Creative New Zealand establishes multi-million dollar Coronavirus response

Creative New Zealand’s governing body, the Arts Council, has empowered the national arts development agency to establish a multi-million-dollar Emergency Response Package to support artists, arts practitioners, arts groups and arts organisations coping with the impact of COVID-19.

Following an emergency meeting on Friday, Arts Council Chair, Michael Moynahan advised "the Arts Council ... recognises the severe impact of COVID-19 on the arts community.

"We’ve given Creative New Zealand the mandate to respond quickly and effectively, and wholeheartedly support their approach.”

Creative New Zealand will initially invest $4.5 million to kick-start the package, which will have two components:

Emergency support for existing investment clients – open to the 83 multi-year funded arts organisations in the Toi Tōtara Haemata and Toi Uru Kahikatea investment programmes (investment clients).

Resilience grants for artists, arts practitioners, arts groups and arts organisations – open to eligible, non-investment clients. There will be quick turnaround periods and rolling weekly decisions.

In order to be flexible, responsive and responsible funders, Creative New Zealand has suspended all funding programmes currently open, due to open or with applications being assessed. This is to acknowledge that many projects can no longer take place in the way they were originally conceived. Many people’s personal circumstances have also dramatically changed. Suspending programmes will allow the organisation to concentrate its efforts on this emergency response.

Next Tuesday (24th March), Creative New Zealand will give further detail about the Emergency Response Package. This will explain the purposes of these two new programmes, and clarify eligibility and when the programmes will be open for applications.