Innovation Fund recipients

Fund recipients

The Innovation Fund supported innovative projects that improve the sustainability and resilience of the sector, provide commercial opportunities, and improve access and participation. The Innovation Fund was delivered through a nationwide events series, Te Urungi: Innovating Aotearoa.

There were two funding streams available to participants in the Te Urungi events: seed funding and project funding.

• Seed funding provided up to $20,000 to enable a team to further progress their idea to a point that they are ready to apply for further funding. Seed funding could be used to engage specific expertise, for example a lawyer, a designer, or technical expert. It could also be used to support the people in the team to take the time to develop their project.
• Project funding was also available. The amount provided depended on each individual project and its potential reach and impact. Please note that the Innovation Fund was a highly competitive fund and Manatū Taonga looked to support a wide range of projects across Aotearoa.

• Project funding recipients by event: Te Whanganui-a-Tara, online, Waitaha Canterbury, Ōtākou Otago, Murihiku Southland, Te Tai Poutini West Coast, Ngamotu Taranaki, Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi Bay of Plenty, Manawatū Whanganui, Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke's Bay, Te Tau Ihu o te waka a Māui - Wairau Marlborough and Whakatū Nelson, Waikato, Tamaki Makaurau Auckland (3 online events), Te Tai Tokerau Kerikeri, Te Tairawhiti Gisborne
• Seed funding recipients by event: Te Whanganui-a-Tara, online, Ōtautahi Christchurch, Ōtākou Otago, Murihiku Southland, Te Tai Poutini West Coast, Ngamotu Taranaki, Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi Bay of Plenty, Manawatū Whanganui, Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke's Bay, Te Tau Ihu o te waka a Māui - Wairau Marlborough and Whakatū Nelson, Waikato, Tamaki Makaurau Auckland (3 online events), Te Tai Tokerau Kerikeri, Te Tairawhiti Gisborne

Te Urungi funding recipients by event

Manatū Taonga received 529 applications to the Cultural Sector Innovation Fund, with almost 1000 people taking part in Te Urungi: Innovating Aotearoa events. More than $32 million was awarded to 185 projects that will drive the recovery and future resilience of our cultural sectors.

Te Whanganui-a-Tara – Wellington event

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Atuatanga	Atuatanga	To develop 'Atuatanga', an interactive virtual reality gaming experience that will use te Reo Māori and mātauranga Māori to engage players through challenges as they navigate through an ancient world restoring the taiao for future generations	$585,000
Narrative Muse	Narrative Muse	To develop a digital platform to help Aotearoa audiences discover books, movies, and TV by and about intersectional women and gender-diverse people. This project will also provide content creators with audience insights to support their creation of more representative content	$500,000
Rascality Studios	Rascal Stories	To develop entertaining, interactive reading resources by Aotearoa writers for children/tamariki	$300,000
TOTAL			$1,385,000

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Andy Hanara	Andy Hanara	Development of a business case for heritage waka tangata tours on Porirua harbour.	$20,000
Creative Capital Arts Trust	Developing a NZ Fringe network	To work with national fringe festivals to investigate the development of a collaborative network that strengthens the fringe ecosystem and brings independent and emerging artists work to a wider audience. The project also seeks to increase audience access and participation	$20,000
Goldfish Creative	Distributed Arts Fund	To undertake a feasibility study for an alternate arts funding model that includes investigating the use of distributed ledger technology that improves sustainability and resilience for independent artists in Aotearoa	$20,000
indigi.nz™ 5G art+media studio	indigi.nz™ 5G art+media studio	Testing and documenting the processes for digitising mātauranga Māori for use in new media settings and testing users’ interaction with this content. This project will improve preservation, protection, and revitalisation of mātauranga Māori	$20,000
Isaac James Te Reina Cleland	Teki (Whakaaro Factory)	Development of a concept and prototype for a gaming and social experience based on interaction with mātauranga Māori, whakapapa, whenua, and whānau, for tamariki and rangatahi. This project will improve access and participation while preserving, protecting, and revitalising mātauranga Māori	$20,000
JAMN2020	JAMN2020	To develop a suite of online resources that will be used to support whānau within the welfare and penal system to reconnect with their culture, heritage and the arts. Resources will also be used to support future applications for sustainable funding	$20,000
Katie Scheid	Living Heritage	To work with heritage partners and complete a business case for ‘Living Heritage’, an innovative approach for bringing heritage sites to life with virtual technology, increasing opportunities for access and participating with New Zealand’s heritage places	$20,000
Mina Ripia	The mighty WAI	Pre-production, research and development of a web series to tell the story of the Māori electronica roots band WAI and their journey around the world sharing music in te Reo Māori	$20,000
Te Runanga o Toa Rangatira Incorporated	Te Wharetoi ō Ngāti Toa (Creative Hub)	Developing a business case for the establishment of an iwi based Te Whare Toi ō Ngāti Toa Creative Hub in Porirua.	$20,000
Teresa Ropata	Music Wānanga for Ngāti Toa rangatahi	To develop a pilot wānanga toi to help Ngāti Toa rangatahi to develop their musical skills	$20,000
Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency Ltd	Unesco Creative Cities AR Film Heritage Experience	To carry out community engagement on and co-design of an augmented reality platform for the Wellington UNESCO City of Film, which will create new opportunities for audiences to access and engage with Wellington’s film history	$20,000
With Lime	Wellington Region Creative Arts Technology Lab	To prepare a business case for the Wellington Region Creative Arts Technology Lab, which aims to build knowledge, skills and capability for using technology in New Zealand’s arts sector, increasing sector sustainability through making technology affordable and accessible and using technology in culturally appropriate ways	$20,000
Zealanesia	Tokelauan vaka project	To scope the development and prototyping of a digital storytelling platform using the vaka as medium for navigating and exploring Tokelauan heritage. This will enable and improve Tokelauan and Pasifika access and participation in art, culture and heritage	$20,000
TOTAL			$260,000

