See which artforms are funded by Creative New Zealand, including the track record requirements and what can be funded for each artform.
What we mean by Community arts
Community arts are created by, with, and for a community. Creative New Zealand’s focus for Community arts is on projects where the community is actively involved in creating the art.
There are also community arts activities — e.g., workshops, wānanga or fono — in which participants are involved receptively in the learning, practice, presentation, and appreciation of their traditional arts practices.
A community is defined by the people within it – where these people are, what they do, shared experiences, what they are interested in or how they identify themselves. A community may be based around a place, a cultural tradition, or commonly held interests or experiences.
Community arts includes customary and contemporary practices of all the peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand, including Māori and Pasifika peoples and the diverse cultures of people living in Aotearoa/New Zealand today.
Track record requirements
For a community artist, practitioner or group, success means having successfully completed at least one community arts project which has been recognised by peers or other stakeholders as demonstrating best practice in community arts. This does not include projects delivered as part of a course of study
For a Pasifika artist, practitioner or group, success can be shown by having endorsements from Pasifika community leaders.
For a Ngā toi Māori artist, practitioner or group, success can be shown by having endorsements from Māori community leaders.
Community arts activities we support
Creative New Zealand recognises three core strands of activity as community arts and these are:
Community Cultural Development
- collaboration of arts practitioners with communities to achieve artistic and social outcomes
- processes of collective creativity
- community-based issues focused on through the arts (for example in relation to the environment or to issues of social equity).
Maintenance and Transmission of Cultural Traditions
- Māori and Pasifika Heritage artforms
- defined groups of interest (such as migrant communities) maintaining and preserving their distinctive artistic and cultural traditions from one generation to the next.
Leisure and Recreation Activities
- community-based arts groups devoted to the recreational pursuit of diverse artforms.
A strong community arts application will identify the:
- community/communities that will be involved in the project
- creative processes and how the community will be involved in these
- key creative personnel and their experience in leading community projects
- intended outcomes or impacts of the project and how they will be evaluated.
For more detail on community arts and resources to support strong community arts projects see our Community Arts Toolkit.
What we mean by Craft/object art
Creative New Zealand sees craft/object art as including the traditional applied arts and contemporary practices of all the peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand, including Māori and Pasifika peoples and the diverse cultures of people living in Aotearoa/New Zealand today. Genres include, but are not limited to, ceramics, furniture, glass, jewellery, object making, studio-based design, raranga, tāniko, tapa making, textiles, tivaevae, typography, and weaving.
Creative New Zealand recognises that the boundaries between craft/object art and the visual arts are not precise. Makers and artists usually define for themselves how their practice, or different aspects of their practice, relates to a given artform. For design, our focus is on the development and/or public presentation of new work by independent studio-based designers.
Track record requirements
For a craft/object artist, success means at least one public exhibition of a body of work that achieved a degree of critical or sales success. This does not include presentations made as part of a course of study.
Craft/Object activities we support
We fund a range of activities, for example:
Developing or presenting work
- Researching or creating a new body of work.
- Commissions resulting in work that is ready for initial public presentation.
- Creating New Zealand work to be exhibited within New Zealand, particularly at public art galleries.
- Crating and freighting an exhibition of a body of work to tour within New Zealand.
- Developing skills
- Mentoring and internship programmes.
- Workshops, wānanga, fono, forums, master classes, seminars and other opportunities for creative and professional development for New Zealand craft/object artists and practitioners.
Projects with international connections
- International touring of high-quality and distinctive New Zealand craft/object artworks
- Visits by international critics, curators and makers that will directly benefit New Zealand craft/object art and artists.
Other craft/object projects
- Commissioning, researching, writing, producing, publishing or distributing exhibition catalogues, monographs, essay series, and critical writing about New Zealand craft/object art and artists.
- Organising or attending a conference or symposium.
- Community arts projects that focus on professional artists and practitioners working with communities, or that have regional or national significance.
- Collaborative projects involving other arts practitioners and artforms.
