Image: Ezra Whittaker, Creative New Zealand and The Workshop.

I spent the first two days of this week in the capital, on the 11th floor of the Willeston Conference Centre, with a group of 20 arts leaders from around the country. There were mini chocolate bars in bowls, free pens, and thick, stapled-together handouts on the tables. On the pink cover of the handouts the Creative New Zealand logo did its italicised thing, and underneath bold letters spelled out “Changing the story on arts, culture, and creativity in Aotearoa.” We had been invited by the CNZ Advocacy Team to take part in a workshop on building public support for a future where artists and creativity thrive. It was led by Jess Berenston-Shaw, a health psychologist and public narrative researcher who has built a career around helping organisations and campaigns form strategic messaging in order to create change.

The workshop centred on the stories we tell the public about arts and culture and what frames they tap into. In psychology, frames are a way of describing mental models and sets of organising ideas through which we see the world. We might think of frames as underlying assumptions that are reinforced through certain narratives, and deeply connected to values. People have many frames, some contradictory, that they use at different times to make sense of the world. What Berenston-Shaw was really trying to hammer home to participants was that all communication we send out into the world should be using and tapping into frames that are useful for our cause (convincing people to value the arts, and therefore support funding them), and that we should not, under any circumstances, attempt to argue for the arts within an unhelpful frame.

This means avoiding certain unhelpful frames and narratives. There were four that were highlighted: individualism, the idea that we make our own destiny and can solve big problems through individual effort; fatalism, the idea that the problems we face are too big and complex to solve or fix; us vs them, the idea that we exist in a zero-sum competition, which is closely related to a scarcity mindset; and luxury good, the idea that arts, among other things like accessibility, are nice-to-haves rather than essential parts of society. Thinking and communicating through these frames, argued Berenston-Shaw, will activate values in people that will lead them away from the cause.

Instead the frames we should be using include: systems story, the idea that big systems shape our world and experiences in it; better together, the idea that when we act together we all benefit; a better life for all, the idea that arts, culture and creativity create shared benefits to our lives; creativity makes, that the arts define us and are core to who we are as humans; and artists as strong and gritty problem solvers, that artists are useful for their problem solving abilities and innovations. In essence it boils down to arguing on terms that suit us.

There’s been quite a lot of research and talk in the past couple of years about the value of the arts economically. This is the kind of narrative that argues through a lens that isn’t helpful under Berenston-Shaw’s framework, but will be hard to shake given that the political discourse in the country at the moment seems to orbit exclusively around the economy. Instead of adding to the money, money, money discourse she suggested we focus on the narratives that matter to us, stories about the real value of the arts – human, social, affective and otherwise – to strengthen the useful frames. It’s another version, I think, of the master’s tools not dismantling the master’s house.

There was also a segment on structure and how to tell and sell a story. The best tip was to sell the cake, not the ingredients. In the workshop’s prescription, that means starting with a vision, a positive vision. After that you can name the barrier (which in the room tended to be underfunding), provide details on the cause of the problem and the impacts, give concrete solutions (very important) and then loop back to your vision briefly at the end. It's the kind of structure I imagine would be very useful for campaigns asking for money or policy change, though I don’t love communication that feels rote.

I get tired of the arts always having to advocate. Always putting out pleas for money or arguing for our own existence. I would love our society to be one where energy doesn't need to be spent on this, so we can get on with the good stuff. For the meantime, a written and illustrated version of the workshop is available online. As with anything there will be parts that are helpful, parts that make you think, and parts that don’t quite work for you. 

💥News on the wire

Wellington to switch on Fibre Optic Colonnade Car Wash tonight

Eddie Clemen’s new public artwork in what was a dark and cheerless pedestrian thoroughfare between the railway station and the waterfront on Waterloo Quay is to be turned on tonight at 6pm! The Auckland-based artist Clemen describes the work as “a series of fibre-optic rollers suspended from the ceiling display moving patterns of light 1 and colour, illuminating the urban environment while also alluding to the experience of a commercial car wash”. You can thank The Wellington Sculpture Trust for this fun new addition to the capital. 

