If there’s one thing the arts community is talking about across both hemispheres right now, it’s money: who pays who, how it's disbursed, and what happens when the public tap runs dry.
From Germany’s federal budget cutting support for the independent cultural scene by roughly 50%, to staffing strikes over pay cuts at the Glasgow School of Art and University of Glasgow, the squeeze is being felt around the globe. Aotearoa is no different as Creative New Zealand pushes forward with major restructures, cutting contestable funding requests in half and leaving organisations trapped in a precarious "Hunger Games" cycle. I’ve appreciated voices like Coco Solid, whose "Culture Work" experiment calls for radical mutual aid, resource-sharing and community solutions. The Big Idea’s Gabi Lardies has also been analysing funding shortfalls and looking at sustainable international models like a museum in Finland's outcome-free artist support.
In my own day job working for a non-profit that resources artists, I’ve learned pretty quickly that moving money around, whether applying for grants just to distribute grants, or trying to channel EU funds to warzones like Ukraine, is a bureaucratic dance. It’s important work, and it's never neutral.
This brings me to a hard question: are commercial backing and grassroots crowdfunding our only avenues left when public support is lacking? I’ve been thinking about Talia Smith’s exhibition Spilt Milk (and hard honey) at West Space in Melbourne (closing 8 August 2026), which was supported through a Boosted campaign. Relying on the generosity of inner circles just to get trans-Tasman projects across the line shows the strength of collective solidarity, but it exposes a systemic failure to fund basic artistic mobility.
We’re seeing a similar issue at the upcoming 18th Lyon Biennale this September, which features eight Aotearoa practitioners, including Fiona Clark, Ngahina Hohaia and Michael Stevenson. Ironically, this year’s Biennale, curated by Catherine Nichols under the theme To pass from one dream to another, probes global systems of extraction and value. Yet, look at the fine print: while Creative New Zealand provides baseline support, a patchwork of private patrons and institutions are stepping in to bridge the gap. Wonderful as it is to see our artists on a major European stage, this is a cautionary subtext. When public funding shrinks, even exhibitions critiquing capitalist extraction are forced to rely on private benefactors. Whose narratives get prioritised when corporate interests and private fortunes hold the checkbook? Neither crowdfunding nor philanthropy is a substitute for a functioning public sector.
So what does a better path look like? Let’s look beyond a recent local think-tank proposal that floated dedicated "cultural attaché" roles. It’s an idea that reads less like systemic reform and a lot more like a transparent job-creation scheme for its authors. But that doesn’t mean international cultural diplomacy is a lost cause. As Natasha Beckman from the British Council recently emphasised, meaningful cross-cultural connections have to outlast fickle government cycles and elite gatekeeping. Sustainable artistic exchange requires resilient, independent infrastructure that protects the autonomy of our ringatoi. In practice, this means investing in models already proving themselves overseas: reciprocal curatorial visits, peer-to-peer resource networks, W.A.G.E.-style fee equity models, artist unions and open-source mobility guides like On the Move.
Despite this bureaucratic hoop-jumping and a scarcity of stable financial support, our artists continue to thrive internationally. Read on for our August rundown of exhibitions and opportunities abroad, ranging from independent showcases in Toronto and Edinburgh to community exchanges in Tuvalu and Taiwan.
On this month
Australia & Pacific
Fakaapo Cultural Festival of Arts | Funafuti, Tuvalu | 16–21 August
Led by broadcaster Marama T-Bone and visual artist Ululau Ama, a cohort of Tuvaluan New Zealand artists present new and heritage works at the inaugural Fakaapo Cultural Festival of Arts, celebrating Pasifika cultural exchange through fatele dance, chanting, weaving and canoe carving.
Asia
Areez Katki: Contemporary Now · Edition III | Chennai, India | 8–25 August
Aotearoa artist Areez Katki presents work in Practices in Continuum: Tracing the Present, a city-wide exhibition featuring 66 artists across seven leading Indian galleries exploring memory, migration, materiality and personal history.
Asian Playwright Exchange | Taiwan & Japan | August
Nathan Joe and Ahilan Karunaharan participate in the Asian Playwright Project exchange across Taipei and Kyoto. Joining regional creative partners, the pair engage in cross-cultural script development, dramaturgical workshops and creative exchanges exploring contemporary Asian and diasporic narratives.
The Americas
SummerWorks Performance Showcase | Toronto, Canada | 6–16 August
A major presentation featuring three contemporary performance works from Aotearoa: Oli Mathiesen’s The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave; the Canadian premiere of Xin Ji’s Body Story, exploring physical memory and vulnerability (produced by Rosabel Tan with costume design by Steven Junil Park); and Julia Croft, Nisha Madhan, and Rebecca Jensen’s feminist performance Working On My Night Moves.
Amber Esau: IWP Fall Residency | University of Iowa, Iowa | 19 August–28 October
Sāmoan-Māori writer and poet Amber Esau joins the International Writing Program for an eleven-week literary exchange. This residency includes public readings and dedicated writing time to develop a new, mixed media speculative fantasy novel set in the South Pacific.
Europe & UK
Binge Culture: Werewolf | Summerhall, Edinburgh Festival Fringe | 6–31 August
Pōneke performance collective Binge Culture presents Werewolf at Summerhall for the Edinburgh Fringe. The horror-comedy invites audiences into a participatory game of social deduction, exploring collective paranoia, survival and community dynamics during a crisis.
Charles Whitehead: Piano Masterworks & Swingin' Solo Jazz | Edinburgh New Town Church, Edinburgh Festival Fringe | 20–22 August
Concert pianist Charles Whitehead performs two shows at Edinburgh New Town Church: Piano Masterworks 2026 features Romantic and early 20th-century classical works, while Swingin' Solo Jazz Piano 2026 is billed as a mix of jazz standards and styles.
Māhina & Matariki Bennett: L'AiR Arts Residency | Atelier 11, Paris | August–September
Māori sisters Māhina (visual artist) and Matariki Bennett (poet/filmmaker) undertake a collaborative residency at Atelier 11 in Paris to develop severing our tāngaengae from the whenua. Their residency will wrap up with an Open Studio during European Heritage Days in September.
Opportunities beyond Aotearoa
Fogo Island Arts Residencies | Fogo Island, Canada | Apply by 12 August
A place-based residency offering two available slots for September, providing uninterrupted time, accommodation and research support for creative practitioners to engage with the cultural and remote landscape of Fogo Island.
Cité Internationale des Arts Research Residency | Paris, France | Apply by 30 August
A three-month research residency (April–June 2027) for experienced art critics based outside mainland France. The programme offers a live-in studio, a €1,000 monthly stipend, travel support, and access to French curatorial networks and national art archives.
Write Over Here: Indigenous Futurism Residency 2027 | Banff, Canada | Apply by 23 September
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity invites Indigenous screenwriters to develop film and TV screenplays exploring themes of Indigenous futurism, backed by 100% financial aid, faculty mentorship and 24/7 studio access.
SAM Residencies Cycle 4 | Singapore | Apply by 30 September
Singapore Art Museum’s flagship incubation programme offers international artists, curators and educators one to three-month residencies to pursue independent research and experimental public activations centered around ecological interdependence and urgent social issues.