- Documentary or archival projects that focus on craft/object art or a craft/object artist.
- Residencies in New Zealand or overseas
- Website projects that promote or distribute quality New Zealand craft/object arts, or engage in craft/object arts development and criticism
Studio-based design
We support studio-based design, giving priority to furniture and object-based design proposals. Funding is available for:
- research and initial development of the new work
- public presentation of the new work, but not its commercial production.
- Other design projects that we can support include those that:
- recognise and build on the interaction between design and craft/object practice
- survey aspects of design history and place New Zealand design in artistic, cultural or social contexts.
What we mean by Dance
Dance includes classical and contemporary dance; street, experimental and integrated dance; and traditional and contemporary Māori and Pacific Island dance.
It includes customary and contemporary practices of all the peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand, including Māori and Pasifika peoples and the diverse cultures of people living in Aotearoa/New Zealand today.
Track record requirements
For a dance practitioner, success means having undertaken a key creative role in at least one publicly presented work that achieved a degree of critical or box-office success. This does not include presentations made as part of a course of study.
Dance activities we support
We fund a range of activities, for example:
Developing or presenting work
- Commissions to research, develop and present new work
- Creating a dance work using digital or film-based skills and technologies
- Rehearsing and presenting New Zealand dance works to New Zealand audiences
- Workshops, wānanga or fono to develop production concepts
Developing skills and audiences
- Mentoring and internship programmes
- Residencies in New Zealand or overseas
- Workshops, wānanga, fono, forums, masterclasses, seminars and other opportunities for creative and/or professional development for New Zealand producers, choreographers, dancers, dance practitioners and technicians
- Initiatives for audience development
Projects with international connections
- International opportunities for creative and/or professional development for a New Zealand choreographer, dancer, dance practitioner, producer or technician
- International touring of distinctive, high-quality New Zealand dance works
- Visits by international practitioners that will directly benefit New Zealand dance and dancers
Other dance projects
- Community arts projects that focus on professional dancers and practitioners working with communities, or that have regional or national significance
- Residencies in New Zealand or overseas
- Documentary or archival projects that focus on dance or a particular dance practitioner or organisation
- Researching, writing and publishing critical writing about New Zealand dance
- Website development projects that create, promote or distribute quality New Zealand dance, or engage in dance development and criticism
International production costs not supported
We do not fund production costs for presenting New Zealand dance by an international company for an international audience.
What we mean by Interarts
Interarts projects integrate artforms of any cultural tradition, combining them to create a new and distinct work. The result of this integration is a hybrid or fusion of artforms outside of Creative New Zealand’s artform categories.
Track record requirements
For an Interarts practitioner, success means having presented at least one work that received a degree of critical, box-office or sales success. This does not include presentations made as part of a course of study.
Interarts activities we support
We fund a range of activities, for example:
Developing or presenting work
- Researching, develop and creating new work
- Presenting New Zealand Interarts works to New Zealand audiences
- Workshops, wānanga or fono to develop Interarts practice
Developing skills and audiences
- Mentoring and internship programmes
- Residencies in New Zealand or overseas
- Workshops, wānanga, fono, forums, masterclasses, seminars and other opportunities for creative and/or professional development for New Zealand Interarts practitioners
- Initiatives for audience development
Projects with international connections
- International opportunities for creative and/or professional development for a New Zealand Interarts practitioners
- International touring or presentation of distinctive, high-quality New Zealand Interarts works
- Visits by international practitioners that will directly benefit New Zealand Interarts practice and practitioners
Other Interarts projects
- Community arts projects that focus on professional Interarts practitioners working with communities, or that have regional or national significance
- Residencies in New Zealand or overseas
- Documentary or archival projects that focus on Interarts or a particular Interarts practitioners
- Researching, writing and publishing critical writing about New Zealand Interarts practice
- Website development projects that create, promote or distribute quality New Zealand Interarts projects, or engage in Interarts development and criticism
What we mean by Literature
Literature is a broad, inclusive concept. Creative New Zealand will consider proposals from writers and illustrators to research and write high-quality work in fiction or non-fiction.
