Proposed arts cuts in Wellington and the rest of the news

Since at least 2022, Wellington City Council has been looking in its purse and not finding much more than lint and a stray thread. Tory Whanau was elected after running a campaign on climate action, urban transformation, and infrastructure investment, but almost immediately after she took office, her tone changed to one of constraint. Debt was rising, key infrastructure needed investment, and the Wellington Town Hall redevelopment was in the process of blowing its budget. A couple of years later the council voted to sell airport shares in a bid to access that capital. Backlash led to a reversal, and the financial plan had to be reworked. The council has shifted to operating, and planning for the future, with austerity in mind. Last year, Andrew Little’s top priority when running for mayor was, “rebuild trust in council by making it more accountable and getting its finances under control”. Now, there’s flood damage to contend with, and a fuel crisis adding financial pressure to council, and perhaps more importantly, to the households that pay the rates.

The latest is the Mahere ā-tau Annual Plan 2026/27, the draft of which is currently out for public consultation. For as long as the plan has been on the horizon, messaging like, “as a community, we need to make some tough decisions about what to prioritise” has surrounded it. The proposed budget (planned to come into effect this July) includes cuts, and yes, it looks like arts funding will be hit the hardest. The proposed cuts include a reduction in the budget for activities in the re-opened Te Ngākau Civic Square (from $600,000 to $250,000), and savings across the council’s Creative Capital services ($410,000) which include the allocation of grants, Toi Pōneke, management of the art collection, events, Te Ngākau, and venue subsidies. According to sector analysis, this is a cut of about 5% for the arts, while cuts across other departments are significantly lower – for example, the council's social and recreation area budget is facing a 0.4% cut.

Council, councillors, and the mayor are promoting the public consultation with a lot of emphasis on cost pressures. In a video with Andrew Little, Diane Calvert, Chair of the Council Planning and Finance Committee, says “we know rates affordability is a real concern for most people right now. We can't afford to do everything at the moment, so we’ve got some really tough choices to make”. Little hones in on rates too, saying that the savings in the plan reduce the rates increase from 12.7% to 7.4%.

Toi o Taraika Arts Wellington and Wellington Independent Arts Trust are rallying support against the arts budget cuts. They argue that the arts deserve investment because they define our “Creative Capital”, they create jobs, they strengthen community wellbeing and connection, they underpin Wellington’s cultural identity and public life, and because Arts investment is essential civic infrastructure. The organisations are calling people to sign a petition with three demands: that the council correct the disparity to cuts, that no reductions are made to arts and culture grants allocations, and that the council uphold and fully deliver the Aho Tini 2030: Arts, Culture and Creativity Strategy, the city’s long-term framework. 

Lucy Marinkovich, co-chair of Toi o Taraika Arts Wellington, said the petition had 906 signatures on Wednesday evening. She said “people are frustrated and angry that the council’s own Aho Tini 2030 strategy will face being compromised if these cuts go ahead”. Many of the signatures came with “impassioned” messages of support from people within the arts community in Wellington and people who enjoy the arts, either as locals or visitors. She said some current and former tertiary students wrote about selecting their institution based in part on a desire to live in Wellington for its cultural scene. 

In a message, one signee wrote: “The arts are often framed as a cost, but they are an economic engine. Events fill restaurants and bars, increase hotel occupancy, and bring foot traffic into the CBD. They create paid work for performers, technicians, designers, marketers, and suppliers. Remove funding and you don’t just cut art, you cut culture, jobs, spending, and city activity.”

Another: “This city is an arts city. If you want a city with events that bring people here and make it fun to live here, then you need to fund artists.”

The council’s online public submissions on the annual plan close this Sunday 10 May. Oral submissions will be heard next week. The council will deliberate on 27 May, and just a month later, on 25 June, the plan will be adopted. Petitions and public submissions rarely re-write council budgets, but opposition has in the past led to adjustments in timing, scale, and targeting. It's not impossible that the cuts could be softened under pressure, but this will be difficult if councillors see the cuts as necessary, as the austerity messaging around the plan suggests. Though social media campaigns have drummed up some awareness around the cuts, the issue hasn’t gained anywhere near the traction that the airport saga did – in fact, no major news outlets have picked up the issue. “You will have your say,” reads the council website, “the council will listen and then make the tough decisions that are needed and that reflect our communities’ values and concerns.”

