Opportunities open for creatives in New Zealand. Take the leap and get applying; your future success awaits.
FIRST MORTGAGE TRUST – YOUTH SPONSORSHIP
First Mortgage Trust offers an annual youth sponsorship for people aged 16-25 who live in the Bay of Plenty/Waikato and are high achievers in the fields of sport, music or art. Sponsorship is valued at $1500 and applications usually open at the beginning of February and close at the end of March each year. For further information, visit the website.
JANN MEDLICOTT CREATIVE ARTS SCHOLARSHIP
The Jann Medlicott Creative Arts Scholarship was established by the Acorn Foundation in 2012 in support of academic study or training in the creative arts. It is administered by Creative Bay of Plenty. To be eligible, applicants must either live in Tauranga/Western Bay or have completed part of their secondary education here. The scholarship is valued at $5000 to reflect the importance Jann Medlicott puts on supporting those wanting to further their career in the creative sector. Applications open in early July and close in early August each year. For further information, email Annie Hill on annie@creativebop.org.nz.
SIR EDMUND HILLARY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME
The Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship is the University of Waikato’s most prestigious student scholarship programme, supporting growth and excellence in sport, creative and performing arts, academia, and leadership. Hillary Scholars are supported to pursue their passion while completing their qualification at the University of Waikato and receive tailored personal development and leadership training throughout their studies. For further information, visit the website.
UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO ARTS FELLOWS
The University of Otago offers five prestigious fellowships in the arts which enable talented New Zealanders to explore their creativity. The University of Otago funds Fellows so that they can pursue their area of interest without the restrictions of having to earn an income for the year. The Fellows receive a stipend for between six months and one year, and space at Otago’s Dunedin campus to pursue their creative projects. The Arts Fellowships cater for a wide variety of artistic styles – artists, composers, dancers and writers.
Learn more about the Fellowships:
- The Robert Burns Fellowship: for writers.
- The Frances Hodgkins Fellowship: for painters, sculptors, and multi-media artists.
- The Mozart Fellowship: for composers of music.
- The University of Otago College of Education / Creative New Zealand Children’s Writer in Residence: for children’s writers.
- Caroline Plummer Fellowship in Community Dance: for community dance practitioners, teachers, and researchers.
ADAM PORTRAITURE AWARD
The Adam Portraiture Award is New Zealand’s most prestigious and popular portraiture prize. The biennial competition is for painted portraits and is hosted and administered at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata in Wellington. Sponsored by the Adam Foundation, the award provides New Zealand painters from all stages of their careers with the opportunity to showcase their talents on the national stage. The first prize is $20,000, with $2,500 awarded to both the runner up and people’s choice categories. For further information, visit the website.
KIINGI TUHEITIA PORTRAITURE AWARD
The Kiingi Tuheitia Portraiture Award is a competition that encourages emerging Māori artists to create portraits of their tūpuna (ancestors) in any medium. The award was launched in 2020 and is hosted and administered by the New Zealand Portrait Gallery Te Pūkenga Whakaata in honour of Kiingi Tuheitia. It culminates in a three month exhibition of finalist artworks in Wellington to coincide with Matariki followed by a national tour. The first prize is $20,000, with $2,500 awarded to both the runner up and people’s choice categories. For further information, visit the website.
LYSAGHT WATT TRUST ART AWARD
Sponsored by Lysaght Watt Trust, there is a major prize of $3,000 as well as several other sponsored prizes. A different theme is selected each year and an esteemed member of the New Zealand art community is invited to judge entries. For further information, visit the website.
MCCAHON HOUSE RESIDENCY
The McCahon House Trust has built a purpose designed, award winning, two-bedroom accommodation and studio alongside the old McCahon House in French Bay, Titirangi, for the purposes of hosting artists’ residencies. The residency is open to practitioners in the disciplines of visual art including but not limited to; painting, photography (digital and traditional), moving image, mixed media, drawing, sculpture, and installation. During their residency, artists have the use of the two-bedroom apartment and studio, receive administrative support from the Trust and are paid a stipend. Residencies are based on a three month term but from time to time may be awarded for a longer period. Find out more here.
MILES ART AWARD
This bi-annual event and exhibition is an opportunity for artists residing in the Bay of Plenty to submit their most accomplished artwork for the region’s premiere art prize. Hosted by Tauranga Art Gallery Toi Tauranga, the award is named after one of the gallery’s original donors, Venetta Miles, who is remembered for her considerable foresight and generosity. The supreme award, The Miles Art Award, is valued at $10,000 and supported by The Venetta Miles Trust, Friends of Tauranga Art Gallery, the Mayor of Tauranga, The Incubator Creative Hub and the Bay of Plenty Times. The art works submitted have never been exhibited previously in a public exhibition. For further information, visit www.artgallery.org.nz.