Fiction includes, but isn’t limited to, novels, novellas, short stories, poetry, children’s fiction, young adult fiction, graphic novels, illustrated picture books, and speculative fiction such as fantasy fiction, science fiction, detective fiction, and historical fiction.
Non-fiction includes, but isn’t limited to, autobiography, biography, essays, social commentary, literary criticism, reviews, analytical prose, non-fiction written for children, young adult non-fiction, and writing about the physical and natural sciences.
Illustrating a work of literature (e.g., for works of children’s literature and graphic novels/comics) can be considered under the literature artform.
New and hybrid genres of writing may also be considered under the literature artform.
We consider literature to include customary and contemporary practices of all the peoples of Aotearoa New Zealand, including Māori and Pasifika peoples and the diverse cultures of people living in Aotearoa New Zealand today.
Track record requirements
For a writer of literature (or spoken-word artist/performance poet), success means having had published or presented at least one work that received a degree of critical or sales success. This does not include work published or presented as part of a course of study.
For a publisher of literature, success means having previously published at least one work by a New Zealand author that achieved a degree of critical or sales success. This does not include work published as part of a course of study.
Literature activities we support
We fund a range of activities, for example:
Developing or presenting work
- Researching and writing new work
- Commissions to research and write a new work
- Original writing in te reo Māori and Pasifika languages
- Original writing in the languages of the diverse cultures of Aotearoa New Zealand
- Illustrating a work of literature
- Publishing New Zealand work in print, e-book and audiobook format
- Writer-in-residence programmes
- Attendance at international literature festivals.
Developing skills and audiences
- Mentoring and internship programmes
- Domestic and international professional development opportunities
- Initiatives for audience development
Other literature projects
- Community arts projects that focus on professional writers working with communities (refer to Community arts)
- Literary magazines, review journals and other platforms supporting literature discourse or reader engagement.
- Literary festivals, or support for festivals to include New Zealand writers as part of a general programme.
- Workshops, wānanga, fono, masterclasses, literary seminars and conferences featuring established New Zealand writers, editors, publishers and so on.
- Documentary projects that focus on New Zealand literature or a New Zealand writer.
Other support for Literature
The Publishers Association of New Zealand manages international market development initiatives for New Zealand literature on behalf of Creative New Zealand. This includes funding for the translation of New Zealand titles into foreign languages.
The Publishers Association of New Zealand also manages publishers’ attendance at major international books fairs.
Activities we don't support
Creative New Zealand sees literature as a broad concept that includes high-quality fiction and non-fiction. However, funding is not available for projects or activities that:
- are already supported by other government agencies, e.g. film, radio and television scripts.
- have received funding towards writing and research projects from the New Zealand History Research Trust or oral history projects funded by Ngā Kōrero Tuku Iho, New Zealand Oral History Grants. Creative New Zealand cannot support the same phase of a project if you have received this funding support.
- are the core business of Te Papa Press and seek publishing support.
- is part of an education course, e.g., textbooks and other works created for primary, secondary or tertiary educational purposes; academic theses or coursework undertaken as part of any tertiary education programme, including coursework in creative writing
- we don’t consider to be literature, e.g., news media content that does not have a clear arts focus, instruction manuals, guidebooks, phrase books, do-it-yourself and how-to books, travel guides, gardening books, recipe books, bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, professional reference works, hymn books and publisher catalogues.
What we mean by Multidisciplinary
Projects and activities that do not feature one main artform and that involve at least two different artforms, of any cultural tradition.
It includes customary and contemporary practices of all the peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand, including Māori and Pasifika peoples and the diverse cultures of people living in Aotearoa/New Zealand today.
What we mean by Multidisciplinary arts festival
An arts festival that takes place within a defined area or region over a designated period of time and involves a programme of arts events and activities that features at least two different artforms, of any cultural tradition.