Online event

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
DOTDOT	Experience Builder on SOCIAL	To develop a platform to enable artists, arts venues, arts organisations and cultural institutions to create their own hybrid and virtual events, allowing them to reach new audiences and drive new revenue streams for their work	$206,965
InWorld		To develop a flexible and dynamic creative tool that will enable multiple sectors to apply app-technology in an interactive context, thereby creating new opportunities for the arts sector and enabling access and participation	$227,605
Massey University	Aotearoa Live Music Recovery Project	To support small to medium sized live music venues with artist and audience development that increases diversity. The project will increase access and participation in live music	$2,110,000
Massey University	Public Art Heritage Aotearoa New Zealand	To develop a website of Aotearoa’s remaining twentieth century public art heritage, which will enable New Zealanders to access and build awareness of our public art heritage. Funding will also support the development of a national public art forum to develop best-practice guidance and resources for those involved in public art	$300,000
Metia Interactive	Metia Interactive	To develop Guardian Maia, an online game for rangatahi that imagines a Māori future and uses culturally inclusive creative technology to explore mātauranga Māori traditions and new cultural concepts	$290,000
New Zealand Festival Trust	Choose Your Price	To develop a new values-driven ticketing platform, empowering audiences to choose their own ticket price, thereby increasing access and participation in the cultural sector	$200,000
QWB Lab	QWB Lab	To design a suite of tools that helps arts and culture organisations to measure, understand, increase and articulate their wellbeing impact in order to unlock the value of culture and their assets. The development of these tools is aimed at increasing the capacity to generate wellbeing for communities, helping improve access and participation	$150,000
Staples Productions	TPW	To develop creative assets for an augmented reality app called Pūrākau. The app embeds Te Ao Māori content into the environment around us using mixed reality technology. The project is delivered via smart phone devices to enable accessibility to a wide audience	$328,405
Taki Rua Productions Society Incorporated	Taki Rua Productions Society Incorporated	The development and delivery of two immersive live productions of large-scale contemporary Māori performing arts pieces. By presenting mātauranga Māori within contemporary performances the project will increase access and participation to both mātauranga and contemporary performance art	$1,323,000
TOTAL			$5,135,975

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Creative Capital Arts Trust	Aotearoa Music Showcase	To plan and programme a live music event that provides New Zealand musicians and the music industry access to new markets, as well as creating a collaborative approach to providing audiences access to diverse, high quality New Zealand music	$20,000
Kenny Roy	Steamcore	To scope and test a new interactive social gaming experience meant to democratize content creation and e-sports, increasing commercial opportunities, sector sustainability and improving access and participation	$20,000
Ko Mana Wahine Te Pūtake Spiral 2021 Charitable Trust	Spiral Collectives Moerangi Microproject	Action research into a new film-making paradigm that is globally oriented, sustainable, unionised and whānau friendly, within an animation infrastructure	$20,000
New Zealand Micrographic Services	Digitisation of New Zealand Historic Newspapers	To prepare a detailed and robust financial report that can be used to provide other sources of funding for micrographic services	$20,000
The Grid		To support the establishment of The Grid, an immersive digital art space in Te Whanganui-a-Tara focused on presenting and cultivating digital art in Aotearoa	$20,000
The Heavy Metal Company	Te Ringa Maitai The Hand of Metal	To work with communities and sector organisations to scope and develop a sustainable collaboration between renowned Māori and Pacific Island artists, and Heavy Metal (a Māori owned commercial art foundry) that is resilient, profitable and kaupapa driven that will increase commercial opportunities for the cultural sector	$20,000
The Village Otepoti (Dunedin City Council)		To develop a partnership-based creative workforce plan for Ōtepoti Dunedin that empowers community-driven leadership and agency	$20,000
TOTAL			$140,000

Waitaha Canterbury event

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Christchurch City Council	Toi Ōtautahi	Toi Ōtautahiand creative practice platforms for artists. The project will support artists and improve access to the arts for people of Waitaha Canterbury.	$900,000
Cross-Polynate	Cross-Polynat	To develop and deliver a capability building programme for 25 Tagata Moana, Pasifika Creatives in Ōtautahi.	$145,415
Fictiveworks	Fictive	To create an experimental writing tool and cloud publishing service to support development of complex manuscripts and data-driven storytelling. The project could lead to greater commercial opportunities for writers.	$48,000
The Creator's Room	The Creator's Room	Expanding an Ōtautahi visual arts platform to young artists in Wellington and Auckland. The initiative improves career pathways for young artists and brings their work to a wider audience.	$172,205
TOTAL			$1,265,620

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
33 Media	The Seed	To develop a funding proposal for a new screen genre series ‘The Seed’ that follows the start-up journeys of entrepreneurs battling to get their big ideas investor-ready. The Seed aims to support innovators in the cultural sector through increasing opportunities and sector resilience, as well as enabling access and participation.	$20,000
Ariki Creative	Ariki Creative	To develop a business case for expanding a creative practice and design careers programme from delivery in Ōtautahi, into additional centres across the motu.	$20,000
Christchurch Symphony Trust	Tūmahana	To work with communities in Hokitika, Kaikōura and Ōtākou to determine future arts programmes to be delivered, in doing so supporting equity of access to arts experiences, sharing knowledge within communities, and increasing the resilience of creative communities by identifying locally determined aspirations and outcomes.	$20,000
RDU98.5FM	Soundplant - He Kakano Pūoro	To build an evidence base that will support musicians to access knowledge and resources to increase business capability, thereby building resilience for practitioners and the sector.	$20,000
TripTuNZ	TripTuNZ	To develop a new music discovery platform to allow audiences to access local music and, in doing so, develop an audience base which will help grow the resilience of the music sector and provide commercial opportunities.	$20,000
Warrior Princess Workshops	Toi Māori Wānanga	To deliver toi Māori wānanga and increase opportunities for tamariki, rangatahi and their whānau to participate. The wānanga will help to inform and build an evidence base to confirm the identified gap, which in turn will support applications for sustainable funding through other avenues.	$20,000
Watch This Space Trust	Little Street Art Festival	To scope the viability of the Little Street Art Festival, enabling established and emerging urban artists to work in new directions and add their work to Ōtautahi Christchurch’s public spaces, enhancing access for audiences.	$20,000
TOTAL			$140,000

