Dame Lynda Topp’s seven-minute speech which included a request for more funding at the Aotearoa Music Awards last Thursday has set off a domino tumble of headlines. First, reports or full recordings of the speech itself were published by Radio New Zealand, Stuff, The Herald, 1news, The Spinoff, and The Listener. Then, articles about Paul Goldsmith's response came, and following that, Lynda standing by what she said. It’s always interesting to notice which words are used by journalists (or their editors) in headlines. Lynda “blasted” the government and made a “plea” for funding. Goldsmith “brushed off” her criticism. These are active words which serve to frame the narrative, even before someone clicks into the article, or decides not to. 

Perhaps the cascade of articles came because of Lynda’s standing, and the timing of her speech – on budget day the week after her twin’s death. Perhaps they came because it’s not often a 68-year-old Dame says “what the fuck” and “motherfucker” in public in the space of a few minutes. They did not come because what she said was particularly unique or groundbreaking. I’ve been to several arts events with the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage in attendance. He wears his navy suit, sits near the front, clasps his hands in his lap, and patiently waits. Like clockwork, someone receiving or presenting an award will call him out, just like Lynda did. “It's the same old cliché every time attacking a centre-right government,” he told RNZ this week. I don’t agree with his wording, but it’s true that it's getting repetitive. People tend to repeat themselves if they’ve not been listened to, or if the problem has not been solved.

That day’s budget did see cuts to arts funding, along with savings in other areas including the Public Service Commission, the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry of Disabled People and more. The cuts aren’t great, but they’re not targeted only at the arts and they’re the tip of an iceberg. Our funding issues go much deeper. As Creative New Zealand CEO Gretchen La Roche told The Big Idea two weeks ago, “We’ve been trying for close to 20 years to get an increase in our baseline funding with no success”. CNZ gets about 70-75% of its funding from the New Zealand Lottery Grants Board, with the government contributing a much smaller amount – about $16.6million, soon to be $16.3m a year. In relative terms, the government’s contribution has already decreased, as inflation, population increases, and rapidly increasing demand have spread funding thinner and thinner. She said that once CNZ was able to support about half the funding applications that came their way. Recent sector analysis shows that the odds for receiving contestable arts funding can sit as low as 6% for artists. 

CNZ’s last significant baseline funding increase was under Helen Clark in the 2006 budget. Its baseline funding went up by $2.5 million a year for four years. It was the same year that Shakira released Hips Don't Lie, in other words, a really long time ago. Since then, the government has been led National under John Key and Bill English for nine years, Labour for six years under Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins, and the current coalition is coming up on three years. For much of those two decades then, the purse strings have been held by a centre-right government. 

Right-wing parties in New Zealand generally subscribe to neoliberalism more strongly than their centrist or centre-left counterparts. This means market-logic is embedded into their decision-making. A belief that what is good will be paid for by consumers, and that the state should stand back and play as small a part as possible. Applying this to the arts means that they are not a public good but instead a sector that should be shaped by market principles, competition, and measurable returns. Funding becomes an investment tied to outcomes and performance criteria, often tied to specific projects. The assumption is that artists and organisations should be less reliant on funding and instead be competitors in a market – in other words, sell enough tickets, pieces, or other products, to survive. Unfortunately that is difficult at the best of times, and very difficult in a small nation during an economic downturn.

But there is something else at play when Dame Lynda Topp calls out a right-wing government and receives a standing ovation at the music awards. New Zealand’s artists aren’t polled on their political leanings, but I don’t think I’d be going out on a limb to suggest the vast majority are left-leaning. This would be in line with analysis in the UK which shows creative and cultural workers are “among the most left-wing, liberal and pro-welfare of any occupations and industries”. Many arts organisations use language around equity, decolonisation, representation, and inclusion that seems to align with left-wing politics – it is not unusual to see a Toitū Te Tiriti placard in an arts organisation’s office or venue or social media channel.

Most of the time politicians try to do what will be popular with their voters. The latest Ipsos Issues Monitor shows that the issues on voters’ minds this May map closely onto the issues they were concerned with in May 2023 – the top three are the cost of living, healthcare, and the economy. Arts and culture do not feature, at least not in the top 20 issues. In 2023, National campaigned on the Back Pocket Boost tax plan that promised tax cuts for the “squeezed middle”. They did not have an arts policy. They won. In last week’s budget, health saw the biggest boost, with $5.8bn of new spending over four years and a $682m spend on health infrastructure. Perhaps the push that any government, and any party, needs to increase support for the arts is a sizable mandate from voters. 