Track record requirements
For multidisciplinary arts, success means having previously delivered a work that achieved critical and/or sales success. This does not include presentations made as part of a course of study.
For multidisciplinary art festivals, success means having delivered at least one festival that included works from at least two artforms, of any cultural tradition. Applicants must supply accurate revenue, expenditure and attendance information about the previous festival.
Multidisciplinary activities we support
Our multidisciplinary category includes festivals. Multidisciplinary arts festivals must take place in a defined area or region over a designated period of time. They must involve a programme of arts events and activities that feature at least two different artforms, of any cultural tradition.
We fund festivals to do the following:
- Presentation of new or remounted excellent and innovative New Zealand art and work, including contemporary Māori and Pacific arts.
- Community arts projects and events.
- Presentation and transmission of Māori customary and Pacific heritage arts.
- Commissioning, co-production and/or development of small-scale innovative work.
What we mean by Music
Music includes classical and contemporary music; orchestral, choral, and band music; opera; jazz and improvised music; sound art; contemporary popular music; 'world' music; and traditional and contemporary Māori and Pacific Island music.
It includes customary and contemporary practices of all the peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand, including Māori and Pasifika peoples and the diverse cultures of people living in Aotearoa/New Zealand today.
Track record requirements
For a musician or a music group, success means having performed publicly with a degree of critical or box-office success. This does not include performances made as part of a course of study.
For a music composer or writer, success means having had published or performed at least one work that received a degree of critical or sales success. This does not include performances made as part of a course of study.
Music activities we support
We fund a range of activities, for example:
Developing or presenting work
- Creating new music work.
- New recordings (both audio and visual content) of original high-quality New Zealand music where the main purpose is to use the recording to support a future domestic or international tour, a live or digitally mediated performance, or promotion activity.
- Commissions of new music or sound work.
- Residencies in New Zealand or overseas for New Zealand composers to create new work.
- Touring or presenting in New Zealand or internationally.
- Publication of music scores by New Zealand composers.
Developing skills and audiences
- Mentoring programmes
- Workshops, wānanga, fono, masterclasses, seminars, conferences and for creative and professional development for New Zealand composers, musicians and music practitioners.
- Competitions that offer development opportunities for New Zealand performers and composers or engage with diverse communities.
- International professional-development opportunities for composers or performers.
- Initiatives for audience development.
Community projects
- Community arts projects that focus on professional musicians working with communities, or that have regional or national significance.
Music criticism and documentaries
- Publication of monographs, essay series, journals, music scores and critical writing about music from New Zealand.
- Documentary or archival projects that focus on music from New Zealand or a New Zealand practitioner.
Activities music funding does not support
Music funding cannot be used for:
- Recording projects (both audio or visual content) where the main purpose is for broadcast, or to distribute the recording via retail or online platforms. These should be directed to NZ on Air or Te Māngai Pāho.
- Projects that have received funding from another government organisation, such as NZ on Air or the New Zealand Music Commission. This includes projects that receive support via the NZ Music Recovery Package 2020/21 and 2021/22.
- Production costs for presenting New Zealand music by an international company for an international audience.
Other support for contemporary popular New Zealand music
Check which government organisation funds your type of project. Creative New Zealand, NZ on Air and the New Zealand Music Commission share information on applications to ensure there is no duplication of funding.
Also, have a look at the Inter-agency contemporary popular music diagram (pdf 150KB)
Creative New Zealand
Priority: Arts development and live performance by investment in:
- creation and development of new music
- audio and visual recordings to support live performance, touring or promotion
- live performance and touring
- developing skills.
NZ on Air
Priority: music recording, video and promotional content for all broadcast and online platforms by investment in:
- new multi song projects and singles (including recording, video and promotion)
- recording and video content for children's music
- new tracks distribution to broadcast and online platforms
- NZ music features on broadcast and online platforms
- music industry professional practice support.
NZ Music Commission
Priority: music sector growth and support by investment in:
- increasing expertise and audiences
- music education and engagement
- international market development
- domestic touring (2020/21 - 2021/22).