Ōtākou Otago event

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Atawhai Interactive Tapui	Atawhai Interactive Tapui	To develop an accessible online game, Toroa, that gives tamariki and rangatahi an experience to fly as Toroa on its journey from the Pacific Ocean back to its home on Taiaroa head. It will explore the themes of whakapapa as the Toroa soars over the ocean, deified as Takaroa, on the winds of Tāwhirimatea. Toroa will be the first in a portfolio of games that centre the natural world and leave players with a lasting experience of Te Ao Māori.	$250,000
Dunedin Fringe Arts Trust	Te Whare o Rukutia	To develop a collaborative database and marketing system and Te Whare o Rukutia as a versatile, multi-purpose venue to support the works of local practitioners.	$203,000
TOTAL			$453,000

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Anna Noonan	Anna Noonan	To develop a business plan to set up a dance organisation in Dunedin to enable access and participation, supported by collaboration in the dance community. The organisation would offer resources, support and advocacy for employment opportunities; provide a range of classes accessible to all ages and abilities and build an outreach programme that builds strong connections with health, well-being, and education sectors.	$20,000
Blue Oyster Arts Trust	Blue Oyster Art Project Space	To scope an accessible, physical space for visual artists in Ōtepoti  that offers studios, workshop, and exhibition space. The space would be built on kaupapa Māori principles and would improve access and participation and increase sector sustainability.	$20,000
Central Otago District Council	Eden Hore Central Otago Vistor Expereince	To develop a comprehensive business plan to support creation of an interactive visitor experience in Central Otago that brings to life the stories of Eden Hore, a Naseby high country farmer and his extraordinary collection of 1970s New Zealand and international designer couture. Digital engagement, augmented reality and unique garment display will make this unique collection more available to the public, as well as arts practitioners and students.	$20,000
Creative Nātives Aotearoa	Creative Nātives Aotearoa	To undertake the development of a sustainable indigenous business model to create more economic opportunities for Māori and Pasifika creatives and artists who provide bespoke kaupapa driven resources, communications and events. This will increase sector sustainability and resilience by supporting development opportunities and increasing the commercial potential of this work.	$20,000
Film Otago Southland	Filmmakers Creative Development Project - Otago/Southland	To develop a collective entity in Otago-Southland for filmmakers that fosters innovative collaboration, contributes to sustainable career pathways, retains talent in the region and brings more stories from the south to the small and big screen.	$20,000
Good Company Arts	Pepe	To create a series of immersive virtual reality journeys that celebrate the sound and form of Taonga Pūoro, thereby connecting a wider audience to the artform and to the whenua.	$20,000
He Waka Kotuia Trust	Ka Hao te Rakatahi	To engage with experts to develop interactive digital tools focusing on preservation, retention and intergenerational transmission of mātauraka Kāi Tahu for rakatahi and whānau of Te Nohoaka o Tukiauau, one of the most significant remaining wetlands in Te Waipounamu.	$20,000
Inati Aotearoa	Inati Aotearoa	To scope the formalisation and strengthening of existing Pasifika arts networks and to build a Pasifika physical and virtual resource centre that connects Pasifika creative individuals, groups and ecosystems in Aotearoa and beyond to improve access and participation.	$20,000
Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou	Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou	Scoping the use of a web platform to leverage pūrākau, and traditional and contemporary technologies to connect with the Ōtākou diaspora. The project seeks to reinvigorate cultural identity and mātauraka through a digital medium.	$20,000
Yellow Eye	Yellow Eye	To launch a website to coordinate and manage participatory programmes for artists with schools alongside events and festivals, improving access and increasing commercial opportunities.	$20,000
TOTAL			$200,000

Murihiku Southland event

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
South Sea Spray Trust	South Sea Spray	To deliver South Sea Spray, an annual mural festival and associated workshops, based in Southland for the next three years, creating opportunities for New Zealand mural artists and Southland communities to participate in a large-scale festival.	$180,000
Southland Regional Heritage Committee	Project Ark	To support Project Ark’s current work (researching, cataloguing, imaging, and sharing collections online via eHive) at Te Hikoi Museum in Riverton and contributing to future projects at other cultural heritage institutions within Southland over a three-year period. This work will improve sector capability and sustainability for the organisations involved and will improve public access to collections.	$285,000
TOTAL			$465,000

