C is for Creative

It’s been six years since the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council was rebranded Creative New Zealand. It’s a name that has never been a very comfortable fit with the organisation and this is reflected in its who-we-really-are byline ‘Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa’. And, although the staff no doubt feel the brand speaks for their aspirations for the nation rather than themselves, it’s them, as they say, what wears the t-shirts. 

Creative New Zealand has never been that creative in its approach to the arts more often taking a scatter gun rather than focussed approach. The result is their tendency to deliver very generic policy that makes funding decisions end up feeling like patronage. So now is probably as good a time as any to drop the “creative” thing and get back to being an Arts Council with big goals and a sense of where to next, and why. 

We hear there are changes afoot to the way CNZ will categorise its various allocations, but don’t expect the performing arts tsunami to recede anytime soon. We plan to keep on asking questions on your behalf and the good news is that under the chairmanship of Alastair Carruthers, there is a push toward more transparency (and so more chance of getting answers) from what has got to be one of New Zealand’s more opaque organisations.