New low-cost collaborative studio opening in Dunedin 

There’s been a lot of cleaning up and setting up at 125 George Street, Ōtepoti. The space opens Monday 11 May as Found Studio – Content Collab Space, a temporary, low-cost creative studio. The project is a collaboration between Dunedin Dream Brokerage and artist and filmmaker Lichen Sorrel and is intended to support projects including photography, video, and music promotion. As well as space, the studio will provide access to tools including lighting, backdrops, and props, enabling creatives to develop and produce content with minimal barriers. Follow updates on Instagram, and submit an expression of interest via this form.

New residency programme to strengthen ties between islands

Samoa House Library, Puku, The Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora and Felixe Laing are collaborating on a new project, the Whakamanu Exchange Residency. It's a chance for two early-career visual artists or curators with collaborative practices to city-swap and strengthen artistic and relational exchange across Aotearoa artistic communities. One person based in Tāmaki Makaurau will travel to and be hosted in Ōtautahi, and another person based in Ōtautahi will travel to and be hosted in Tāmaki Makaurau. The residencies will provide accommodation, flights from respective cities, a stipend, and research support. Applications are due 17 May. Interesting to note that three of the people involved are current (Liam Jacobson at Puku) or previous (James Tapsell-Kururangi, Director of The Physics Room and Felixe Laing comms coordinator at Artspace Aotearoa) curatorial interns at Te Tuhi.

Eight artists from Aotearoa to participate in the 18th Lyon Biennale

Fiona Clark, Ngahina Hohaia (Taranaki Iwi, Te Atiawa, Ngāti Ruanui, Ngāti Mutunga, Parihaka), Maureen Lander MNZM (Ngāpuhi, Te Hikutū), Yana Nafysa Dombrowsky M’Baye, Sriwhana Spong, Michael Stevenson, Ashleigh Taupaki (Ngāti Hako, Ngāti Rangitihi, Ngāti Kahungunu) and Luke Willis Thompson have been invited to present works in the Biennale. Titled To pass from one dream to another, the exhibition will have a focus on Oceania and runs from September to December this year. This is another outcome that The Office for Contemporary Art Aotearoa have had a huge hand in, including being involved behind-the-scenes in research visits by Curator, Catherine Nichols, to Aotearoa in May 2025 and February 2026.

A few drops from the Art Fair

I didn’t go and yet the hype got me. I heard it was “ballistic”, drinks at the opening cost $20, there were lines to get in, and that sales were ok, especially considering the current economic climate. 

Carla van Zon dies surrounded by family and friends

The arts leader died peacefully at 74-years-old after living with kidney disease since 2017. Once a dancer, van Zon went on to champion the arts in executive and leadership roles at significant festivals and Creative New Zealand. Van Zon was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the arts in 2000 and voted the Arts Wellingtonian of the Year in 2005. There’s a wonderful profile about her on Metro Magazine’s website.

Feedback for arts equity policy closes 15 May

Artists, ringatoi, arts organisations and communities are being invited by CNZ to help shape the draft Te Ara Mana Tautika o ngā Toi – Equity in the Arts Policy. This policy will replace the Diversity in the Arts Policy (2015), and the draft sets out how Creative New Zealand will support equity (mana tautika) in the arts. The survey should take about 5–10 minutes to complete, depending on the level of feedback you’d like to provide.

Infratil extends partnership with the NZ Youth Choir and supports new scholarship

New Zealand-based company Infratil has deepened its commitment to the New Zealand Youth Choir (NZYC) with an extended three year partnership and a brand new scholarship for singers. Choirs Aotearoa NZ CE Arne Herrmann says that long-term commitments help organisations plan for the future with confidence and certainty. The newly developed Infratil Scholarship will help reduce financial barriers for a singer who might otherwise struggle to meet the costs of participation.

