• 
• 
• 

Summer’s at our doorstep and for many industries that means heading towards a slowdown, even full shutdown over the holiday season.

That’s especially true in Aotearoa’s big cities, emptying out as New Zealanders clamour to find a slice of paradise in the more idyllic parts of our country.

But for those regions, it’s the onset of the busiest time of the year and when Kiwis go on holiday, their thirst for creativity comes with them.

That’s sparked Creative Bay of Plenty to take an agile and innovative approach to unlocking opportunities.

In collaboration with local trust TECT, CBOP has initiated the Western Bay of Plenty Arts Mini-Grants, open to anyone in Aotearoa with a creative concept they want to bring to the region.  

Funds of up to $2000 dollars can be granted inside a fortnight, and just as importantly, they’re easily accessible. Everyone in the arts industry knows how time-consuming grant applications can be. This process is remarkably pain-free - one page of straight-forward questions and the ball is rolling.

Katch Katikati’s promotions manager Jacqui Knight is among many in the arts community applauding the initiative. “It’s absolutely fantastic. Applying for grants is hard and daunting, I think it does stop people from putting events on.

“You can spend a lot of time trying to acquire funding and it's not always the big dollars you need to get your idea off the ground so a small grant is ideal. In Katikati, we run things off the smell of an oily rag; it’s free for the community to be involved with and if you can get a couple of thousand dollars just to kick start it, that’s a huge difference to us.”

Photo: Jess Lowcher/Creative Bay of Plenty.

The drive for the Arts Mini-Grants is a simple one - supporting the resilience of the local creative sector and increasing vibrancy over the summer period by funding creative ideas and cultural celebrations.

Be it community arts projects, neighbourhood festivals or new arts opportunities - the potential impact and range of possible outlets is as unlimited as a creative’s imagination.

It’s not just a golden opportunity for the Bay’s multitude of creatives, artists and performers, it’s a chance for those looking to get out of their own backyard this summer to take their concepts on the road with them.

Photo: Jess Lowcher/Creative Bay of Plenty.

Knight’s excited about the concept of artists from all over New Zealand getting involved in the Mini-Grants. “We are a creative town but it’s about exposing people to other ideas as well. We’ve got some really good performing spaces that can be hired, you just pop up in the middle of the street, the park, the domain and cause a scene and some entertainment, I’m all for bringing new things into Katikati.”

Having played a key role at Katch Katikati for over a decade, Knight has seen first hand the impact creative occasions have on regional community spirit and wellbeing. “The arts have no boundaries so everyone can appreciate it in some form. It just draws everyone together.

For our community to travel to get to different areas for arts or entertainment is hard; the older ones don’t like to hit State Highway 2 and deal with the traffic and a lot of the younger demographic basically can't afford to, so if we can entertain them locally, that ticks all the boxes.”

Written in partnership with Creative Bay of Plenty. To apply for a Western Bay of Plenty Arts Mini-Grant, click here. To talk to Creative BOP about your project, email connect@creativebop.org.nz