Te Māngai Paho
Priority: production and broadcast of content in te reo Māori by investment in:
- recordings and publicity of music in te reo Māori
- wānanga and breakthrough projects
- production of Māori language content for broadcast on radio, television and online.
Music Managers Forum is dedicated to helping grow artist manager businesses through education, networking and advocacy for NZ managers and self-managed artists.
Recorded Music NZ provides industry representation, advocacy and acts as a collective licensing organisation for recording artists and their labels.
APRA AMCOS NZ ensures songwriters and composers get paid fairly and efficiently for the use of their works by providing music users with easy ways to play and copy the music they love.
Music Helps supports projects that use the power of music to help people in need & provides wellbeing & emergency financial support services to kiwi music workers.
Independent Music NZ works on behalf of independent NZ labels and artists to advocate, educate, and to celebrate NZ music, both nationally and internationally.
What we mean by Ngā toi Māori
Ngā toi Māori (Māori arts) include, but are not limited to, Māori heritage arts practice such as: taonga pūoro, tārai waka, kaupapa waka, whakairo, raranga, tāniko, kākahu, tukutuku, kōwhaiwhai, tā moko, kapa haka, mōteatea, waiata ā-ringa, waiata tawhito, poi, waiata haka, pao, mau rākau, whaikōrero, karanga, whakapapa recitation, te reo me onā tikanga, kōrero paki, kōrero tuku iho, pakiwaitara, karetao, whare tapere and whakaraka. It also includes the work of Māori artists across all forms of contemporary arts practice.
Track record requirements
For ngā toi Māori carver, success means having been mentored by established carvers, or having completed a course at a marae-based or recognised wānanga.
For ngā toi Māori weaving group, success means having a record of successful exhibitions or workshops in the community.
For ngā toi Māori contemporary artist, please refer to the relevant artform e.g. if you are a contemporary dancer; check your track record requirements under Dance.
Ngā toi Māori activities we support
We can fund a range of activities, for example:
Developing or presenting work
- The creation, development and presentation of new work.
- Commissions resulting in works that are ready for an initial public presentation.
- Exhibiting Māori work within New Zealand.
- Rehearsing and presenting theatre and dance productions to New Zealand audiences.
- Touring of theatre or dance or music productions within New Zealand.
- New recordings of waiata, puoro, storytelling, whaikōrero, karakia, Māori folklore and history.
- Literary publishing.
Developing skills and audiences
- Development of Māori artists and their work across all forms of contemporary arts practice, including theatre, music, dance, literature, visual arts, rāranga, whakairo, sculpture, painting, clay, ceramics, fibre, jewellery, printmaking, photography, drawing, and installation.
- Mentoring and internships
- Wānanga, Workshops, forums, masterclasses, seminars and other opportunities for creative and professional development for Māori artists and practitioners.
- Initiatives for audience development.
Projects with international connections
- International tours or presentations.
- International opportunities for professional or creative development for Māori artists and practitioners.
- Participating in international arts festivals and exhibitions, cultural exchanges or art symposiums.
Other Ngā Toi Māori projects
- Community arts projects that focus on professional artists and practitioners working with communities, or that have regional or national significance.
- Publication of exhibition catalogues and critical writing about Māori artists and their art.
- Indigenous links, such as Māori artists working in collaboration with indigenous people of the Pacific Islands and other nations.
- Documentary or archival projects that focus on Ngā toi Māori or artists.
- Residencies
Examples of cultural arts practices that may be supported
Marae arts
Wānanga that pass on the knowledge and skills of traditional Māori marae arts, including:
- karanga, whaikōrero, te reo Māori, whakapapa recitation, mōteatea and pao
- The creation of new artistic works for marae (not restoration)
- The adornment (whakairo, tukutuku and kōwhaiwhai) of new marae
Kapa Haka
Support for:
- the composition of mōteatea, waiata ā-ringa, waiata tawhito, poi, waiata haka, pao
- wānanga to support skills development in associated artforms such as te reo Māori (karakia, karanga, whaikorero), taonga puoro, mau rākau, rāranga and whakaraka
- staging and technical costs for regional haka festivals
- touring of work within New Zealand or internationally
Waka
- creation of waka (Tārai Waka)
- artistic adornment of traditional waka.