Recipients of the 2025 CLNZ Contestable Fund Grants announced

Each year Copyright Licensing New Zealand (CLNZ) supports projects that encourage the development of current and future writers, publishers, and educators with a $75,000 pool of contestable fund grants. This year saw 107 applications, the highest ever number.

There are 19 winners this year: Oratia Books, Age Concern Wellington, Arts Access Aotearoa Putanga Toi ki Aotearoa, Barbarian Productions, Chye-Ling Huang, Flying Start Books, Ghazaleh Golbakhsh, Greg Bruce,  Hana Chatani, HUIA Publishers, Karen McMillan, Lauren Keenan, Melanie Dixon, Playmarket, Samoa House Library, The D*List, The Physics Room Trust, Una Cruickshank, and Utu ā Matimati.

Auckland Live Presenter Programme 

Applications are open for Auckland Live’s structured six-month professional development programme for emerging presenters – those who run venues or festivals – in the arts. It aims to develop leadership, support new ways of thinking when programming, develop pathways for growth within the profession, and nurture a resilient support network of professionals. Past participant Glen Pickering from Toitoi in Hastings says, “the PTP has transformed the way I see presenting! I’ve gained confidence, fresh ideas, and a powerful network of inspiring peers, while learning how to support artists and create meaningful connections with audiences and communities. This isn’t just training, it’s a launchpad to connect, grow, and make a real impact in the performing arts ecosystem.”

The programme costs $950 + GST and applications close 27 January 2026.

Jason Momoa backs small independent kiwi film company

Run Charlie Films, a small independent kiwi film company, has just added Jason Momoa as Executive Producer for their short film Lea Tupu’anga Mother Tongue. The film was written by and stars Luciane Buchanan, and directed by Vea Mafile’o, both Tongans who grew up in Aotearoa. The film is a poignant exploration of the struggle to preserve Tongan language and culture in Auckland. 

Lea Tupu’anga is in consideration for an Academy Award and would be the first Tongan film to be recognised by the Academy if it receives one. It’s already won Best Short and the New Zealand International Film Fest, Best NZ film at Show Me Shorts and was a Sundance Grand Jury Nominee.

Opportunity for writing mentorship

Writing is too often a solo endeavour, tapping away the blank page in a quiet corner or with big headphones on. But we all need help!! Applications for The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa Mentor programme 2026 are open now until 1 February 2026. You do have to be a member, but perhaps it's a good excuse to join. The mentorship is for new and emerging writers, who will be paired with an experienced writer or industry expert to work on a specific project. This year's mentors included Harriet Allan, Airini Beautrais, Michelle Elvy, Siobhan Harvey, Emma Hislop, Stephanie Johnson, Steph Matuku, and Tina Shaw.

Megan Brady received the 2025 Olivia Spencer Bower Foundation Art Award

Ōtautahi-based multidisciplinary artist Megan Brady (Kāi Tahu, Pākehā) has been awarded one of New Zealand’s most significant prizes for emerging artists. The cash that comes with it, $60,000, is intended to allow artists to focus solely on their practice for a full year. Brady works across sculpture, installation, and textile-based processes, exploring how humans connect with place and the layered histories embedded in the landscape. She says she feels “a deep sense of empowerment…. It feels like the gift of a lifetime.”

Q Theatre reopens Season Support for local artists

Round Two of Q Season Support is open for applications now and is bigger than ever – more funding, more Q support, and more opportunity to get works onto the stage. In essence it aims to make staging shows more affordable, with an important aspect being $10,000 to $17,000 against venue-related costs for presenting work at Q. “Artists are telling us how tough it is to commit to a season right now,” says Phil Evans, Head of Programming and Production. “This programme exists to help them fulfil their potential, open our spaces to more work, and help keep Tāmaki Makaurau’s performing arts ecology vibrant.”

The application process is intentionally short, designed to be completed in 10–15 minutes. Applications close 30 January 2026.

Entries in the Waiata Category of national choral competition double

The winners of the sixth national choral composition competition, Compose Aotearoa, have been announced, alongside the note that the number of entries in the Waiata Category doubled since last year. Taking out that hot category is Welsh-born, Wellington medical physicist Andrew Williams for his waiata, Miha. Nikolai Valov, an Australian living and teaching in Oamaru, has won the Open Category with Invictus and Wellington composer and gardener Chester Nevil took out the Under 25-Years Category with The Cherubic Hymn. 

