Arts Foundation of New Zealand explained

Arts Foundation of New Zealand
Formation:2000
Status:Charity
Purpose:Fund-raising and providing grants for arts, culture and heritage
Location:Christchurch
Region Served:New Zealand
Num Staff:3
Num Volunteers:1
Budget:NZD 1.12m (2010)
Website:www.thearts.co.nz

The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Te Tumu Toi is a New Zealand arts organisation that supports artistic excellence and facilitates private philanthropy through raising funds for the arts and allocating it to New Zealand artists.

The foundation produces award programmes that provide recognition and money prizes to New Zealand artists working in across all art forms. This includes writers, fine artists, musicians, dancers, choreographers, theatre-makers and screen artists.[1] [2]

Background

The concept of setting up an organisation to raise private funding for the arts was initiated by Creative New Zealand in 1997. Its chair Brian Stevenson approached Richard Cathie to chair a working party on the subject and Sir Ronald Scott was appointed consultant, with help from Gisella Carr. Early working party members and trustees included Mary, Lady Hardie Boys; Gillian, Lady Deane; Dame Jenny Gibbs; Sir Paul Reeves; Sir John Todd; Sir Miles Warren; and Sir Eion Edgar.

The foundation was incorporated as a charitable Trust in 1998 with Richard Cathie remaining as chair. Seed funding of $5m was secured from The Lottery Grants Board payable over five years and the foundation was launched in 2000.

In 2002, Simon Bowden was appointed Executive Director and in 2003 the organisation held its first awards.[3] [4] By 2008 the Arts Foundation had established an endowment fund of 6 million and donated $3 million to over 100 artists across arts disciplines.[5]

In 2012, the Arts Foundation launched Boosted a crowdsourced funding platform.[6] The Arts Foundation Awards celebrate achievement in an artists career. Donations come from Patrons of the Arts Foundation and other sources and are awarded directly to artists at the annual New Zealand Arts Awards.

Promotion of the arts is also part of the mandate of the Arts Foundation. In September 2019, the Arts Foundation launched the first New Zealand Arts Month. This campaign was supported by Creative NZ, Chartwell Trust, NZME, Phantom and Go Media.

Jessica Palalagi was appointed general manager in 2022.[7]

Awards

There is no application process for the awards. Artists are selected by an independent panel of arts peers or curators and recipients of awards are selected without their knowing they are under consideration. The Arts Foundation administers this process.[8] [9]

The Icon Awards, Whakamana Hiranga recognise a lifetime of achievement. Artists considered to have prominence and outstanding potential receive The Laureate Award. Artists in the early stages of their career were selected to receive a New Generation Award, and now receive a Springboard Award and mentorship from a Laureate or Icon.

In partnership, the foundation produces the Marti Friedlander Photographic Award, of $25,000NZD to assist the career of a photographer, and the Harriet Friedlander Residency, which is a residency in New York valued at $80,000NZD.

The Mallinson Rendel Illustrators Award was presented for the first time in 2011. The award is presented every two years to a children's book illustrator with published work of a high standard and includes a cash gift of $15,000.[10] [11]

The Arts Foundation also administers the Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship awarding a residency to Menton in France for a writer.[12]

Icon Award

The Arts Foundation of New Zealand established the Icon Awards as a means to celebrate and acknowledge New Zealand art-makers who have achieved the highest standards of artistic expression.[13]

Limited to a living circle of 20, Icons are pioneers and leaders from all arts disciplines, living and working around the world. To date, 41 artists have been acknowledged as Icons. In 2003, eight artists were honoured, followed by one in 2004, seven in 2005, five in 2007, five in 2011, five in 2013, two in 2015, five in 2018, and three in 2020.[14]

Each Icon receives a medallion and pin designed by sculptor John Edgar. The recipient is gifted the pin in perpetuity, while the medallion is presented to a successor at a future Icon Award ceremony following the artist's death.

In 2008 the Arts Foundation began commissioning oral histories from Icons. In time, the foundation hopes that an oral history will be deposited with the Alexander Turnbull Library in Wellington covering the life of each Icon artist. This will ensure the artists' stories are on public record and available for future generations.