Te reo Māori
Projects that promote and strengthen the use of te reo, including:
- books.
- recordings, for example of songs, stories, kīwaha and pepeha.
- theatre productions.
- wānanga reo.
Pacific arts
Artists working on a collaborative proposal between Māori and Pasifika artists may need to make separate applications for the different components of the proposed budget — that is, to Māori Arts for the Māori component of the budget, and to the Pacific Arts for the Pasifika component.
Other support for Ngā Toi Māori
Other government departments also fund Māori arts:
- Te Māngai Pāho: music recording for iwi radio and CD production
- Oranga Marae: the restoration of marae as centres of Māori identity and Mātauranga
- Te Mātāwai: funding for home and community-based initiatives contribute to revitalising te reo Māori
What we mean by Pacific arts
Pacific arts includes Pasifika artists undertaking contemporary and heritage arts projects in all art forms — craft/object art, dance, interarts, literature, music, theatre and visual arts.
Track record requirements
For a Pacific Arts artist or arts organisation, success means an arts activity that has been publicly presented and received a degree of success in either professional or community arts
For a Pasifika contemporary artist, please refer to the relevant artform e.g. if you are a contemporary dancer; check your track record requirements under Dance.
Pacific arts activities we support
We can fund a range of activities, for example:
Developing or presenting work
- Creating, developing and presenting new work.
- Research and development of an art project.
- Making costumes used in a cultural performance (not buying them).
- Publication of exhibition catalogues, and critical writing about Pasifika artists and their art.
- Touring of exhibitions or productions within New Zealand.
- Creating, presenting, participating in, and passing on Pacific artforms
- Projects that support creating, presenting, participating in and passing on heritage artforms.
- Projects that develop New Zealand Pasifika artists and contemporary arts practices.
- Projects that encourage young Pasifika people to participate in the arts.
Developing skills and audiences
- Mentoring and internships.
- Residencies in New Zealand or overseas.
- Workshops, fono, forums, masterclasses, seminars and other opportunities that encourage creative and professional development for Pasifika artists.
- Initiatives for audience development.
Projects with international connections
- Indigenous established artists from Pacific nations visiting New Zealand to share their knowledge and culture.
- International tours or presentations.
- International travel for professional development.
- Participating in international arts festivals and exhibitions, cultural exchanges or art symposiums.
Other Pacific arts projects
- Community arts projects that focus on professional artists working with communities, or that have regional or national significance.
- Documenting Pasifika cultural workshops or fono for archival purposes.
- Developing a website to create, promote or distribute quality Pacific arts or engage in Pacific arts development and arts criticism.
Heritage arts
Pasifika communities, cultural groups, arts groups and individuals based in New Zealand who wish to create, develop and pass on particular heritage arts can apply for funding for the following types of activities:
- Pasifika crafts and handicrafts — for example, tivaevae, tatau (traditional tattoo), canoe-building, carving, costume-making, importing raw materials, tapa-making and weaving.
- festivals or gatherings (such as workshops or fono) that support learning, sharing and the passing on of knowledge for Pasifika crafts, handicrafts and performing arts.
Festivals in the Pacific
Pasifika community groups can apply to attend festivals in the Pacific to learn about heritage arts if they will be:
- attending workshops or other forums to gain vital skills and knowledge not available in New Zealand, and
- passing on these skills and knowledge to their community in New Zealand.
Projects involving ngā toi Māori
Support is available for indigenous links projects involving:
- Pasifika artists working in collaboration with Māori artists, or
- workshops, wānanga or fono for sharing ideas between artforms and cultures.
- artists working on a collaborative proposal between Māori and Pasifika artists may need to make separate applications for the different components of the proposed budget — that is, to Māori Arts for the Māori component of the budget, and to the Pacific Arts for the Pasifika component.