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Creative Trend 21	Creative Trend 21	To develop a business plan with the intent of informing a public launch for the Creative Community hub where members of the Southland community will be able to participate in arts, and commercial opportunities will be increased.	$20,000
EH Productions	EH Productions	To establish a 2D/3D animation studio in Invercargill for the purpose of creating high-quality children’s screen content for local and international audiences.	$20,000
Fuaiapi(Api) Fiefia (Fifita)	Api-ko-haukinima Murihiku (AKH Southland)	To research a business plan to understand what is needed to produce authentic Tongan mats and make them more accessible for Tongan people, and to teach this craft and pass on the knowledge to those who wish to learn it. Southland has scarce resources and creating a Tongan network in the South Island will boost Tongan cultural practices and raise awareness by increasing access and participation.	$20,000
Lemon Creative	Creativity classification and mapping in Murihiku	To investigate how arts and education stakeholders classify, measure, and communicate creativity; then mapping creative activity and gaps in Murihiku. The project offers the prospect of establishing a model for wider use, and with it the prospect of positioning creative projects for broader investment.	$20,000
Rob Swatton	Restore - The Northern Southland Makerspace	To undertake research around a novel rethink of a community arts space with a focus on rural culture revitalisation and intergenerational knowledge transfer through creativity. The space will be for creators and artists of all ages to share knowledge, skills and experience across a range of mediums and to re-frame exploration of the arts in an accessible format.	$20,000
Rory Clifford	Digital Preservation of Māori Taonga, Marae and Wahi Tāpu utilising reality capture and virtual interactive media software	To develop a business plan for virtual reality recreations of current Māori wāhi tapu with an initial focus on Kāi Tahu marae and their historic sites of interest.	$20,000
Shapecutter	Shapecutter	To scope the viability of a regional programme through workshops that will improve opportunities for dance professionals and increase sector sustainability and resilience.	$20,000
Take Tuia	Digital Innovation	To develop a project plan that determines how digital technology can be used to boost active storytelling including pūrākau and how this can be used to create employment opportunities and pathways for rangatahi through cultural engagement.	$20,000
THRIVE COMMUNITY TRUST	Delivery of arts events in the community	To deliver outdoor art events for young people in Invercargill, expanding local opportunities for access and participation in the arts.	$20,000
Tuatahi	Ngā Toi a Matakauri (NTAM)	To investigate creating Aotearoa’s first digital museum as a space that showcases Te Ao Māori and the richness of Māori culture through creativity, technology, and innovation.	$20,000
TOTAL			$200,000

Te Tai Poutini West Coast event

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
The Greymouth Heritage Trust	Coal River Story	To tell the story of the Grey River using virtual reality, simulative, and immersive technologies. The project will bring to life both Māori and European settlement and use of the river.	$321,740
TOTAL			$321,740

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Grey District Youth Trust	Grey District Youth Art Space	To scope and develop an all encompassing art space for youth, led by youth in the Grey District. Connecting young artists and promoting their creativity.	$20,000
Jerry Pu	Te Whare Pu Rakau o Matamata	To scope and develop a business plan for a digital history of the knowledge of whakapapa of Ngati Waewae and Ngai Tahu.	$20,000
Mahi Tupuna - Blackball Museum of Working Class History Trust	Mahi Tupuna - Blackball Museum of Working Class History Trust	For planning, consultation, and development of concept design for six new installations at the museum.	$20,000
Makaira Waugh	Rōreka	To contribute to the creation of a te reo Māori children’s book which uses an app to embellish the story with music and claymation videos, and allows the reader to recreate waiata using instrumental loops.	$20,000
Missy Campbell	Te Aka Harakeke	To scope and develop a project plan for the creation of a community Pā Harakeke. The goal is to increase community participation and grow skilled kairaranga while also preserving, protecting, and revitalising the artform of raranga and whatu.	$20,000
The West Coast Society of Arts	Te Tai Poutini Artist Legacy Project	To develop a publicly accessible archive of West Coast artists and their works. Funding will support research and writing of profiles for the first 15 artists.	$20,000
Whare Manaaki o te Tai Poutini	Whare Manaaki o te Tai Poutini	To build Mātauranga Māori capability on the West Coast by developing a practice support framework for local ringatoi and tohunga.	$20,000
TOTAL			$140,000

Ngamotu - Taranaki online event  

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
The Granary	The Granary	To develop and test a virtual production pipeline that brings together the film and gaming sectors that will help to shift the Aotearoa industry from serving offshore projects to creating local intellectual property. The project includes providing training to local crew and technicians, creating employment for rangatahi, and providing local creatives with access to new tools and methodologies.	$975,000
Toi o Taranaki Ki Te Tonga	Taranaki Toi - Taranaki Tāngata	An inter-generational and multi career stage approach to encourage, empower and enable Māori artists who whakapapa to Taranaki or live in the rohe, to wānanga, create, collaborate, exhibit and sell their work and to provide improved community access to mahi toi Māori.	$283,500
TOTAL			$1,258,500

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Dinnie Moeahu	Te Āhua o Te Tangata - Cultural Competency Framework for Local Government	To undertake research and engagement to support the development of Te Āhua o Te Tangata, a cultural competency framework for local government.	$20,000
Haoro Hond-Goffe	He ihowai	To bring together a panel of Taranaki art practitioners, teachers and experts to identify and test teaching structures that build the resilience of Taranaki rangatahi creatives.	$20,000
Hoe754	Waitara Art Kooperative Alliance (WAKA)	To establish a cooperative limited liability company, Waitara Art Kooperative Alliance (WAKA), to provide support and facilitate the development of the artists of Waitara.	$20,000
Manella Productions	Nga Waiata Poipoia	To pilot a music recording and mentoring programme where musicians are supported to develop tools and resources for a sustainable career in music.	$20,000
Te Koka	Kahu Whakatere Tupapaku	To further develop a project focused on transmitting, revitalising and providing accessible ways of learning tikanga Māori practices surrounding deathing, death and after death.	$20,000
TOTAL			$100,000

Te Moana a Toi-te-Huatahi - Bay of Plenty online event

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Kauae Raro Research Collective	Kauae Raro Research Collective	To commission and promote new works by Māori creatives using customary Māori paint making knowledge. These commissions will enable artists (from emerging through to established artists) to explore the whenua in innovative ways. Research and education resources will be produced and housed online to benefit practitioners in the future.	$248,460
Ngamanawa Incorporation	Taonga Tuku Iho	To create a digital repository and digital rights management framework through development of open-source software to ensure that cultural knowledge and artefacts can be hapū governed, retained and protected for future generations.	$371,108
Rehua Innovations	Matangirua: Breathing Life Into Our Sailing Heritage	To build local capability by repurposing two under-utilised waka ama into waka tere and increasing traditional sailing capabilities through wānanga, and as a result safeguard mātauranga Māori and increase access and participation in the traditional art of building and sailing waka.	$250,000
Yumi Labs	Tomo	To develop to alpha stage, tomo, a software platform for artists to create and publish digital assets under their terms, ensuring the integrity of their work and mātauranga. The underlying technology enables new revenue streams and financing options for the creative sector.	$300,000
Contract TBA			$1,000,000
TOTAL			$2,169,568

