Skip to main content
Come along to our next Public History talk featuring Cybèle Locke discussing her recently published biography of Bill Andersen, Comrade, which examines labour activism, communism and social change, from the 1930s until the turn of the twenty-first century. This talk offers possibilities for how Bill Andersen’s Communist, working-class life might speak to us in the current moment. Join us via Zoom or at the National Library on Wednesday 05 April at 12.10pm.
Public History talk featuring Cybèle Locke - Wednesday 05 April
Join us for free walking tours at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park taking place in March. Visit all points of interest and understand the importance of this historic area to both Wellington and Aotearoa.
Free Pukeahu Summer Walking Tours in March
Following on from a significant first round of funding in 2022, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is delighted to announce a further 12 grants of up to $25,000 each have been awarded to iwi, hapū and hāpori Māori projects which support revitalisation of vulnerable mātauranga Māori. For more details, visit Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga's website.
Mātauranga Māori Grants programme recipients announced
Audio Described Aotearoa’s dream of increasing the number of Māori and Pacific audio describers has taken a step closer to reality, thanks to a grant from Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
Audio Described Aotearoa to train Māori and Pacific audio describers
The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Taima Anne (Annie) Murray (Te Arawa) to the position of Chief Executive Officer for a five-year term. NZFC Board Chair Alastair Carruthers, in making the announcement today, said “I am delighted that we have found someone of Annie’s calibre to lead the Commission. She has exceptional experience and a deep commitment to stories from the diverse voices of Aotearoa. I have no doubt she will have a positive impact on filmmakers and the organisation in years to come”.
NZFC Announces New CEO
This month Creative NZ is kicking off the kōrero, inviting artists, arts organisations and their communities to join a series of conversations taking place across the country to co-develop pathways to better serve the arts in Aotearoa. There’s lots of ways to get involved wherever you are, so check out the information on their website to find out more about where CNZ will be and how to you can tell them about your future vision for arts development in New Zealand.
Creative NZ to host regional workshops about the future of arts development
On Tuesday 14 February 2023, Te Papa celebrated 25 years since opening with a new Rautaki | Strategy to take it forward into the future. The museum’s co-leaders, Kaihautū | Māori Co-leader Arapata Hakiwai and Tumu Whakarae | Chief Executive Courtney Johnston, and its Board led by Dame Fran Wilde have embraced a new vision for Te Papa to carry it forward for the next 25 years and beyond.
Te Papa celebrates 25 years with new strategy
Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage has published its inaugural Long-term Insights Briefing for the cultural sector. The Briefing explores five key areas that will influence the vibrancy and resilience of the cultural sector ecosystem in the future.
Long-term Insights Briefing highlights opportunities for future of Aotearoa’s arts, culture and heritage

Get the full story

Home Funding Arts and Culture COVID Recovery Programme CARE Fund

CARE Fund

Te Tahua Whakahaumaru  
Creative Arts Recovery and Employment (CARE) Fund 

This fund is now closed


The CARE Fund was designed to support the cultural sector to adapt to the COVID-19 environment by funding projects that enhance access to, and participation in, the cultural sector and create employment and skill development opportunities. It included some contestable initiatives as well as projects in partnership with other agencies. Projects funded through CARE are underway and will continue to 2024.  

Ngā Wāhi Auaha  
The Creative Spaces initiative   

The Creative Spaces initiative is designed to increase participation in creative activities for people experiencing barriers to participation and create employment for creative professionals. Funding was available for organisations or groups providing access to art-making activities and creative expression for people who experience barriers to participation, which include: 

  • intellectual or physical disabilities 
  • neurological conditions or mental illness 
  • age-related vulnerability (seniors or youth) 
  • cultural or social isolation or poverty. 

Creative spaces could apply for up to $150,000 a year, for a total of up to $450,000 in total over the three years. Through two rounds of funding, 54 organisations received a total of $17.12 million.   
 
View list of funding recipients

Ngā Kaiwhakaoho Ahurea  
Cultural Activators Pilot  

The Cultural Activators Pilot funded cultural activators in eight communities for a year to increase access and participation in cultural activities.  

Established cultural sector practitioners collaborate with their communities to tell their stories, build their creative skills, and connect them with opportunities in the wider cultural sector.  

Through this fund, eight organisations were funded a total of $1.44 million to host eight activators. 

View list of host organisations  

Ngā Puninga Toi ā-Ahurea me ngā Kaupapa  
Cultural Installations and Events  

Cultural Installations and Events was designed to create employment and skill development opportunities for cultural practitioners and allow more people to participate in our cultural sector.  

Funding was for free events in easy to access spaces people regularly go or are easy to discover, such as community hubs, shopping malls, parks, beaches, marae, churches, reserves, or along a waterfront.  

Through this fund, 73 installations and events received a total of $1.209 million. 

View list of funding recipients 

The planned round two of Cultural Installations and Events will no longer go ahead. 

Future of the CARE Fund 

There are no further rounds of the CARE Fund initiatives planned.  

The CARE Fund was one of three original delivery funds for the Cultural Sector Regeneration Fund. The others were the Cultural Sector Capability Fund and the Cultural Sector Innovation Fund.   

To provide support for the cultural sector in light of the Delta and Omicron outbreaks, some adjustments were made to the Cultural Sector Regeneration Fund and funding reprioritised to emergency funding initiatives. 

In July 2022 it was announced that the remaining funding from the Cultural Sector Regeneration Fund would be delivered as a single fund. This revised Cultural Sector Regeneration Fund combines the outcomes of the three previously separate funds.

Updated on 13th December 2022