Juliet Carpenter is Te Whare Toi o Heretaunga Hastings Art Gallery’s 2025 visiting artist

Juliet Carpenter is the second artist as part of the gallery’s new-ish programme that offers extended support for established Aotearoa artists to develop new work in dialogue with the contexts of Te Matau-a-Māui Hawke’s Bay. 

She is an artist and filmmaker born and raised in Waipukurau, Central Hawke’s Bay, now based in Berlin. Carpenter will return to Hawke’s Bay this summer to produce a new film, which explores the material of ultraviolet light and its connections with image-making. The work will speak to a phenomenon that New Zealand art historian Francis Pound has described as “The Regional Real” – referring to the ways in which settler colonial painters of 20th Century Aotearoa dealt with “the harsh clarity of New Zealand light”. 

Michael King Writers Centre announces 2026 residencies

18 New Zealand writers, from 150 applications, have been awarded residencies in the historic Signalman's House in Devonport, Auckland. They are Claire Baylis, Connie Buchanan, Gina Butson, Sarah Ell, Trina Elkington-Ball, Cello Forrester, Jordan Hamel, Cassie Hart, Rebecca Hawkes, Emma Hislop, Anne Kayes, Kirsten McDougall, Vincent O’Malley, Kirsty Powell, Josie Shapiro, Liv Sisson, Chris Tse and Sue Wootton.

👔 Human resources

Lauren Whitney leaves NZ International Comedy Festival after 16 years

She climbed through the ranks – marketing manager, associate director, general manager and finally chief executive – from 2009 until late this year. Now Lauren Whitney has the #opentowork frame on her LinkedIn profile. Not too much has been said about her departure, though a short post on the festival’s website notes her “leadership, creativity, and passion” and includes a quote attributed to her saying “My time with the Trust has been deeply rewarding, and I’m proud of the growth and opportunities we’ve helped create for artists and audiences… I’m excited to see how the Trust and industry continue to grow and evolve in the years ahead.”

Now Gemma Gracewood has joined as the Interim Executive Director to see the festival through its 2026 iteration while the trust board begins the recruitment process for a new Chief Executive. Gracewood has been a board member, producer, performer, beer-pourer and audience member for the festival, so should be a safe pair of hands.

Frances Valintine new chair of Auckland Theatre Company

Frances Valintine, a leader in tech, business and education, has founded multiple organisations, including Media Design School, The Mind Lab, Tech Futures Lab and AcademyEX. She is also an active creative as a regular designer for World of Wearable Art, a keen photographer and designer. Valintine says “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to bring my passion for all forms of storytelling and performance art as well as my business experience to the governance of Auckland Theatre Company, an organisation I believe is one of Tāmaki Makaurau’s special taonga. Art and human creativity play a vital role in enriching our lives.”

Frances replaces outgoing Chair Vivien Sutherland Bridgwater MNZM who has retired from the Board after eight years. Sutherland oversaw a growth in ticket sales, the founding of the Youth Company, the diversification of the Company’s work and steered the organisation through the pandemic.

👀 Further reading

For the second instalment of our monthly column from The National Grid, Matthew Galloway reflects on how designed systems frame our participation in A.I and facilitate new norms. 

Music journo Samantha Cheong was lucky to accompany Ōtautahi band There’s A Tuesday on their first serious step outside Aotearoa – to Seoul.

Spotify has just released Spotify Wrapped, and Jesse Austin-Stewart noticed they ghosted NZ musicians as part of a larger, worrying trend. 

Resale Royalties Aotearoa Toi Huarau have been collecting royalties for NZ’s visual artists for one year. So how’s it going? Frances Libeau checks in.

📧 Say hi!

You are allowed to email me if there’s something pressing, but as profit-chasers have been moaning about, it is December, and we are beginning to wind down for the year. We even have our end-of-year party today, a trip to an escape room! 

Anyways: editor@thebigidea.co.nz

Catch ya next week for a very special edition of the Artswire!