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Aotearoa Kinesthetic Education & Entertainment	Te Waka Hihiri - maori rock-art collective	To develop a strategy for Māori rock-art in Taupō and investigate the formation of a Māori rock-art collective in order to improve knowledge and awareness of local rock-art heritage.	$20,000
Kieth Waaka	Kieth Waaka	Kanohi ki te kanohi engagement with ngā toi practitioners and wider stakeholders on a project to restore and protect the mauri of the environment and communities surrounding the Ōhau Awa.	$20,000
Ko Te Tuara Totara of Fordlands Incorporated	Te Whare Puoro	To develop a business case and conduct research to explore the feasibility of a long-term sustainable music school in Fordlands, Rotorua. The music school will provide free tuition to tamariki and rangatahi with the aim of reducing inequity and disrupting deprivation.	$20,000
Tawhao Webster	MS Records platform	To establish and develop MS Records as a platform for Māori talent to express their natural artistic creativity.	$20,000
Te Tiriti O Waitangi Marae Charitable Trust	Digitising Taonga	To develop a project plan and memorandum of understanding with stakeholders for a prototype digital platform to produce, store and disseminate tribal knowledge.	$20,000
Wawata Creative	Marae Stories	To develop the sitemap and potential ‘look and feel’ of an app that captures and stores key stories, kōrero, imagery, waiata, whakapapa, and knowledge from marae which is often lost or watered down over generations.	$20,000
TOTAL			$120,000

Manawatū online event 

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Anthonie Tonnon	Durie Hill Elevator - experience enhancements	To upgrade and enhance the immersive experience of the Durie Hill Elevator and Tunnel, providing access to stories about public transport, the way we build our cities and housing, engineering and built heritage.	$199,300
Cecelia Kumeroa	Pounga Wai	To produce Pounga Wai | A Digital River - an interactive, real-time, large-scale digital art installation of the Whanganui River, embedded in Māori kaupapa.	$124,631
Central Economic Development Agency	He Ara Kotahi, Hei Ara Kōrero	To deliver a digital storytelling experience of the Manawatū Awa, with interactive cultural and historical maps and a virtual guide. This is a collaboration between Rangitāne o Manawatū and the Central Economic Development Agency (CEDA).	$700,000
Māoriland Charitable Trust	Puritia	To deliver Purita, a capability system to enable identification and development of Māori potential through the creation of content, but also a platform for this content to be distributed and seen around the world. Purita will also platform an extensive library of global indigenous content.	$1,015,300
TOTAL			$2,039,231

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Maungarongo Marae Trustees	Hohourongo	To hold wānanga to brainstorm the design and content for a system for embedding mātauranga in ngā toi to safeguard it and provide access to it in a managed and safe way that aligns with the kaupapa of Maungarongo Marae.	$20,000
National Museum of Audio Visual Arts and Sciences of NZ Trust	MAVtech	To scope a model for distributing MAVtech collections both physically and online, with the aim of improving access to the collection and connecting audiences to audio visual and industrial heritage.	$20,000
Red Hot Fibre	Whanganui Heritage Building Plan Digitization	To develop a plan for cataloguing, documenting and digitising historic paper records of 300 of Whanganui's heritage buildings. This project highlighted the significance of these buildings to the identity and culture of the city, and has the potential to increase access to and information about Whanganui's heritage to a new generation.	$20,000
Rongomau Productions	Rere Te Maramara	Working with an organisation with similar ambitions, to develop a plan for using digitisation to create an immersive, interactive space for audiences visiting Te Manawa Museum, with focus on an authentic Māori arts, culture and heritage offering.	$20,000
Te Manawa Museum Trust	Rere Te Maramara	Working with an organisation with similar ambitions, to develop a plan for using digitisation to create an immersive, interactive space for audiences visiting Te Manawa Museum, with focus on improving rangatahi engagement with arts, culture and heritage.	$20,000
TOTAL			$100,000

Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke's Bay online event

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Eastern Institute of Technology Limited	The Mārama Project – Unlocking mātauranga Māori in whānau archives	To develop an archiving system for whānau Māori collections of 'taonga manuscripts' that archives those manuscripts, teaches archiving skills to whānau members and provides a professional development opportunity for Māori archivists.	$190,000
Funding HQ	Funding HQ	To develop an online arts funding platform to build sector fundraising capability.	$85,000
Maungaharuru-Tangitū Charitable Trust	Te Rerenga Kārearea	To develop and install Te Rerenga Kārearea (falcon flight path), informing and engaging hapū and public about wāhi taonga through a path of i-Pou that promote recognition and desire to restore and protect wāhi taonga.	$344,136
Prima Volta Charitable Trust	Shaping Future Voices	To activate a paid mentorship model with strong links to established opera companies and which combines tuakana-teina mentorship and opera into a powerful tool to transform ngā uri ō Te Matau-a-Māui, sharing knowledge and skills through singing.	$322,460
Small Hall Sessions	The Small Hall Sessions	To bring musicians of national and international repute to tour and experience the intimacy of the community halls of Hawke's Bay for five consecutive nights.	$250,910
TOTAL			$1,244,126

