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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.

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 


Updated on 10th August 2023