The same UK-based analysis that found creative and cultural workers tended to be left-leaning also found that they were highly civically engaged in terms of contacting elected representatives and government officials, signing petitions, political volunteering, political donations, participating in demonstrations, ethical consumption and boycotts, and industrial action. These seem to be the sort of actions that are needed in an election year.

Marlon continues to win just about every music prize

Te Whare Tīwekaweka won Album of the Year, Aua Atu Rā won Single of the Year and Marlon himself won Best Solo Artist along with a Charts Number One award at the Aotearoa Music Awards last week. In another scratched-CD moment on the night, The Beths won Best Group for a fourth time.

Other winners include Lorde with the Best Pop Artist and the International Achievement award. Te Manu Mātārae Tūī, which recognises artists that have made a significant impact on the music landscape in Aotearoa and beyond, was awarded to Balu Brigada. Te Māngai Pāho Mana Reo was taken home once again by 2025 category winner Stan Walker. Te Māngai Pāho Te Manu Taki Māori o te Tau | Best Māori Artist was awarded to TAWAZ.

Te Wehi, a new local chart-topping artist from the East Coast, was acknowledged as Breakthrough Artist of the Year. Best Rock / Metal Artist went to Alien Weaponry. Best Electronic Artist was awarded to Caru & Brandn Shiraz. Best Hip Hop Artist Tūī went to MOKOMOKAI for PONO. Best Alternative Artist went to MĀ.

95bFM moving off campus

The radio station has announced it will relocate to Karangahape Road by 31 July, after a long search for a suitable new home. General Manager Tom Tremewan says the move is a significant and logical next step, taking the station closer to the artists, venues and ecosystems it exists to serve. “The station will continue to be the training ground for the next generation of broadcasters and rangatahi who want to learn about broadcasting, media, music, or journalism,” he says. 

The relocation will be managed through a staged technical transition designed to protect broadcast continuity and minimise disruption and led by Rick Huntington (or Breeze). “Nobody understands the vital organs of the station better than Rick - because he built most of it,” Tremewan says. Huntington first encountered the station during an Orientation scavenger hunt in 1984, the same year the station moved from AM to FM. There is also six decades’ worth of radio history, broadcasting equipment, tattered office furniture, faded gig posters, dying pot plants, and spiritual residue to move says Tremewan.

Wellington’s NZ Art Show generates over $1.5 million

Over King’s Birthday Weekend, more than 15,000 visitors attended the 23rd annual NZ Art Show, contributing to more than $1.5 million in artwork sales for more than 200 artists. Executive Director Carla Russell says the result sends a clear message about the role arts, culture, and events continue to play in Wellington. “What we experienced over the weekend was a city full of energy, optimism, connection, and creativity. The NZ Art Show reminded us that people still want to come together, support artists, and invest in experiences that enrich their lives.”

Scorpio turns 50

From modest beginnings as a tiny specialist bookstore on Fendalton Road in 1976, Scorpio has grown into a Christchurch institution. “You realise over time that the shop becomes part of people’s lives,” says owner David Cameron. “People meet here, they bring their children here, they come back year after year. That’s incredibly special.” Scorpio Books continues to grow, with sales up on previous years and its book offering larger and more diverse than ever. “I never thought it would get this big,” David says. “There was probably an ideal size at one point, but we went past that a long time ago. What’s wonderful is that people still love browsing bookshops, they still love discovering books, and they still value knowledgeable staff and good conversations.”

A key point of difference has been Scorpio’s willingness to source obscure, controversial and hard-to-find titles from overseas. Before homosexual law reform in the 1980s, Scorpio proudly stocked books by LGBTQIA+ authors and on queer issues. 

Nine new productions announced through Q Season Support

Auckland’s Q Theatre has announced the next round of successful productions selected for its Q Season Support initiative that are set to take the stage between July 2026 and June 2027. The shows are Sharp Teeth by Lara Makes Ltd, Over and Out by Believable Arts Management, Every Kind of Weather presented by Shane Bosher and Brilliant Adventures, An Enemy of the People by Flyleaf Theatre Company, Songs for Nobodies by Figment Productions, Yes and also no, subject to XYZ, fine print applies by Holly Finch, and The Lord of the Rings in 90 Minutes by Rollicking Entertainment. “Cost and risk often are a barrier to artists, and with Q Season Support we are aiming to create an affordable offer to artists to showcase their developed works. A developed show could have a two-week run in Loft at no cost, with the artists also taking 80% of the box office. With this latest round of funding there is the possibility of nine seasons and over 70 performances,” says Q’s Head of Programming and Production, Phil Evans.

Inaugural Te Pae Tawhiti Speculative Fiction Awards shortlist announced

The awards honour science fiction, fantasy and horror in Aotearoa, and winners will be announced at a gala on 22 August at Te Whare Taapere Iti, Gallagher Academy of Performing Arts as part of Hamilton Book Month. 

