March 20, 2014

Creative New Zealand frees up money for Artists

Editor    posted 30 Jan 2014, 02:43 PM / edited 30 Jan 2014, 02:47 PM

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CREATIVE NEW ZEALAND WELCOMES NEW UNIFIED ARTS COUNCIL 

The Chairman of the Arts Council, Dr Dick Grant, today welcomed the passing of the new Act to unify and streamline Creative New Zealand’s governance structure. 

A new 13-member Arts Council will be responsible for setting the national arts development agency’s strategy, allocating budgets and making significant investment decisions. It will replace the existing 28-member governance and funding structure of an Arts Council, Arts Board, Te Waka Toi (the Māori arts board) and Pacific Arts Committee (a committee of the Arts Board).

“Creative New Zealand’s focus is on ensuring New Zealanders are able to produce, attend and participate in great arts experiences. This new structure will help us achieve this by putting in place a more efficient and effective means of policy-setting and decision-making,’’ Dr Grant said.

“The Arts Council is a major funder of the arts and plays a key role in supporting the arts communities in New Zealand.  The new Act will enable Creative New Zealand to be more responsive to the arts creators, presenters and audiences in those communities.”

Under the new Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Act, artists will continue to have their proposals assessed by Māori, Pacific and other external artform peers. Funding will also continue to be allocated specifically to support both Māori and Pacific arts.

The inclusion of a minimum of four Māori and two Pacific representatives on the 13-member board will also ensure a strong Māori and Pacific voice is included in setting Creative New Zealand’s policies and funding strategies.

Māori and Pacific members will be appointed by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage in consultation with the Ministers for Māori and Pacific Island Affairs, respectively.

The new structure will come into effect three months after the date of Royal Assent.

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Re the above news about savings through restructuring the governance level of Creative NZ, Robbie Ellis has recalled this, from Arts on Sunday, February 2010:

– Lynn Freeman: “You know that the arts community is going to be looking at that estimated $200,000 savings and going ‘Woohoo, that’s for us.’ How do you see that money? Should it all go back into practitioners?”

– Chris Finlayson: “Oh yes.”

– Lynn Freeman: “Simple as that? You’d be disappointed if it wasn’t?”

– Chris Finlayson: “Getting the structure right is the first priority, but for Creative NZ to have an extra $200,000 that goes towards arts practitioners, I regard as extremely important.”

http://www.radionz.co.nz/…/creative-new-zealand%27s… (from 8:03)

Graham Atkinson             posted 30 Jan 2014, 03:07 PM

I have more chance of being appointed to the Council than artists have of this so called extra funding reaching them.

John Smythe      posted 30 Jan 2014, 03:16 PM

I say we take him at his word and watch that space very closely.

Bill Sheat             posted 31 Jan 2014, 04:39 PM

Creative NZ could save another $500,000 by sacking 10 of its staff. No one would notice.

Editor    posted 18 Mar 2014, 10:51 PM

So the next step towards freeing up more money for arts has been taken. https://www.theatreview.org.nz/news/news.php?id=1299

David Lawrence                posted 19 Mar 2014, 10:59 PM / edited 19 Mar 2014, 11:01 PM

Sorry, but that news item and list of names is meant to be a joke, right??

Lexie Matheson                posted 20 Mar 2014, 08:12 AM

It’s a bad joke, David. I’m certainly not laughing.

John Smythe      posted 20 Mar 2014, 09:02 AM

Let’s just keep our eyes peeled for that extra $200,000 per year coming through to the actual funding stream for artists