In October 2020, multiple allegations of historical sexual abuse were made against composer Jack Body, who had received the award in 2015 shortly before his death, by a number of his former students.[15] In November 2020, the allegations were described by Victoria University as "very credible", and the Arts Foundation announced that it had suspended Body's status as an Arts Icon while it "awaited further information".[16] In January 2022, following a formal apology by the university to these students, the Arts Foundation confirmed that his award was no longer recognised by the organisation.[17]

Living Icons

Name Portrait Year of award Age Discipline
1 align=center 2003 align=center Novelist
2 Sir Donald McIntyre
align=center 2004 align=center Opera singer
3 Patricia Grace
align=center 2005 align=center Writer
4 Dame Gillian Weir
align=center 2011 align=center Organist
5 Greer Twiss
align=center 2011 align=center Sculptor
6 Sir Peter Jackson
align=center 2011 align=center Filmmaker
7 Jacqueline Fahey
align=center 2013 align=center Painter
8 Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
align=center 2013 align=center Opera singer
9 Albert Wendt
align=center 2018 align=center Writer
10 Fred Graham
align=center 2018 align=center Carver and sculptor
11 Bill Manhire
align=center 2018 align=center Writer
12 Dame Gillian Whitehead
align=center 2018 align=center Composer
13 Joy Cowley
align=center 2020 align=center Writer
14 Sir Sam Neill
align=center 2020 align=center Actor
15 Sandy Adsett
align=center 2020 align=center Visual artist
16 Fatu Feu'u
align=center 2022 align=center Visual artist
17 Dame Jane Campion
align=center 2022 align=center Film director / writer
18 Dame Robin White
align=center 2022 align=center Artist
19 Vacant
20 Vacant

Deceased Icons

Name Portrait Year of award Date of death Discipline
Len Castle
align=center 2003 Potter
Janet Frame
align=center 2003 Writer
Ralph Hotere
align=center 2003 Painter
Milan Mrkusich
align=center 2003 Visual artist
Diggeress Te Kanawa
align=center 2003 Weaver
align=center 2003 Poet
Sir Miles Warren
align=center 2003 Architect
Peter Godfrey
align=center 2005 Musician
Alexander Grant
align=center 2005 Ballet dancer
Pakaariki Harrison
align=center 2005 Carver
Russell Kerr
align=center 2005 Choreographer
Margaret Mahy
align=center 2005 Writer
Donald Munro
align=center 2005 Opera singer
Raymond Boyce
align=center 2007 Theatre designer
Don Peebles
align=center 2007 Painter
Don Selwyn
align=center 2007 Actor
Arnold Manaaki Wilson
align=center 2007 Sculptor
Ans Westra
align=center 2007 Photographer
align=center 2011 Writer
Marti Friedlander
align=center 2011 Photographer
Sir Ian Athfield
align=center 2013 Architect
Geoff Murphy
align=center 2013 Filmmaker
Cliff Whiting
align=center 2013 Artist and heritage advocate
Jim Allen
align=center 2015 Visual artist
Billy Apple
align=center 2018 Visual artist

Laureate Award

Initially there were five artists honoured annually at the New Zealand Arts Awards ceremony receiving a Laureate Award of a NZ$50,000 grant each and a commissioned sculpture by Terry Stringer. No awards were awarded in 2018, and in 2019 the amount of the prize changed to NZ$25,000, new partnerships and awards were introduced and the Laureate Award will be given to up to ten practising artists.[18]

Named awards

Established in 2019:

Established in 2020:

Laureate Artists are New Zealanders practicing in any arts discipline, located anywhere in the world. The criteria has changed away from the terminology of 'best' which is subjective in the arts, instead focusing on the significance of work and the impact on New Zealand.[20] [21] The Arts Foundation website states:

Arts Foundation Laureate Awards celebrate and empower New Zealand’s most outstanding practising artists - artists whose practise also has an impact on New Zealand.[22]
Laureates are able to use their award in any way they choose, for example, in the creation of new works, or the freedom to concentrate time and resources into the development of their career.[23]

Recipients

2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2019
2020
2021[24]
2022[25]
2023[26]

Out of the Limelight Award recipients for 2021 were:

New Generation Award

The Arts Foundation of New Zealand New Generation Awards, celebrate artists’ early achievements through an investment in each recipient’s career. Biennially, five artists are awarded $25,000NZD each, and a sculpture designed by glass artist Christine Cathie. Although still at an early stage of their career, the artists will have already demonstrated excellence and innovation through their work.

Similar to other Arts Foundation Awards, the New Generation Award may be presented to an artist working in any arts discipline. Teacher, critic, theorist and organiser of contemporary creative practices, Jon Bywater (Auckland) curated the award in 2006, while writer, teacher, painter, curator Gregory O'Brien (Wellington) undertook the role in 2008 and arts radio journalist Lynn Freeman in 2010.[27]

Recipients

2007
2008
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2017

Springboard Award

From 2020 a Springboard award is given to up to ten emerging artists. This consists of NZ$15,000 and mentoring from one of the alumni of Arts Foundation Laureates, Icons, New Generation, residency or Fellowship recipients. Criteria relates to potential for a sustainable career.[28] [29]

Recipients

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

Mallinson Rendel Illustrators Award

The inaugural Mallinson Rendel Illustrators award, initially worth $10,000 occurred in 2011. It has been awarded every two years up to 2017, and has increased in value.