RUAPEHU ART AWARDS
The Ruapehu Art Awards is a prized based art competition open to all New Zealand-based 2D, 3D artists and photographers. Find out more here.
WALLACE ART AWARDS
The vision of the Wallace Arts Trust is to support, promote and give exposure to New Zealand contemporary artists. Sir James Wallace established the Wallace Art Awards in 1992 and they are now the longest surviving and largest annual art awards of their kind in New Zealand. Over the years some of New Zealand’s most prominent artists have entered and many artworks have been purchased by the Wallace Arts Trust for their collection.
Applicants must have New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency, so expat kiwis living globally are also eligible. Prior to Covid-19, the awards included artist residencies, some of which took place overseas. Due to the restrictions on international travel, these are currently not being offered. Artists can submit work in the mediums of painting, sculpture, audio-visual, print, photography, drawings and interdisciplinary arts. For further information, email matthew.wood@wallaceartstrust.org.nz.
NGĀ TAONGA TOI A TE WAKA TOI
The 35th annual Ngā Taonga Toi a Te Waka Toi (Te Waka Toi Awards) will celebrate and recognise the artistic excellence, achievement and contribution of Māori artists working in customary and contemporary Māori arts. Three of these awards are open for public nomination. Visit Creative NZ’s website for more details.
CREATIVE NEW ZEALAND ARTS PASIFIKA AWARDS
These awards celebrate and recognise excellence in Pacific arts across a range of arts practices and career stages. Any New Zealander can nominate an artist or themselves for an award. There are seven award categories open for public nominations: Senior Pasifika Artist Award, Pacific Toa Award, Pacific Heritage Artist Award, Contemporary Pacific Artist Award, Special Recognition Award, Emerging Pacific Artist Award, and Iosefa Enari Memorial Award. Full details and nomination forms are available on Creative NZ’s funding page.
PASIFIKA ARTIST RESIDENCY FOR PACIFIC LGBTQiA+
Creative New Zealand Toi Aotearoa and Pātaka: Art + Museum have announced a new three-month Aniva Arts Residency for a Pasifika artist or practitioner who identifies as LGBTQiA+, or MVPFAFF in Pasifika communities. The residency is a new opportunity developed under the Pacific Arts Strategy 2018 – 2023 that embraces the rich diversity and innovation in the Pacific arts community. Find out more on Pataka’s website.
CHRISTINE TUSTAIN ARTS AWARD
Facilitated by Acorn Foundation, the Christine Tustain Arts Award goes to the winner of the singing section for those aged 18 years and over in the Tauranga Performing Arts Competition. An annual prize of around $1,700, recipients must be undertaking or about to commence further study in singing. For further information, visit the website.
EDWIN CARR FOUNDATINO SCHOLARSHIP
The Edwin Carr Foundation Scholarship enables outstanding New Zealand composers to further their music studies overseas. Up to $23,000 is available to support up to two 12-month scholarships and is typically awarded for an accredited course of study at a recognised overseas training institution. Find out more here.
JACK MCGILL MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP
The Jack McGill Music Scholarship enables young instrumentalists or singers to further their music studies overseas. Priority is given to pianists. Up to $12,000 is available to support up to two 12-month scholarships and is typically awarded for an accredited course of study at a recognised overseas training institution. Find out more here.
PUBLIC TRUST EILEEN MAY NORRIS DANCE SCHOLARSHIPS
The Eileen May Norris Dance Scholarships are awarded to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding dance talent in New Zealand with an appropriate university, polytechnic, dance school or academy, or for those dancing with a professional body or company. Applications are encouraged from individual dancers of any genre undertaking a specific dance project who New Zealand born or naturalised citizens aged between 18-25 years. For further information, visit the website.
TUP LANG CHOREOGRAPHIC AWARD
This Creative New Zealand award is an annual award for a project supporting choreography in New Zealand contemporary dance. Priority is given to emerging choreographers. Find out more here.
BERLIN WRITER’S RESIDENCY
This is a biennial residency for an established New Zealand writer to work on an approved project in Berlin, Germany. Find out more here.
CLNZ/NZSA WRITERS’ AWARD
The CLNZ/NZSA Writers’ Award of $25,000 is one of the highest non-fiction awards in New Zealand literature. The award was established to provide financial support for writers wishing to devote time to a specific project, and to cover reasonable research expenses relating to it. Writers with work in a broad range of non-fiction genres, including educational works, can apply. Find out more here.