The first issue of Attention Studies is out

Over the past couple months, a group of almost 40 writers have been gathering at The Physics Room in Christchurch for Attention Studies. From these workshops, they’ve developed a monthly publication that responds to the current cultural climate, across art, poetry, music, performance and other areas. The first issue is out now, in print for free at The Physics Room, Samoa House Library in Auckland and Blue Oyster in Dunedin, or as a PDF online.

Nour Hassan is Auckland Council’s 2026 artist in residence

The multi-media artist will live and work in Purahurawai (Scandrett Regional Park) for eight weeks later this year. Nour will focus on the park's natural features and use hand-drawn, stop-motion animation to speculate how visitors may interact with these sites in the future. Her process will begin with traditional drawings using materials like paper, pencil, ink, charcoal and paint, but will evolve into animations through digital techniques. The residency will conclude with an animation workshop for the local community and an exhibition sharing her creative process and the resulting works.

Siobhan Harvey is the 2026 Caselberg Trust Margaret Egan writers resident

This year’s winner of the six-week residency is a writer from Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. Siobhan Harvey is the author of nine books, including the memoir, What We Remember, What We Forget (OUP, forthcoming: May, 2026), a book about family, warrior motherhood, queerness, recollection, disregard, trauma and survival. Siobhan will arrive at the Caselberg House in October. The residency is run by the Caselberg Trust and Dunedin UNESCO City of Literature.

Springboard artists announced

16 early career artists have been announced as the Arts Foundation’s 2026 Springboard recipients. Each will receive a $15,000 grant and a year‑long mentorship from a senior artist. Congratulations to A.J Manaaki Hope, Erika Holm, Flora Feltham, Isabella Loudon, Isla Huia, Isla Macleod, Jaime Jenkins, Jess Chambers, Lyncia Muller, Mia Maramara, Scarlett Robinson-Kean, Sean Dioneda Rivera, Sefa Tunupopo, Steven Junil Park 박준일, Te Huamanuka Luiten-Apirana, and Tony Guo.

Nominations were open in November 2025, and an independent panel (Heather Galbraith,  Lucy Hammonds, Taarati Taiaroa, Taiaroa Royal, Gina Dellabarca, Dr Dugal McKinnon, Megan Dunn, and Dolina Wehipeihana) gathered late February 2026 to review the submissions.

Claire Cowan is 2026 Friedlander Foundation Associate Artist at the NZ Opera 

Cowan is the first composer to be appointed to the residency. “It is a rare and wonderful thing to be able to develop my compositional craft in this realm, whilst gaining a better understanding of how an opera is brought to the stage,” she says. Her fellowship will be integrated into the heart of NZ Opera’s 2026 productions, including The Marriage of Figaro and The Pearl Fishers, and she will develop a new opera project.

Laree Payne new Curator for Toi Tauranga Art Gallery

Originally from Tauranga Moana, Payne returns to the region after leading her own gallery in Kirikiriroa Hamilton. Payne has curated and delivered more than 80 exhibitions and built a reputation for presenting rigorous, engaging contemporary art. She holds a Master of Arts in Arts Management where she focused on contemporary art and meaning-making, as well as a Bachelor of Social Work. Payne will begin in early June.

Geo Thompson-Skipworth fills new role at The Physics Room

Geo Thompson-Skipworth (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu), an artist living in Ōhinehou, Ōtautahi, is the new Kaimanaaki Access Coordinator, a role supported by the Rātā Foundation. Previously she was the Weekend Gallery Supervisor, and she also works as a Visitor Host at Te Puna o Waiwhetū Christchurch Art Gallery and runs The Green Room.

In month’s dispatch on Aotearoa artists overseas, Genista Jurgens notices NZ artists abroad are activating ancestral practices and rounds up opportunities in Tokyo, the UK, and beyond.

In a short and sharp Soapbox, comedian Tim Batt considers how a bunch of phone-addicted attention-seekers who are exposed to the horrors of being on Earth in 2026 keep getting up to tell jokes to rooms full of people.

Until February, Mainard Larkin hadn't released any music for four years. New he's back with an alt-country folk album and a Shameless Plug.