Minister Paul Goldsmith at the National Summit on the Economic and Wellbeing Value of Live Performance in Aotearoa New Zealand Photo: Jack Young
This month Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage released a draft for consultation of Amplify: A Creative and Cultural Strategy for New Zealand. It’s stated as a national strategy that outlines how the government will prioritise support for our creative and cultural sectors to 2030. Submissions are due 15 December.
Arts strategy from the government has long been called for, and Minister for Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith has admitted in a speech at the launch event, that he’d always been sceptical about the idea of a strategy but had come to see it as a worthwhile thing.
Massey Associate Professor Dave Carter at the National Summit on the Economic and Wellbeing Value of Live Performance in Aotearoa New Zealand Photo: Jack Young
The strategy was launched on Monday 4 November at a National Summit on the Economic and Wellbeing Value of Live Performance in Aotearoa New Zealand in Pōneke Wellington.
At this Summit, a team including staff from Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts at Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University and Aotahi School of Māori and Indigenous Studies at the University of Canterbury shared new research that shows that the live performance sector contributed at least $17.3 billion in social and economic value to Aotearoa New Zealand in the 12 months to 30 June 2024.
This $17.3 billion figure uses Treasury tools to enable comparison with other sectors and includes the impact of consumer spending motivated by live performance, employment, taxation and social benefits.
The report also found that for every $1 spent on the arts $3.20 is returned to the community, and that a $75 million local and central government subsidy leads to $220 million in tax revenue.
Photo: Julie Zhu/ Sophie Helm
Joining Culture 101 to discuss the draft Amplify strategy are two experienced arts practitioners and managers in the performing arts who attended the National Summit.
Dolina Wehipeihana (Ngāti Tukorehe, Ngāti Raukawa) is a producer, arts manager, choreographer and performer. She is the new festival co-director at Aotearoa NZ Festival of the Arts, Kaiarahi Māori at Performing Arts Network NZ, former General Manager at Kia Mau Festival and former Head of Programming at Auckland Arts Festival.
Dr James Wenley is a Pākehā theatre academic, practitioner, advocate and critic. A Senior Lecturer in Theatre at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, James is also the editor and founder of commentary platform TheatreScenes.co.nz, and has published the book, Aotearoa New Zealand in the Global Theatre Marketplace: Travelling Theatre in 2021.
