The importance of funding arts for Aotearoa New Zealand
By Sue McCabe, Chief Executive, Philanthropy New Zealand | Tōpūtanga Tuku Aroha o Aotearoa.
The contribution that the arts makes to a sufficiently representative identity for Aotearoa New Zealand was highlighted at a recent gathering of funders of the arts.
Elyssia Ra’nee from Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi facilitated a panel of arts practitioners featuring Rosabel Tan, Tanu Gago and Eynon Delamere in Auckland early this month.
It was part of Philanthropy New Zealand | Tōpūtanga Tuku Aroha o Aotearoa’s gathering of philanthropists and grantmakers to discuss topics ranging from funding climate action; education; youth; family giving; and supporting Māori aspirations.
The panellists highlighted progress in the representation of contemporary arts and how important this was for people’s sense of belonging and therefore wellbeing. They highlighted progress in growing visibility of different cultures within art and how it enables communities like Rainbow, Pacific peoples and migrants to feel seen.
The following blog mostly features the amazing quotes from panellists as a way to amplify their words and support understanding of the role of arts in our society.
“Arts is tied to how you see yourself. The positive impact for people and communities is the ability to see themselves in a contemporary art context. What has shifted in past years is that communities that operated at the fringes in contemporary art have been invited into the centre,” Tanu said.
“That feels validating and means these communities are making a broader contribution to the identity of Aotearoa New Zealand which means it now represents more of us. More people feel that they are contributing to it or see the art and feel they are part of this identity,” he said.
Elyssia said there needed to be greater recognition that arts may not be commercially successful but can be culturally successful.
“Every child should grow up feeling that their voice matters and there is someone else out there having the same experience that they are. We need to invest in arts as a way to support people knowing their voice matters.”
Rosabel said artists showed the different ways to belong in the world, helping people to understand each other and the potential for a more equitable future for Aotearoa New Zealand.
“Art has had such a profound impact on how we understand the world and where you fit within it. It’s transformational to see a story that resonates with you and speaks to who you are and your own experiences. It tells you that you are not alone, that you belong to a wider community.”
Tanu said that arts helped with empathy for each other.
“A strength that arts has is that if we disagree with each other and make each other uncomfortable due to our differences, we don’t stop working together. It helps us understand rather than separating us.”
In the words of Eynon, “Art is a way of living. A life-force”. He spoke of its importance in a holistic life. “If part of this holistic life is deprioritised it can lead to trouble.”
Someone in the audience asked for the panellists’ opinion on how to weigh up funding homelessness versus funding the arts. This reflected the reality for many funders who see far more demand for philanthropic funding and grants compared to the money available.
The panellists spoke of how the benefits of arts for the artists and the communities they represent is protective of their wellbeing and can be part of the solution. It can also prevent the outcomes that lead to people and communities needing greater financial support. Arts is crosscutting in terms of its contribution to a range of areas that funders support, for example educating about climate change and encouraging climate action.
The panellists acknowledged the funding that the philanthropic and grantmaking sector had provided artists over the years and improvements that have been made in funding processes. They issued challenges for funders to keep focussed on how they can make seeking funding easier for community organisations and artists.
Eynon said funders of all types, including Government and commercial as well as philanthropists and grantmakers, had a focus on funding existing success rather than growth. He cited Michael Jordan who credited his misses in basketball as giving him the learnings to get more hoops when it mattered.
“I always believe in local solutions for local communities. Things that don’t work will lead to work that has huge impact.”
“We need to invest in outcomes rather than outputs, and into relationships and people so they can realise their vision, rather than fund products,” Elyssia said.
They asked funders to continue reducing the time it took to apply for funding; providing full funding (working as a group of funders if necessary) rather than partial funding; and granting more long-term funding. These things were key to a thriving arts sector, the panellists said.
On behalf of PNZ, thank you to the panellists for sharing their insight and experiences. Thank you to Alison Taylor and Elyssia from Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi for organising and facilitating this session.
We recommend community organisations check out www.match.org.nz which is an initiative to support fundseekers to more easily get in front of funders interested in the area they work in. Its free for the smallest organisations.
Given Match | Te Puna Taurite is in a start-up phase, currently it’s limited to organisations that are registered charities. You can sign up to the mailing list to hear about developments, including upcoming plans to support community organisations beyond registered charities.
Check out these resources from Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi and some of the work from the three panellists:
Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi – Annual Report
Enter the Multiverse – Rosabel Tan’s Asian Arts Ecology Research Paper
Te Manawa – Toi Māori Backbone Eynon is holding and shaping
FAFSWAG – Arts Foundation Video
FAFSWAG – Contemporary Hum Article about FAFSWAG’s presentation at Documenta 15 in Kassel Germany