Outstanding Achievement for Adult Novel
The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey, Lifelikeness by Alex Lodge, Dancing in the Purple Rain by Judy L Mohr, and Galaxy Grifter by A. Zaykova

Outstanding Achievement for Middle Grade Fiction

Eye of the Dragon by Susan Brocker, Welcome to Miracle by Shara Curlett, Draconic Search and Rescue by Robinne L Weiss, and The Secret Green by Sonya Wilson 

Outstanding Achievement for Young Adult Fiction

The Lost Saint by Rachael Craw, Truth Needs No Colour by Heather McQuillan, and Wyld Witch Weather by Janna Ruth

Outstanding Achievement for a Novella

Chasing Worms by Joseph Bonnett, Spellcasting On by Andi Buchanan, The Emotion Dealer by Jack Ramiel Cottrell, and Dear Diary by Marie Hodgkinson

Outstanding Achievement for a Short Story

Wild@Heart by Michael Botur, The Poppy Cloud by Lee Murray, A Day Lost in Time by Douglas Perenara Johnston, The Hound of Annwn by Rem Wigmore, and The Cold Burns by Anne Wilkins

Outstanding Achievement for a Collection or Anthology (fiction, poetry, or essay)

Blood Protectors by Sue Glamuzina, Untethered: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Papua New Guinea editor Kirsten McGavin, This Way Lies Madness edited Lee Murray & Dave Jeffery, and Uninvited Guests by North Shore Writers group

First sculpture commissioned for Elam’s garden plinth to be a steel banana peel

Brittany Walker Smith, a Doctor of Fine Arts student at Elam at the University of Auckland, is the inaugural winner of the Collin Post Sculpture Award and Longveld Plinth Award. The new award is only open to current Elam students and enables the creation and display of an ambitions sculpture each year. The award comes with a one-week residency in Brisbane to develop the concept into a ‘digital design package’ at UAP (Urban Art Projects), and then the work will be made by Longveld, an award-winning engineering and custom metal fabrication company based in Hamilton. Walker Smith’s concept, One Foot in the Grave, the Other on a Banana Peel, represents a large banana peel. “I enjoy the slapstick comedy of the banana peel as a symbol of failure. These things are going to occur; you're going to slip up,” she says.

Rafael Hosking is the 2026 Emerging Composer for At the World’s End

He will receive five months of mentoring from Composer in Residence Michael Norris, and will write a string quartet drawing on riroriro field recordings for premiere in this year's festival. 

Rafael studied composition at the University of Auckland and the New Zealand School of Music, Te Kōkī. “In my artistic practice, I've been thinking about how seeking a scientific understanding of the natural world both advances our knowledge but also limits it, minimising our appreciation of its beauty and its anomalies,” says Hosking. “I think it is the responsibility of artists to seek different ways of engaging with the world around us that open up new discussions, one's centring aesthetics and beauty, rather than biology or politics. This is, perhaps, part of the project of the piece I am writing - considering my relationship to the riroriro on the level that is most compelling to me: the level of music.”

Four young musicians named as At the World’s End 2026 Emerging Artists

The AWE Emerging Artist Mentoring Pathway is a multi-year programme supporting young musicians from Aotearoa as they build their careers. These musicians rehearse side-by-side with festival artists, receive coaching from some of the world's finest chamber musicians, and take to the stage. This year it's Esther Oh on the violin, Solace Ward on the viola, Boudewijn Keenan on the cello and Hana Tani on piano.

Four student writers awarded NZSA Youth Mentorships

The secondary school students will each be matched with a professional mentor in their genre, as part of the NZ Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa 2026 Youth Mentorship Programme. The student writers are Dorothy Baricuatro from Trinity Catholic College in Ōtepoti, Payton Blackburn from South Westland Area School in HariHari, Meisha Rose Kitto from Dunstan High School in Otago and Bleys Robertson from Mairehau High School in Ōtautahi.

There’s been a few comments coming in on our social media channels recently and we have read them with great interest! Here’s a couple on What the budget means for the arts:

“The arts contribution to the culture, well-being and vitality of this nation helps to shape who we are and how we are.”

“Another year of tightening the belt until it becomes a tourniquet.”

 If you’ve not read our arts analysis of the budget, now is the time!

Dani Kionasina chatted to the humble author guided by his ancestors’ everyday lives Hira Nathan, for the latest installment of Talanoa with a Tusitala.

For this month’s National Grid, Matthew Galloway explores the obsolete Nebiolo type foundry and its ghosts.

Come back tomorrow for Genista Jurgens’ view of our presence in Venice in May’s Global Compass.