What we mean by Theatre
Theatre includes both classical and contemporary theatre, and all genres such as comedy, drama, physical theatre, devised theatre, street theatre, musical theatre, circus, puppetry, mask and theatre for children.
It includes customary and contemporary practices of all the peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand, including Māori and Pasifika peoples and the diverse cultures of people living in Aotearoa/New Zealand today.
Track record requirements
For a theatre practitioner, success means having undertaken a key creative role in at least one theatre production that achieved a degree of critical or box-office success. This does not include presentations made as part of a course of study.
Theatre activities we support
We fund a range of activities, for example:
Developing or presenting work
- Writing a play script.
- Rehearsing and presenting New Zealand theatre works to New Zealand audiences.
- Workshops, wānanga or fono to develop a production concept.
- Devising theatre productions.
- Touring a theatre production within New Zealand.
- Creating theatre productions using digital and/or film-based skills and technologies.
Developing skills and audiences
- Mentoring and internship programmes
- Residencies for established theatre practitioners in New Zealand or overseas.
- Workshops, wānanga, fono, forums, masterclasses, seminars and other opportunities for creative and professional development for New Zealand producers, directors, playwrights, actors, theatre designers and technicians.
- Initiatives for audience development, i.e. engaging with audiences to maintain an existing audience and/or develop a new audience.
Projects with international connections
- International opportunities for creative or professional development for an established New Zealand director, playwright, producer, actor, theatre designer or technician.
- International touring of a New Zealand theatre production.
- Visits by international theatre practitioners that will directly benefit New Zealand theatre.
Other theatre projects
- Community arts projects that focus on professional theatre artists and practitioners working with communities, or that have regional or national significance.
- Researching, writing and publishing critical writing about New Zealand theatre.
- Documentary projects that focus on New Zealand theatre or a theatre practitioner or organisation.
- Developing theatre-related websites.
International production costs not supported
We do not fund production costs for presenting New Zealand theatre by an international company for an international audience.
What we mean by Visual arts
Visual arts includes, but is not limited to, drawing, experimental sound/audio and moving-image arts projects, installation, kōwhaiwhai, painting, performance within a visual arts context, photography, printmaking, sculpture, tā moko, and typography. Visual arts also includes customary and contemporary practices of all the peoples of Aotearoa/New Zealand, including Māori and Pasifika peoples and the diverse cultures of people living in Aotearoa/New Zealand today.
Track record requirements
For a visual artist, success means at least one public exhibition of a body of work that achieved a degree of critical or sales success. This can be a solo show or as part of a group exhibition, but not as part of a course of study.
For a visual arts curator, success means having curated work that was exhibited at a gallery and that received a degree of critical acclaim.
Visual arts activities we support
We fund a range of activities, for example:
Developing or presenting work
- Researching or creating new bodies of work.
- Commissions for public artwork.
- Crating and freighting an exhibition of work to tour within New Zealand.
- Creating New Zealand work for exhibition within New Zealand art galleries or public spaces (we will usually give priority to exhibitions held at public art galleries).
Developing skills and audiences
- Residencies in New Zealand or overseas.
- Mentoring and internship programmes.
- Workshops, wānanga, fono, forums, masterclasses, seminars and other opportunities for creative and professional development for New Zealand visual artists and practitioners.
- Initiatives for audience development.
Projects with international connections
- International touring of high-quality and distinctive New Zealand visual artworks.
- Publishers attending international art book fairs
- International opportunities for professional or creative development for New Zealand visual artists and practitioners.
- Visits by international critics and curators that will directly benefit New Zealand visual arts and artists.
Other visual arts projects
- Community arts projects that focus on professional artists and practitioners working with communities, or that have regional or national significance.
- Researching, writing, producing, publishing or distributing exhibition catalogues, monographs, essay series, and critical writing about New Zealand visual artists and arts.
- Documentary or archival projects that focus on visual arts or an artist.
- Organising or attending conferences.