April 7, 2020
DETAILS OF CREATIVE NEW ZEALAND’S FIRST PHASE ARTS SECTOR BOOST, ahead of 14 April opening
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini
My strength is not that of the individual but of the collective
As promised, we’ve got more details to share about our Emergency Response Package, ahead of opening the opportunities next Tuesday 14 April. Please see our update below.
CREATIVE NEW ZEALAND MEDIA RELEASE
Creative New Zealand’s Emergency Response Package reflects a changed landscape, delivers opportunities for new and refocused creative projects that work in that new landscape, and bolsters a sector knocked to its knees by the impact of COVID-19.
Announced on 24 March, Creative New Zealand can now provide more details about the initial $16 million investment, opening for applications from 14 April and to be distributed to the sector through to 30 June 2020 (the end of Creative New Zealand’s financial year). A second phase, which will provide support beyond June 2020, will be explored at the April Arts Council meeting.
Michael Moynahan, Chair of Creative New Zealand’s governing body, the Arts Council, says, “These are challenging times for all of us, and for the arts community in particular. We believe the support Creative New Zealand is providing will give the sector confidence that we understand their plight and are here to work alongside them.”
“We expect there to be a second phase of support, from 1 July, which we’ll be able to speak more about following further meetings of the Arts Council. It’s premature for us to discuss more than this first phase of our response at the moment, given the profound uncertainty we’re all experiencing,” Michael says.
Creative New Zealand Chief Executive Stephen Wainwright says, “Through the Emergency Relief Grant we have worked to closely align our support with the WINZ Wage Subsidy and our aims around paying artists and arts practitioners more fairly, in keeping with what we learnt from the sector through our Sustainable Careers research. Our current guidelines include pay rates of at least $25 per hour for artists and arts practitioners and so we are ‘topping up’ the amount of the WINZ payment to meet that threshold.”
“Given the rapidly changing circumstances, we’ll continue to monitor the situation and reassess the need and level of our emergency support.
“The design of our Emergency Response Package is well-progressed, including our ability to deliver it within current constraints and the rapidly changing environment. The different elements are shaping up and we look forward to opening the opportunities on 14 April,” Stephen says.
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