Toi tipu, toi aweawe!  
Grow the world of arts, so we may be inspired by the world of arts! 

We have an important update about the next steps for our remaining COVID-19 recovery funding.

We originally planned to run second rounds of our Capability and CARE funds in late 2021 and then early 2022. However, these funding rounds were postponed as we all dealt with the COVID-19 ‘Delta’ outbreak in late 2021, and then the ‘Omicron’ outbreak from January 2022. 

During this period, many people and organisations in the arts, culture and heritage sectors were under considerable stress, and our focus was on providing immediate relief funding to help the sector get through a challenging time. This work involved Manatū Taonga directly funding people and organisations through grant schemes, securing funding for other organisations to distribute (e.g. Creative New Zealand and the Music Commission), and getting funding to where it was needed via third parties (like event organisers). 

We had a lot of constructive feedback from people and organisations in the sector during this period – and we also heard a lot about funding during the first round of our Long-Term Insights Briefing consultation.  

As a result of this feedback, and the limited time that we have left to allocate COVID-19 Recovery Funding, we will be simplifying our funding approach and consolidating round two of our remaining Funds into a single Culture Sector Regeneration Fund. To be clear, this Fund will replace the second rounds of the Capability and CARE funds (and any further rounds of our Innovation Fund). 

We have included more detail below on the rationale for the new Fund, and the open and transparent approach that we will be using to consider funding proposals. To sum up what we are trying to do in a sentence: We want to work with people and organisations in the arts, culture, and heritage sectors to find and fund initiatives that will have a lasting, positive impact – things that will help the sector thrive in the future. 

This focus on more strategic initiatives that have a lasting, positive impact means that the Culture Sector Regeneration Fund will, by design, be better suited to projects that benefit multiple organisations and people over a sustained period of time. 

How can I find out more about the Fund? 

Information can be found on the Regeneration Fund webpage, with further detail available once the Fund opens on 27 July.

We will also be running a series of Regeneration Fund Information Sessions on the dates below. These online sessions are an opportunity to find out more about the fund and ask questions. We’ll have more sessions available once the Fund opens. 

• Thursday 7 July 2022, 2pm 
• Friday 8 July 2022, 10am. This session is NZSL interpreted. It will be recorded and posted on this webpage 
• Monday 11 July 2022, 10am 
• Tuesday 12 July, 2pm