Recipients

Award for Patronage

The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Award for Patronage is made annually to a person, couple, or private trust for the outstanding private contributions they have made to the arts. The Award for Patronage is presented by Perpetual Trust.

As a community of artists and arts supporters, the Arts Foundation honours those who contribute significantly as patrons. Annually, a donation of $20,000NZD from the Arts Foundation is provided to the recipient of this award for them to distribute to artists, arts projects or arts organisations of their choice. Philanthropists Denis and Verna Adam (2006), Dame Jenny Gibbs (2007), Lady Gillian and Sir Roderick Deane (2008),[33] Adrienne, Lady Stewart (2009) and Gus & Irene Fisher (2010) have been recipients. All recipients have chosen to double the funds for distribution through a matching contribution of $20,000NZD, with Gus and Irene Fisher donating $30,000NZD of their own funds, meaning an annual distribution of up to $50,000NZD. Recipients have also chosen to distribute an amount of $10,000 each to artists and /or arts projects.

Governors' Award

The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Governors' Award recognises an individual or institution that has contributed in a significant way to the development of the arts and artists in New Zealand. The recipients are chosen by Arts Foundation Governors, with each recipient receiving a plaque designed by Auckland artist Jim Wheeler.

To date two awards have been made:

The inaugural recipient was the University of Otago in recognition of its contribution to the arts community through its Burns, Hodgkins and Mozart Fellowships. The three Fellowships were set up through the generosity of anonymous benefactors and have subsequently been funded by additional grants to maintain their value.

The second presentation was made to Concert FM (now Radio New Zealand Concert). The Arts Foundation of New Zealand Governors recognised the contribution that Concert FM has made in supporting New Zealand composers, musicians, writers and actors at a national level. The Arts Foundation also acknowledged Concert FM's contribution to the arts through its recording collaborations and the Douglas Lilburn Prize (a joint initiative between Concert FM and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra).

In 2009 a third presentation was made to the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth. In making their selection, Arts Foundation Governors acknowledged the commitment by the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery to the cause of contemporary art, particularly from Aotearoa New Zealand, over the last four decades.

Marti Friedlander Photographic Award

The Marti Friedlander Photographic Award, supported by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand is presented every two years to an established photographer with a record of excellence and the potential to carry on producing work at high levels. The award includes a donation of $25,000NZD for the photographer to use as they please.

The inaugural recipient selected and announced by Marti Friedlander, was Edith Amituanai – a widely exhibited artist and a finalist in a number of awards, including the 2008 Walters Prize. Extended family and immediate community are primary subjects for Edith; she collaborates closely with her Christchurch and Auckland relatives as well as people she grew up with in West Auckland.[34]

John Miller (an independent social documentary photographer, renowned particularly for his protest images) and Mark Adams (a photographer working with subjects of cross-cultural significance) were joint recipients in 2009.

Recipients

Harriet Friedlander Residency

On 26 June 2008, the Harriet Friedlander Scholarship Trust and the Arts Foundation launched a new international residency.[35] A supporter of the arts, Harriet Friedlander also loved the vibrant culture of New York. When Michael and Harriet Friedlander and their sons Jason and Daniel designed the residency, Harriet was clear that she did not want to place any expectations or responsibilities on the recipient. An artist was to be sent to New York to have an "experience", all expenses paid, so that they could immerse themselves in the culture and process it in their own way.

One of the most generous residencies offered to a New Zealand artist, up to $80,000NZD is made available every two years for their travel and living expenses. This opportunity is available to an artist aged 30 to 40, practicing in any discipline. The inaugural curator was Gregory O'Brien and the inaugural recipient was filmmaker Florian Habicht.

