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The Cultural Sector Innovation Fund provides $60 million over three years to support innovative projects that improve the sustainability and resilience of the sector. Round one of the Fund will be delivered through a nationwide events series, Te Urungi: Innovating Aotearoa. These immersive, collaborative events are designed to harness our collective creative energy and innovative spirit to fuel bold ideas that enable arts, culture and heritage to thrive.
Join us in innovating Aotearoa through a series of 14 regional events held across the country
Come along to our next Public History talk on Friday 06 August 2021, featuring Melani Anae discussing her recently published book
Come along to our next Public History talk on Friday 06 August
View our latest Te Tai video of Raukawa who launched their Te Tai Whakaea Treaty Settlement story in Tokoroa. The story chronicles the experiences of the central North Island iwi in the settlement of their historical treaty claims, highlighting negotiations between Raukawa and the Crown, how the iwi achieved settlement, the settlement process, and the many difficulties the iwi faced and overcame.
Raukawa - Te Tai Treaty Settlements story
Following the triumph of his Hansel & Gretel in 2019, the Royal New Zealand Ballet is delighted to commission a new work by Choreographer in Residence Loughlan Prior for 2021. The Firebird, first staged in Paris in 1910, changed the direction of ballet. Runs from 29 July to 02 September in six New Zealand centres.
RNZB's latest production is The Firebird with Paquita
New Zealand’s Olympic story began in London in 1908, when three athletes competed as part of an ‘Australasian’ team. Learn more about the history of New Zealand's involvement in the Olympics on the Ministry's NZHistory website. Image is of Jack Lovelock surrounded by well-wishers after his victory in the 'Mile of the Century' at the Princeton Invitational meeting, 15 June 1935.
NZHistory feature on the Olympics
Creative New Zealand is seeking views on a draft remuneration policy to support the development of more sustainable arts sector careers. They are keen to hear your feedback and whakaaro on this document by completing an online survey which closes on 22 August 2021.
CNZ is seeking feedback on remuneration policy for artists and arts practitioners
Te Papa’s Feathermania: Fashion to die for | Te mate huruhuru: He kahu matemate opened on Saturday 26 June and runs until April 2022. Coinciding with the publication of Claire Regnault’s new book Dressed: Fashionable Dress in Aotearoa New Zealand 1830 to 1910 (Te Papa Press) Feathermania examines the place of feathers – which have been sourced from Aotearoa New Zealand and across the globe - in the fashionable woman’s wardrobe.
Te Papa Presents Feathermania: Fashion To Die For
In 1981, South Africa’s Springbok rugby team toured New Zealand. TOHE | PROTEST is the new exhibition from Ngā Taonga that explores how the escalating tensions between activists, the police, rugby fans and politicians were presented by both government broadcasters and activist filmmakers. See excerpts from the definitive protest documentary PATU! (1983), learn how Ngā Taonga overcame many challenges to digitally preserve this iconic film and hear from the experts involved in the preservation project.
TOHE | PROTEST latest exhibition from Ngā Taonga
The Government has released the recommended dates for the Matariki public holiday for the next thirty years.
Matariki holiday dates for next thirty years announced

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Kāinga Te tuakiri, te taonga tuku iho o Aotearoa Ngā whakamaharatanga me ngā huritau

Commemorations & anniversaries

Commemoration means marking an important historical event on or around a meaningful anniversary. Commemoration brings people together in physical and virtual spaces to reflect on the past and its relevance to the present. There doesn’t have to be a formal remembrance ceremony or a physical monument – commemoration could involve sharing historical information through a website, or creating artistic works that respond to an anniversary, for example.

The New Zealand Government has a policy on commemoration of historical anniversaries, first developed in 2009 and updated in 2014. Under this policy, a list of anniversaries to be commemorated is agreed several years in advance. This allows coordination and planning of government involvement in commemoration to take place.

Under the policy, anniversaries are categorised as either Tier 1 or Tier 2. Tier 1 (major) anniversaries relate to events whose impact was felt throughout the nation or changed New Zealand significantly. There should be a significant level of cross-government involvement in marking Tier 1 anniversaries. Tier 2 anniversaries concern events that were still important but had less national impact.

Occasionally, as with the centenary of the First World War from 2014-2019, dedicated funding may be available to support commemorations. However, most commemorative activity (particularly for Tier 2 anniversaries) is funded from within departmental baselines.

Anniversaries on the Government’s list should generally be:

  • of significance to the nation as a whole
  • of events that took place in New Zealand, involved New Zealanders or have a clear connection to New Zealand
  • a multiple of 25 years since the event in question (e.g. 25th, 50th, 100th anniversaries)
  • representative of the diversity of New Zealanders’ historical experiences.

Tier 1 and Tier 2 anniversaries for 2014-2021

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage is currently looking at refreshing the commemorations policy and extending the list of anniversaries beyond 2021.

Other commemorations

Some commemorations take place annually: for example, Waitangi Day commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and Anzac Day commemorates New Zealanders’ involvement in war.

Pukeahu National War Memorial Park also hosts a number of annual military commemorations. All national commemorations scheduled for 2021 will appear on the Pukeahu news and events pages in due course. 

Te Pūtake o te Riri, He Rā Maumhara, was observed for the first time in 2018. It is the national day of commemoration for the New Zealand Wars, and takes place on 28 October. Visit Te Puni Kōkiri’s website for more information about this commemoration, and about Te Pūtake o te Riri | Wars and Conflicts in New Zealand Fund.

There are many important anniversaries every year, and it is not possible to include them all on the government’s commemorations programme. Organisations outside government may decide to mark these anniversaries, and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage is always happy to hear about community-led commemorations. The Ministry may, for example, be able to publicise such commemorations through its online channels.

New Zealanders' views on commemoration

In 2019, Colmar Brunton conducted a public opinion survey for the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, looking at New Zealanders’ views on commemoration. The final report on the survey's findings is available here (PDF 3.36 MB).

Updated on 27th January 2021