visibility over what’s coming up and to support their planning
• upcoming online hui to engage with Creative New Zealand about these opportunities.

Today’s announcement includes information on an adapted contestable Arts Grants programme for short-term arts projects, to best manage demand while also improving the experience for applicants.

“We’re sympathetic to everyone who applies unsuccessfully for what is contestable funding from a limited budget. We regularly receive many more applications that meet our criteria than we are able to fund, and a decline is not necessarily a reflection of the quality or value of an application,” says Arts Development Senior Manager Cath Cardiff.

Creative New Zealand will be engaging with the arts community on the programme over the coming weeks and months, with the first online hui kicking off with a live Q&A at 11am Tuesday 14 July, in partnership with PANNZ and Auckland Live. this will be followed by an initial Zui (Zoom hui) with the toi Māori community on Friday 17 July at 11am, and an initial Zono (Zoom fono) with the Pacific arts community next Thursday 16 July at 11am.

Last week the organisation confirmed it intends to devote the additional $25 million in new money announced by the Government in May to this 12-month programme. This will be in addition to Creative New Zealand’s annual investment, which will be confirmed by the Arts Council at the end of August as part of finalising its 2020/21 budget (this is done every year in August).

By this time, Creative New Zealand expects to have further clarity on its Lotteries funding (which accounts for two-thirds of its annual income) and have a better understanding of its role in supporting aspects of the Government’s $175 million wider arts and music recovery package. The Arts Council will also publish a short document with financial information setting out its 2020/21 plans.

“We appreciate that things have been moving extremely quickly and there is a lot of interest in understanding both what Creative New Zealand is doing and the Government’s broader COVID-19 response. We hope this document will provide some clarity,” says Stephen.

Cath continues: “We’re working on further support for our investment clients and we’re also reviewing and re-purposing our international programme, which includes exploring virtual market development and capability building. We’ll update the sector in August on our plans.”

Today, Friday 10 July, Creative New Zealand is notifying final results of its Arts Continuity Grants and Emergency Relief Grants – which have been a significant part of its $29 million Emergency Response Package. The organisation intends to share deeper reflections and learnings from this first phase of its response in the coming months.

Questions about the COVID-19-driven investment plan for the next 12 months? Read our Frequently Asked Questions