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Hawke's Bay Museums Trust	Tāonga Kākahu	Using innovation, science and weaving knowledge to explore the reconnection of the museum collection of tāonga kākau  to their people and place. This model would have the potential to help museums across the country reconnect mātauranga Māori knowledge to their communities as well.	$20,000
M.W. Thompson	M.W. Thompson	To build a digital platform called Whanauka, to be a central and curated place that is - for the disability sector, to enable cultural confidence and authority, through the sharing creation and consumption of story. For us by us in partnership that will mature into - By us for everyone. This will be a tool/platform to build and foster the community.	$20,000
Ngahere	Te Ngahere	To initiate kōrero and research to develop a prototype database, which will utilise various methods and technologies to transmit and safeguard tipuna kōrero and mātauranga Māori. This kaupapa is about cultural mapping and collecting the korero and whakapapa of the whenua and the people into a digital collection for the rohe of Hawke’s Bay.	$20,000
Ngati Kahungunu Runanga Arts and Culture Trust	Wananga Series	To provide a series of wānanga to reconnect and connect all Ngāti Kahungunu arts practitioners that are well known, practicing or emergent to engage, exchange and capture what is integral to the development and continuity of all art forms. The wānanga will also inform the strategic plan for the Ngāti Kahungunu Rūnanga Arts and Culture Board to develop strategies of sustainability and resilience for all stakeholders to navigate in and through the pandemic landscape. This is phase 1 of 2 to identify capacity and capability.	$20,000
Niwa Brightwell	Niwa Brightwell	To work with whānau to create their own series of woven taonga to become ceremonial and legacy pieces, via wananga and online resources. The recipient will provide their skills and research in traditional techniques and materials so these taonga can be produced at home.	$20,000
Purewa Hohi Watene	Research into nga toi Māori practices with focus on raranga	To conduct research and collate mātauranga Māori about traditional raranga practices through wānanga and hui with the Taranaki hapū. The research will focus on (but is not restricted to) the use of whale blubber and contribute towards reviving the use of whale oil in raranga, whatu muka and traditional dying.	$20,000
Te Ara Hihiko	The Creative Pathway	To establish a workshop facility with new technology tools and equipment to enable mahi toi production and research and development for creative innovators.	$20,000
Wairoa District Council	Manukanui	To engage Dr Sandy Adsett to collaborate with the Wairoa community and RTA Studios on the concept design for Wairoa’s Community Cultural Resource Facility, the most significant civic building project the Wairoa community has embarked on in more than 50 years. Dr Adsett will be the creative bridge between tangata whenua, the community and RTA Studios; bringing the stories of mana whenua and wider Wairoa District together to be expressed through architecture and art.	$20,000
Whare Whakarara	Whare Whakarara	WW.SC strives to become the foremost leading Story-Driven Animation Studio in Āotearoa with an emphasis, affinity, and passion for indigenous storytelling.	$20,000
TOTAL			$180,000

Te Tau Ihu o te waka a Māui - Wairau Marlborough and Whakatū Nelson online event

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
EPIC Kawatiri Westport	EPIC Kawatiri Westport	To develop a platform that activates art locations and gives artists a share in the revenue they generate.	$50,000
Fua Creative	Pasifika Proud	To increase access and participation in Pacific Heritage Arts for children aged 5 to 12 years old and grow the Pacific Arts economy in Marlborough by providing collaboration between local cultural and creative practitioners and local job opportunities.	$168,140
Michael Charles Thompson	Michael Charles Thompson	To develop and implement the KAHA framework (Koha, Aha, Hoha, Aroha) to transmit Mātauranga Māori through Atua Māori pūrākau delivered in English and Te Reo Māori.	$150,000
Nelson Festivals Trust	Nelson Festivals Trust	To pilot Pay What You Can ticketing for Nelson Arts Festival.	$150,000
Te Āwhina Marae o Motueka Society Incorporated	Te Āwhina Marae o Motueka Society Incorporated	To revitalise knowledge base for the restoration of Ngā Toi Māori in Te Tauihu, foster an inter-generational succession plan, protect regional mātauranga Māori, and create recognised pathways for visual and practical arts communities.	$500,000
Te Puawai Co-operative Society	Kotuku	To transform a historic place on the West Coast into a residential centre for progressive conversations.	$199,000
The Hefty Agency	Ui	An artist-led collective of Pacific musicians working towards systems-transformation approach.	$800,000
The Tactile Society	The Tactile Society	To support a local creative community through monthly skill exchange workshops, seasonal performances and a society hub for emerging artists.	$57,700
TOTAL			$2,074,840

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Christine Small	The Ruby Bay Store	To provide a venue for music and performing arts; a place where locals can enjoy and contribute through supplying upcycled goods, local art works, performance, screening documentaries and locally made movies.	$20,000
Free Range Arts Collective	Dig a hole, plant a tree, grow some hope.	To co-create a living artwork within the urban environment that is accessible to all, the project hopes to foster catharsis, connection and hope. The idea grew in direct response to the uncertain times we live in, and weaves together ideas on wellbeing, symbolic action and environmental care, and offers contemporary ritual and community placemaking.	$20,000
Ian Tairea	Galaxy Maps	Galaxy Maps is a digital learning platform that can help Mātauranga experts share their knowledge by creating maps of learning. These maps are learning steps that are connected to form star constellations. The vision is a digital galaxy full of learning journeys created by Mātauranga experts. "Like our ancestors, who used the stars to navigate the sea. With these Galaxy Maps, we can navigate our learning".	$20,000
Magenta Creative Space Charitable Trust	Magenta Creative Space Charitable Trust	To give the organisation an online presence, undertake engagement to better understand how it can help the Māori community, and establish communication channels with health providers in the region. With a focus on the website, the project aims to bring attention to Magenta artists, to profile their stories, and to give the organisation a sense of community and identity.	$20,000
Make/Shift Spaces Incorporated	Shared Communities	To cover market research and a trial programme for a targeted city-wide plan which uses creative and traditional arts to drive engagement with our migrant population	$20,000
Maungaronga Ki Te Whenua	Te Tiritiri o Te Moana	To undertake research related to the voyages of Hui Te Rangiora and Māui, develop an online timeline and deliver it via an accessible digital repository. This project is called Te Tiritiri o te Moana and speaks about the chronological mapping of Māori voyaging history.	$20,000
UpStage Live	UpStage Live	To undertake a feasibility study for the development of an artist-led sustainable business model and systems for online arts projects, using an UpStage installation at Refinery Artspace as an exemplar.	$20,000
TOTAL			$140,000