Recipients

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Artists. Thearts.co.nz. 6 June 2016.
  2. News: 2019-08-30. Creative superstars wearing their arts on their sleeves. en-NZ. NZ Herald. 2020-09-25. 1170-0777.
  3. Web site: Backing artists to make their mark. 2020-09-25. Arts Foundation. en-US.
  4. Web site: Arts Funders convening. 2020-09-25. Philanthropy New Zealand, Tōpūtanga Tuku Aroha o Aotearoa.
  5. News: Linnell. Amanda. 2010-10-20. Simon Bowden's favourite things. en-NZ. NZ Herald. 2020-09-25. 1170-0777.
  6. Web site: Crowdfunding for the arts. 2020-09-25. Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
  7. News: Manson . Bess . 26 February 2022 . Arts undervalued but good for the soul . 13 January 2024 . Dominion Post.
  8. Web site: 2019-04-23. The honourable Simon Bowden. 2020-09-25. The Big Idea. en.
  9. Web site: 19 Oct 2017. The Arts Foundation announce the recipients of the 2017 New Zealand Arts Awards. Creative New Zealand.
  10. Web site: The Mallinson Rendel Illustrators Award . 19 May 2023 . The Arts Foundation.
  11. Web site: The Arts Foundation announce the recipients of the 2017 New Zealand Arts Awards . Creative New Zealand . 19 October 2017 . 12 July 2021 .
  12. Web site: Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellowship. 2020-09-25. Arts Foundation. en-US.
  13. Web site: New Zealand Book Council. Bookcouncil.org.nz. 6 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303195753/http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/events/awards/artsfoundationlaureate.html. 3 March 2016. dead.
  14. Web site: The Arts Foundation Icon Award . The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi . 6 Jul 2020.
  15. Web site: Mau . Alison . Art or abuse? Historical allegations surface about beloved music icon Jack Body . Stuff NZ . 3 August 2020.
  16. News: Mau . Alison . Victoria University launches reparation plan for survivors of famous composer's alleged sex abuse . Stuff.co.nz . 16 November 2020.
  17. News: Mau . Alison . University apologises to students over celebrated composer's alleged sexual assaults . 2 February 2022 . Stuff.co.nz . 28 January 2022.
  18. Web site: Wilson . Hannah . The Arts Foundation announce new strategic direction . Arts Foundation of New Zealand . 16 February 2020 . 3 May 2019.
  19. Web site: 8 July 2021. Five theatre practitioners awarded out of the limelight theatre award. live. 11 July 2021. www.theatreview.org.nz. https://web.archive.org/web/20210711044727/https://www.theatreview.org.nz/news/news.php?id=1743 . 11 July 2021 .
  20. Web site: Arts Foundation Awards Selection Process. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200116142957/https://www.thearts.co.nz/awards/selection-process. 2020-01-16. 2020-09-27. Arts Foundation. en-NZ.
  21. Web site: Green. Kate. 2020-09-25. Wellingtonian Ariana Tikao named among latest Arts Foundation Laureate winners. 2020-09-27. Stuff. en.
  22. Web site: Arts Foundation Laureate Awards. 2020-09-27. Arts Foundation. en-US.
  23. Web site: Five new arts laureates. 4 November 2008. Nbr.co.nz. 6 June 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160701072417/http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/five-new-arts-laureates-37317. 1 July 2016. dead.
  24. News: Wellingtonians win Arts Foundation Laureate awards: Photographer Harry Culy and theatre director Nina Nawalowalo . Kate . Green . 6 August 2021 . Stuff.co.nz . 6 August 2021.
  25. News: Jack . Amberleigh . Lindah Lepou and Tame Iti among 2022 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi laureates . 5 September 2022 . Stuff . 3 September 2022.
  26. News: Nine outstanding NZ artists honoured at Arts Foundation Laureate Awards . André . Chumko . 1 September 2023 . . 2 September 2023.
  27. Web site: Five new arts laureates . Daly-Peoples, John . 4 November 2008 . . 16 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110927054905/http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/five-new-arts-laureates-37317 . 27 September 2011 . dead .
  28. Web site: Arts Foundation Awards Selection Process. 2020-09-25. Arts Foundation. en-US.
  29. Web site: The Arts Foundation Springboard . Arts Foundation . 17 May 2024.
  30. Web site: Gavin Bishop. 26 September 2015. The Arts Foundation. en. 12 February 2019.
  31. Web site: Jenny Cooper. www.penguin.co.nz. en. 11 February 2019.
  32. Web site: Donovan Bixley. 21 September 2017. The Arts Foundation. en. 12 February 2019.
  33. Web site: Governor-General of New Zealand - Speeches . 23 December 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081014095511/http://www.gov-gen.govt.nz/gg/speeches.asp?type=current&ID=574 . 14 October 2008 .
  34. Web site: Auckland Art Gallery. Aucklandartgallery.govt.nz. 6 June 2016.
  35. Web site: New international arts residency launched . Scoopnews.co.nz. 6 June 2016.
  36. Web site: Harriet Friedlander Residency. 2021-07-11. Arts Foundation. en-US.