Creative New Zealand Announces Multi-year Funding For 58 Arts Organisations

The Arts Council of Creative New Zealand today announces a $54 million investment in the Toi Uru Kahikatea programme for 2023-2025, after having invited proposals from established arts organisations earlier this year.

Supporting 58 organisations to deliver arts programmes over the next three years, the Kahikatea programme is one of Creative New Zealand’s most significant annual investments.

Kahikatea investment is focused on contributing to building stronger arts communities, artists, and organisations, and to facilitate greater public engagement in the arts.

Arts Council Chair Caren Rangi says the programme is expanding the range and reach of the arts in New Zealand.

“The Kahikatea investment programme acknowledges the great work these organisations are applying to connect with audiences and communities and to keep strengthening their mahi and craft,” said Caren.

In April this year, 62 arts organisations were invited to submit a proposal for multi-year funding under the Kahikatea investment programme, with 58 proposals accepted. The Arts Council sought proposals that could reflect its Investment Strategy features of: diversity and reach;dynamic arts; and a resilient arts sector.

Creative New Zealand received many strong applications; it was those with the greatest alignment with its strategic priorities that were successful, and the Arts Council has made the best possible investment decisions within a tight fiscal environment.

“We’ve been saying to the arts sector for the past couple of years that while we’re grateful to have been able to draw on our financial reserves to support the arts community through the impacts of COVID-19, we also knew that it would hamper our ability to sustain long-term funding and support. This year we were particularly challenged by our reduced financial capacity, and the reality is we’ll continue to face these challenges,” said Caren.

“We’re pleased that we’ve been able to continue support for most organisations and bring in some new organisations to broaden our reach.”

Creative New Zealand welcomes four new organisations to the programme from 2023. The four new Kahikatea organisations are: Te Rākau Hua o te Wao Tapu, Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival, Kia Mau Festival and Toi Ngāpuhi.

These organisations demonstrated through their proposals that their work aligns with Creative New Zealand’s strategic focus to better reflect the diversity of New Zealand’s population and its arts practices, says Chief Executive Stephen Wainwright.

“We’re thrilled these four organisations are joining the Kahikatea programme – their work engages with, supports and expands Māori and Pacific arts in New Zealand. Not only are they excellent in the arts experiences they provide, but they’re also creating opportunities for practitioners and adding to the types of cultural experiences New Zealanders can have,” said Stephen.

“We’re working to ensure that, over time, our investment programmes will better reflect the diversity of New Zealand’s population and the types of art that are made here and are intrinsically ours. We also aim to extend the reach of our investment to make arts attendance and participation accessible to more New Zealanders,” said Stephen.

Creative New Zealand identified a gap in the number of Māori and Pacific-led organisations in the investment programmes in 2019 and is strategically responding to support the growth of ngā toi Māori and Pacific arts.

Today Creative New Zealand also confirmed the continuation of its funding for the current 23 arts organisations in its Toi Tōtara Haemata investment programme, who are halfway through their six-year contract.

The Kahikatea investment programme, alongside the Tōtara programme, makes up 55 percent of Creative New Zealand’s annual funding. The total investment for years 2023-2025 in both programmes is $104,923,020

Creative New Zealand’s governing body, the Arts Council, makes decisions on investments of this scale. It reviewed recommendations and made final decisions on proposals submitted to the Kahikatea programme in a two-day meeting in August 2022.

Toi Uru Kahikatea investment 2023-2025

Toi Tōtara Haemata investment 2023-2025

The new organisations joining Toi Uru Kahikatea

Te Rākau Hua o te Wao Tapu: is Aotearoa’s longest surviving independent Māori theatre company. Te Rākau was established in 1989 by Jim Moriarty and Jerry Banse with a trust deed inherited from the Māori Theatre Trust. It is led by Jim Moriarty and Helen Pearse-Otene who use the unique Te Rākau Theatre Marae model to create theatre productions, run workshops and build capacity and health within the groups and the communities they sit within.

Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival: TeTairāwhitiArts Festival is a celebration of the people and place of Te Tairāwhiti, held in October each year. The festival elevates the kōrero, taonga and talent of Te Tairāwhiti and creates world-class artistic experiences and makes them accessible to as many people as possible.

Kia Mau Festival: is a biennial contemporary Māori, Pasifika and international indigenous live performance experience. Founded by multi-award-winning senior artists Hone Kouka MNZM and Mīria George, Kia Mau was created to provide Maori, Pasifika and international indigenous theatre and dance companies and artists with opportunities to present their work on mainstages throughout Wellington.

Toi Ngāpuhi: Toi Ngāpuhi works across Te Taitokerau to uphold and revitalise Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu distinctive culture, cultural heritage and cultural expressions to support wellbeing and foster talent, creativity and opportunities.

Toi Uru Kahikatea

Kahikatea is an investment programme that provides support to arts organisations, groups or individuals so they can contribute to building stronger arts communities, artists and organisations, and/or facilitate greater public engagement in the arts.

The programme provides multi-year funding (up to three years) to established New Zealand artists, arts practitioners and arts groups and organisations, to support regular or continuous programmes of activity.

Fifty-eight arts organisations have been offered funding through the Kahikatea programme for three years, from January 2023 to December 2025.

Toi Tōtara Haemata

No new organisations have joined the Tōtara investment programme; the Tōtara programme has a longer multi-year term of six years – all current Tōtara clients will be funded until 2025.

Funding for both programmes 2023-25:

Kahikatea: $54,690,039

Tōtara: $50,232,981

FAQs 

How many proposals were received?

We received 62 proposals for the Kahikatea programme for funding in 2023-2025.

How many organisations are now in the investment programmes?

There will be 58 organisations in the Kahikatea programme and 23 organisations in the Tōtara programme from 1 January 2023.

Who assessed the applications?

Proposals were assessed against ten criteria related to relevance, viability and strategic alignment by a group of peer assessors with artform expertise.

Māori artists and practitioners were involved in assessing proposals that choose to be assessed as ngā toi Māori, and Pasifika artists and practitioners were included in assessing proposals that choose to be assessed as Pacific arts. Where specific areas of specialty were required – for instance, in the assessment of activities relating to disability – we endeavoured to assign external peer assessors with that area of specialty who also have arts or arts organisational expertise.

Creative New Zealand staff assessed each organisation’s financial viability.

The Strategic Advisory Panel comprised a second group of external peer assessors, who read each proposal and its assessment, and discussed how the proposals deliver to the Investment Strategy and funding priorities and the strength of that delivery. The Panel were also asked to consider the portfolio within Creative New Zealand’s wider strategic context, the context of the New Zealand arts sector, and to reach a set of recommendations. In most cases the panel recommendations are reflected in the final decisions.

Final recommendations were made to the Arts Council by our Chief Executive, and final decisions were made by the Arts Council (Creative New Zealand’s governing body).

What’s going to happen to the organisations who won’t continue in the programme from 2023? What other options do they have?

Organisations that haven’t been offered new Kahikatea funding agreements will instead be offered Transition Fund support. The Transition Fund is intended to assist these organisations to their new funding context and provides up to 75% of their 2022 Kahikatea funding level, prorated over a six-month period (1 Jan – 30 Jun 2023).

During this period, the organisation will be eligible to apply to other Creative New Zealand initiatives, capability building and project funding, subject to the requirements of those funds.

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