JANN MEDLICOTT ACORN PRIZE FOR FICTION
Worth at least $55,000, the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction is for a New Zealand writer of contemporary adult fiction. It is part of the Ockham NZ Book Awards, with the winner announced in May each year. The awards ceremony is part of the Auckland Writers Festival. Further information on how to apply, visit the website.
LOUIS JOHNSON NEW WRITER’S BURSARY
This is an annual bursary for a published writer or playwright at an early stage of their career who applies to Creative New Zealand’s Arts Grants 2022/23 Round 4 to create new work. Find out more here.
MICHAEL KING WRITER’S FELLOWSHIP
Fellowship of $100,000 awarded every two years to an established New Zealand writer from any literary genre, with a significant publication record, to work on a major project. Find out more here.
NZ SOCIETY OF AUTHORS MENTOR PROGRAMME
The NZ Society of Authors mentor programme is for beginning or emerging writers who demonstrate potential and commitment the opportunity to work closely with an experienced writer as their mentor in order to hone their writing skills. The programme is open to financial members of the NZSA and each mentorship spans a 7–8 month period which starts in April when the match is confirmed and ends in November of that year. Applications for this programme are open from 1 December to 1 February in any given year. For further information, visit the website.
PRIME MINISTER’S AWARDS FOR LITERARY ACHIEVEMENT
The annual Prime Minister’s Awards for Literary Achievement recognise New Zealand writers who have made a notable contribution to New Zealand literature in the genres of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. New Zealanders are invited to submit a nomination. There is $60,000 available in each category. Visit Creative NZ’s website for more information.
TODD NEW WRITER’S BURSARY
This is an annual bursary awarded to a published writer or playwright at an early stage of their career who applies to Creative New Zealand’s Arts Grants 2022/23 Round 1 to write a new work. Find out more here.
KAIPARA COAST SCULPTURE GARDEN EXHIBITION
The Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens which opened in 2008, has been developed in conjunction with Kaipara Coast Plant Centre which has been owned and operated by David and Geraldine Bayly from the site since 1988. The main Sculpture Trail is 1km long, with a further 2.5km of native forest walks. Artists are invited to explore ideas that capture moments of joy, inspire wonder, or evoke a sense of paradise. Find out more here.
PORTAGE CERAMIC AWARDS
The Portage Ceramics Awards are Aotearoa’s premier showcase for ceramic practice, organised annually by Te Uru. The awards are a hallmark event for the New Zealand ceramics community, showcasing some of the best contemporary work, and serving as a platform for dialogue about developments in the ceramics field. For further information, visit the website.
WAICLAY NATIONAL CERAMICS AWARD
Renowned for promoting excellence in ceramic art practice, the Waiclay National Ceramics Awards have been held every second year since 2001 and attract entries from the country’s most talented ceramic artists. Showcasing the current work of ceramic artists throughout New Zealand, the exhibition takes place at Waikato Museum, with the premier award word $3,000. For further information, visit the website.
48HOURS FILM MAKING COMPETITION
48Hours is New Zealand’s largest guerrilla filmmaking competition, with filmmakers having just one weekend to make a short film. Participants don’t know the genre (eg thriller/romance, etc.) they will be shooting until the start of the competition. All aspects, including writing, shooting, editing and adding a soundtrack, must occur within the 48 hour window beginning Friday evening at 7 pm and ending Sunday at 7 pm. To add to the mayhem, they must also include some random elements. For further information, visit the website.
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH SILENT FILM FESTIVAL
The IYSFF competition challenges young (20 years or younger) filmmakers from across New Zealand, USA, Australia and UAE to create a three minute silent film set to one of 10 different musical scores created especially for the festival. The top films from each country go through to the IYSFF International Award finals. Aotearoa has a strong reputation in the competition, with films from Lynfield College and Taieri College taking home prizes in the international finals in recent years. For further information, visit the website.
ASIAN INK PROGRAMME
Playmarket’s Asian Ink development programme is looking for NZ Asian writers with the best new and original work. The programme offers playwrights a development workshop with a professional script advisor and actors dedicated to helping you develop your play. Submissions can only be entered into this programme once and you may enter a maximum of three scripts. Plays entered under this programme may have been previously produced. Find out more here.
A list of funding providers that support arts and culture organisations and projects in Aotearoa.
Tips, guides and resources to sink your teeth into and gain insights into attaining funding for your creative projects.
Funding for community creative arts and culture projects with the aim of increasing participation and support diversity in the arts sector in our region.