Waikato online event

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Creative Waikato	Whiria te tangata	To develop Whiria te tangata a multi-community artist in residence pilot to enable artists to practice and develop work with and through their communities. This residency includes support such as wraparound mentorship, collaborative pathways and ongoing evaluation.	$635,000
Eight Sisters	Wharenui Harikoa	To develop Wharenui Harikoa, a large scale crocheted Wharenui to transform intergenerational trauma into joy and global connection. This Kaupapa - Ko Wharenui Harikoa, he poro whaka hakoko, Ko Uenuku tawhana ki te Rangi. Whare Harikoa - is a refracting prism of Tūpuna-inspired light shining like a rainbow across the sky.	$659,520
Impact Hub Waikato	Impact Hub Waikato	To implement the Changemakers Exchange programme which pairs local artists, creatives and artistic entrepreneurs with national artists, professional artists and other experts to build their confidence, capability, and create a platform for South Waikato artists to learn, grow and showcase their talent.	$361,750
Takoha	Kohapp	To develop Kohapp, an app which aims to ensure the sustainability and resilience of Koha by providing a meaningful exchange of currency through a digital solution.	$357,000
Te Ohu Whakaita Charitable Trust	Toi o te Tau Hou	"To develop a digital platform that enables Māori and Pasifika creative practitioners to strengthen and leverage Matariki as a time to celebrate creative practitioners role in communicating matauranga and builds whakapapa connection between Pasifika and Māori."	$145,454
TOTAL			$2,158,724

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Blink Blue Media	GrowMyArt	To further develop the GrowMyArt app that connects Kiwi artists to national and international enablers/mentors.	$20,000
Community Development Trust	Pou Taniwha - Waikato River Cultural Art Trail	To carry out a high level feasibility study to identify existing & potential installation sites along the entire 425km of the Waikato River, undertake due diligence into the design & creation of a Flagship Pou Taniwha Installation at Lake Karaapiro and design initial collateral (e.g., digital/print flyer) of the Pou Taniwha Cultural Art Trail to support the launch of the project Vision in March 2023	$20,000
Hannah Wynn	Tauranga Zinefest	To establish (build, launch and promote) a Tauranga Zine Selling Machine (“machine”) pilot, providing a new ‘shop window’ opportunity for zine makers to showcase and sell their zines all year round (outside of the traditional Zinefest space). The “machine” will build awareness of zines, zine culture and zinefests - increasing access and participation.	$20,000
Lorraine Anderson	Nga Mira - The Mills	To undertake research into the Mohoaonui grain mill as a pilot project for the wider mill network, and to unearth the knowledge, cultivate it and assist people to apply its stories to the modern world.	$20,000
Sara Marandi	North Waikato Arts Platform	To develop a pilot programme involving a living digital platform that represents the North Waikato Arts. By offering a “go-to” digital space for artists and audiences alike, this platform will facilitate collaboration and connectedness within the region. For a region that has more than 20 small and medium sized communities with large geographical spread, a digital source that is also accessible to domestic and international tourists is appropriate.	$20,000
TWENTY2 TWINS	TWENTY2 TWINS	To create self-development resources required to support wāhine develop aspects of Matauranga Maori and connect to Te Ao me ona tikanaga Maori. Resources will include content for classes, karakia, whakatauki, maramataka, pepeha/whakapapa and visual art. The seed funding will also allow us to consult expert translation services sourced in our Waikato region and cover the costs of a digital artist for the illustration work.	$20,000
Whanau and Whenua Trust	Creative Meremere	To develop a feasibility study, three year strategic plan, employment of a social media manager and employment of local artists, for a community initiative to provide a space and opportunity for the people of Meremere to engage and connect in creative activities and art experiences.	$20,000
TOTAL			$140,000

Tamaki Makaurau Auckland – 3 online events

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Copyright Licensing NZ	Creative Rights Management Services	To develop creative rights management services (CRMS).	$790,000
Hackman Ltd	Together: Immersive live experience platform	To further develop the Together platform, a live experience delivery system, and a tool developed specifically for artists to create and deliver meaningful interactions between themselves and their audiences.	$598,000
The Little Family Foundation	Big Fan	To deliver multiple initiatives, including industry specific training programmes, opportunities for creatives and a series of live music events at a multi-purpose, music space in Morningside.	$478,762
Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi	Te Manawa	To lead transformational change for Toi Māori in the creative sector in Tāmaki Makaurau.	$834,100
Sonya Palmer	Aotea	To create a collaborative gaming platform using open-source software.	$229,600
No.3 Roskill Theatre	Welcome Home	To develop Welcome Home, an annual place-making artistic project created by and for the people of Puketapapa, Auckland.	$827,200
Artspace (Aotearoa) Trust	Workshop @ Artspace	To provide the space, training, guidance and tools for artists to realise their artistic vision and help sustain their practice.	$244,950
Nga Whaotapu o Tamaki Makaurau Trust	Kainga Waka	To create, manage and run a centralised, tōhunga-led hub for all aspects of waka culture, offering a model for kaupapa waka to grow and thrive.	$105,000
Satellites	An artist-led research lab for Asian diaspora artists in Aotearoa	To establish an artist-led lab for Asian diaspora artists in Aotearoa, focused on enhancing access to cultural knowledge and exploring ways of preserving and embedding that knowledge into our arts sector infrastructure.	$661,560
Recorded Music NZ Limited	SoundCheck Aotearoa	To develop and promote a set of initiatives and resources through SoundCheck Aotearoa to address harassment and harm and create safer and more inclusive working environments for people within the music community.	$500,000
Media Design School	DigiTaonga	A project that works with iwi/hapū and museums to explore new methods of repatriation with using blockchain technology.	$213,550
Melissa Laing - Arts Infrastructure Stabilisation	Sustainable community asset ownership in the arts	To research and build new testable models for the sector to use to acquire assets in the form of property and to retain community property for broad community benefit.	$76,260
Audio Foundation	AFR (Audio Foundation Records)	To support sound artists and experimental musicians by producing and publishing recordings and physical media.	$42,935
Te Pou Theatre Trust	Te Tomokanga - Māori Circus	To open up the realm of expression for ngā toi Māori artists to learn and apply circus skills to their arts practices by drawing on mātauranga Māori. A Te Pou Theatre partnership with The Dust Palace.	$800,000
Auckland Museum Trust Board	Te Aho Mutunga Kore: The everlasting threads of knowledge	To develop Te Aho Mutunga Kore: the everlasting threads of knowledge, a Textile and Fibre Centre for Māori and Pacific.	$883,528
Equal Voice Arts	Bringing Deaf and hearing communities together to innovate access to the arts for D/deaf communities.	The development of a programme to innovate access to the arts for Deaf artists, audiences and communities in Aotearoa, providing Deaf-led consultancy for arts access and the implementation of an accessible performance training programme for Deaf artists.	$514,350
Te Tuhi Contemporary Art Trust	Papatūnga	To bring together models of radical, alternative arts education from around the globe and a kaupapa Māori framework, in a hybrid of wānanga, art school, residency programme and artist-run space.	$732,840
TOTAL			$8,532,635

