Arts Access AotearoaAs we reach the midpoint of 2025 and approach our celebrations of Matariki, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on the achievements of Arts Access Aotearoa over 2024, encapsulated in Arts Access Aotearoa’s annual report.
It has been a personal privilege to see the impact the organisation has made across all our strategic focus areas, in service of our vision to see all people in Aotearoa accessing and participating in the arts.
In the annual report, Richard Benge and I spoke about 2024 as a year of significant growth, delivery, and consolidation across all areas of our work.
We were able to expand our staffing and build greater capability within the organisation, thanks to major funding support from Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage through its Regeneration Fund.
Deliver several transformative projects
That support enabled us to deliver several transformative projects – each reinforcing our purpose to increase access to the arts for everyone in Aotearoa, particularly Deaf and disabled people, incarcerated people, and people engaged in community arts and creative spaces.
As the board Chair, my most joyful moment in 2024 was attending Ngā Wāhi Auaha Creative Spaces Conference 2024 in Wellington on 22 and 23 August, where I experienced firsthand the incredible passion and commitment of the creative space attendees.
The energy and expertise in the room reminded me why we do this work – and how vital it is that creative spaces are recognised, supported and sustained with long-term funding.
The final year of Manatū Taonga’s significant three-year investment in 54 creative spaces came to an end in 2024. The funding also enabled Arts Access Aotearoa to support all 65 members of the Creative Spaces Network with advocacy and targeted professional development, including governance, fundraising, and cultural competency.
The impact of that investment was captured in Te kaha o ā tatou mahi – the power of our work, a report we’re using in 2025 to advocate for long-term, sustainable funding. The evidence is clear: creative spaces contribute significantly to our social, cultural and mental wellbeing.
Another 2024 publication that’s having a significant impact is Te Ara ki Runga: The Path Up – a practical guide supporting Arts in Corrections educators to deliver quality, sustainable arts programmes in prison and community Corrections settings.
Advocating internationally and locally for the role of arts programmes in prisons
With Regeneration Fund support, we spent the year listening to members of Arts in Corrections Network and co-designing the guide with them. Our Arts in Corrections Advisor, Neil Wallace, also advocated internationally and locally for the role of the arts in supporting rehabilitation and reintegration back into society on release.
Meanwhile, our work with Deaf and disabled artists gathered momentum under the name Taha Hotu, gifted by Rodney Bell (Ngāti Rōrā). It speaks to the idea that “we all lean differently in the wind” and calls us to lean toward each other in support. With funding from the Regeneration Fund, we developed resources and built a new website, launching in 2025, that will serve as a hub of practical support for Deaf and disabled artists.
Our Arts For All Network reached new heights in 2024, connecting more than 900 individuals and organisations committed to accessibility in the arts. In addition to in-person hui, we introduced monthly online meetups to build stronger national connections.
Throughout the year, we also kept our focus on influencing policy and strategy. We made submissions to Wellington City Council’s Long-Term Plan, responded to the draft national arts strategy Amplify, and opposed legislation we believe undermines the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
We remain committed to working alongside Creative New Zealand and others to ensure accessibility is embedded in all levels of arts policy.
Thank you to staff and trustees
As Chair, I would like to thank our tireless staff and our Board of Trustees for their dedication, insights and care. A special thanks goes to Lynley Hutton, who completed her term as chair in August and stepped down as a Trustee. Thanks also to outgoing trustees Frances Turner and Te Aturangi Nepia-Clamp, and a warm welcome to Hone Fletcher and Dr Samuele Paolo De Stefani.
Te Aturangi has not left us completely, however. We are delighted to welcome him as Arts Access Aotearoa’s Kaumātua, following the passing of our previous Kaumātua, The Reverent Wiremu (Bill) Kaua, in December 2023.
Arts Access Aotearoa continues to stand strong as a Tiriti partner organisation advocating for equity in the arts. With robust foundations and a clear strategic focus, we are excited about the work ahead and the opportunity to deliver even more accessibility initiatives in the years ahead.
