Whakahoa Kaitoi Whanaketanga Creative New Zealand Artist Fellowship

This fellowship supports a Deaf or disabled artist, or tāngata turi or tāngata whaikaha Māori artist, or an artist who has a disability, Impairment, or lived experience of mental distress to undertake a project that develops their arts practice.

It is open to artists exploring artforms that include but are not limited to dance, film, creative writing, music, theatre, ngā toi Māori, Pacific arts, visual arts, ceramics and sculpture.

Arts Access Aotearoa embraces the diverse ways that the experiences of Deaf and disabled people; tāngata turi and tāngata whaikaha Māori artist; people with disabilities and impairments; and people with lived experience of mental distress shape their arts practice. Don’t hesitate to include anything you would like to share about what this means for you: for example, writing from bed.

Please note: there is no requirement or expectation your art relates to themes of disability.

Arts Access Aotearoa’s aims for this Fellowship are:

• to offer an opportunity specifically for a Deaf or disabled artist, or tāngata turi or tāngata whaikaha Māori artist, or an artist who has a disability or impairment, or lived experience of mental distress 
• to support and resource an artist to develop their arts practice through a specific project
• to support the growth of an artist, their career, creativity and professional development through the opportunity of this fellowship 
• to discover and connect with Deaf or Disabled artists and share their arts practice.
• We here at Arts Access Aotearoa acknowledge the many barriers that exist to applying. We encourage you to treat the application process as an opportunity for professional development. Assessment will be non-judgemental, and feedback will be provided on all applications. If you need support in applying, we will seek to assist you in finding this.

The recipient of the fellowship receives $10,000. It is sponsored by Creative New Zealand. We anticipate the project will take around 200 hours to complete within a six-month period. You may choose to work with a mentor as part of your project

Eligibility criteria: Is this fellowship for me?

You need to be:

• a practising artist. You can be self-taught or formally trained
• an artist with a physical, sensory or intellectual disability, or an artist who is Deaf, or has lived experience of mental distress
• at least 18 years of age
• a New Zealand citizen or permanent resident.

You cannot have been a previous recipient of an Art Access Aotearoa Fellowship.

The fellowship money CANNOT be used for:

• any academic course of study
• any competition or fundraising
• previous expenses.

It CAN be used for:

• salaries and fees
• materials
• travel required for the project
• access-related costs for the project.

The decision-making process

All complete applications that are eligible will be passed on for assessment. Proposals will be reviewed in terms of the assessment criteria. The panel of arts professionals evaluating the proposals will include at least one Deaf and/or disabled person. An Arts Access Aotearoa staff member will support the panel but will not be involved in the assessment and decision-making.

Assessment criteria

The decision-making panel will consider the following factors to evaluate each proposal:

• A carefully considered project idea
• Achievability of the project
• Evidence of arts practice
• A clear documentation process for the project
• A completed application.

How to apply

Step 1: Check your dates

• The deadline for applications is 5pm Monday 20 November 2023.
• All applicants will be notified about the outcome of their application by 5pm Monday 4 December 2023.

Note: The project needs to start within two months of acceptance of the fellowship and must be completed within six months of the starting date. We anticipate the Fellowship will begin in January/February and compete by June/July.

Step 2: Consider the requirements of the application

Read the FAQs before you start.

Here are some prompts to help you prepare your answers:

1. Who are you? Tell us about yourself and your art practice.
2. What do you want to do? Identify the artform you are using. Is this new work or building on previous work?
3. Why do you want to do this? What skills would you learn? What concepts might you develop? How would the fellowship support you to advance your career?
4. Are there any barriers that this fellowship will help remove?
5. How will the project happen?
6. What is your timeline? How will you complete each step of the process?
7. What is a realistic breakdown of costs (see budget template at the end of this webpage)? Consider fair pay for any other contributors.
8. How will you document your project to share it with Arts Access Aotearoa?
9. If you involve a mentor, what skills will they help you develop?

Step 3: Complete your application form

We welcome applications in alternative formats: for example, NZSL or audio/visual files.

Our application form is also a Word document, which you can fill in online and email to us.

Step 4: Gather support material

Please do not send physical copies of support material or artwork.

Support material can be emailed (no more than 5 MB per email).

Larger files (up to 100 MB) can be sent via WeTransfer or Dropbox.

As part of your application, you will need to include:

1. A budget showing how the $10,000 will be spent
2. A timeline
3. CV of 1-2 pages, describing your skills and experience
4. Examples of your work. No more than 3 examples.
5. up to two letters of support. These need to be recent, specific to the application, and include the writer’s contact details.

Step 5: Send application and support material

Please email your application to fellowships@artsaccess.org.nz or send your video or audio files via WeTransfer or Dropbox.

Please contact Caleb Gordon, Projects Coordinator Kairuruku a Toi, Arts Access Aotearoa if you have any questions. You can call Caleb on 04 802 4191 or email him at fellowships@artsaccess.org.nz

Download the application form

Application form: Artist Fellowship 2023 (Word 99.6 KB)

Download a budget template

Fellowship budget template