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Ideas at Work Limited	The World’s Leading Holographic Archive Company	To utilise and develop holographic technologies in the conservation, preservation and historical recording of culture and arts for present and future generations.	$20,000
Inside Out Productions Ltd	Te Hono	To develop a project plan for a free and fully-immersive touring experience, that uses a seamless blend of digital 'mapped' projection to support experienced Māori storytellers.	$20,000
The University of Auckland	Te Tumu Herenga	Collaborate with Te Hiku Media to develop a proof of concept, for the use of the Kaituhi tool, to unlock the potential of audio-visual taonga within the GLAM sector. Scope an approach for Pacific Language content.	$20,000
Massive Company Trust	Massive Digital Archive	To research and develop an innovative and accessible platform to host a digital archive of Massive Theatre Company’s 30+ years' body of work.	$20,000
Massey University	NZPQ23 Ka emiemi - blended co-creation and presentation R&D	To undertake research and development into the convergence of existing technologies to create remote art and performance opportunities.	$20,000
He ara turama	Kora Atu	To develop a framework and series of hui to be shared with Māori-led communities to create links to their taonga using digital technologies to facilitate meaningful connections and exchange between taonga Māori and their communities over distance.	$20,000
A Slightly Isolated Dog Ltd	Embedded Artists Pilot Programme	To undertake research and development for a pilot programme embedding performing arts practitioners within companies, businesses, government departments and other organisations.	$20,000
Te Kono: Mātauranga a Te Whare Pora Ltd	Rarangahia te mahi a te wharepora ki te Ao Matihiko	The investigation of how to preserve of Raranga Mātauranga through the creation of a digital world.	$20,000
Cathy Livermore	Hauora Hubs	To pilot two Hauora Hubs for sharing art in public spaces, at the same time as supporting a new genre of multi-disciplinary artwork in public spaces.	$20,000
TOTAL			$180,000

Te Tai Tokerau Kerikeri event

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
AwhiWorld	AwhiWorld	To develop a creative incubator to build capability within Northland's interarts, digital arts and creative technology fields.	$381,600
Russell Museum	Russell Museum	To develop Kororāreka and Īpipiri Trails, an immersive experiential series of digitally interpretive trails, preserving stories and histories of tangata whenua and pākehā.	$265,616
TOTAL			$647,216

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Kahukura	Te Kupenga	To facilitate the gathering, storing and sharing of rohe-specific mahi toi, mātauranga and korero tuku iho from kaumatua from within the rohe of Whangaroa and Kaihu.	$20,000
Dorothy Waetford	Ukupapa	To undertake research to inform the redevelopment of an uku/clay studio space to support creative activities, including mātauranga Māori.	$20,000
Merv Pinny	Local Launchpad	To research and develop a feasibility study about how to support, develop, promote and strengthen connections and collaborations with and for budding artists across the Far North.	$20,000
Reva Mendes	Kōrari Enterprises	To create a business case for Kōrari enterprises, researching Harakeke and Kōrari.	$20,000
TOTAL			$80,000

Te Tairawhiti Gisborne event

Project funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Barbarian Productions Ltd	Barbarian Productions	To test and develop a production/business model, fit for a performing arts context.	$136,162
Piksies Melody Ltd	Piksies Melody	Whakapaupākihi - the musical, a 3-phase development of the musical with a preview in late 2023.	$970,179
Tairāwhiti Arts Festival Charitable Trust	Tairāwhiti Arts Festival	To develop a digital portal with 3D virtual exhibition tours and e-commerce functionality for all Tairāwhiti art galleries and creative spaces.	$263,250
TOTAL			$1,369,591

Seed funding

Recipient name	Project name	Description	Funding
Campbell Ngata	AWATOPO	To develop a topological (schematic) diagram to display the whakapapa Waiapu River Catchment.	$20,000
Jody Wyllie	Toi Turanga	To develop a framework/prototype using Turanga-styled taonga (carved, woven, painted) to test a proposed digital catalogue project.	$20,000
Maungarongo	Maungarongo Wetlands	To reconnect whānau to traditional mātauranga raupō and practices relevant to the whānau, hapū, iwi; and reconnect to our tipuna Te Kooti Rikirangi and the whakarau who built raupō huts while in exile on Wharekauri in the 1860s.	$20,000
Smash NZ	Tairāwhiti Music Strategy	To develop an engagement and consultation plan to develop a Tairāwhiti Music Strategy.	$20,000
TOTAL			$80,000