The simmering frustrations regarding Creative New Zealand's (CNZ) $5.3 million digital arts service partnership with We Are Indigo is bringing with it more questions.

Along with the Auckland Budget Cuts, it's the issue The Big Idea is most constantly contacted about by the creative community right now.

And it's now seeing more involvement from increasingly heavy-hitters.

With entrepreneur and innovation advocate Robett Hollis the most fervent driver of wanting answers over the origins of Toi Hourua (formerly known as Toi ki Tua), a subsidiary of We Are Indigo, a knight of the realm is also making his concerns public.

Sir Ian Taylor, Founder of the acclaimed Animation Research headed out of Dunedin, took to social media to state a desire to have a transparent conversation, "instead of doing this behind the scenes" - including a call for an independent enquiry.

He posted "it would appear that the CEO of Creative New Zealand (Stephen Wainwright) chose to act on assurances provided to him by We Are Indigo, the party that was the subject of the due diligence reports, and chose to give those precedence over the EY (Ernst & Young) Report that was commissioned by Callaghan Innovation to address the issue of a potential conflict of interest."

Taylor then declared he personally knows and respects two members of the Arts Council - and posed a series of questions to them (you can read the full list of questions in his post here). 

He asks the Council members if any of them read the two Callaghan Innovation due diligence reports alongside the EY report, as well as a number of responses and documents that have been released under the Official Information Act (OIA).

"Does it make sense that the subject of an unfavourable due diligence report can declare that the author of the report is conflicted and you choose to accept that assurance over the written opinion of an independent firm such as EY, that your CEO appears to have chosen not to read?"

As well as questioning whether the fact the name had to be changed from Toi ki Tua (after discovering that the name was already connected to a Bay of Plenty organisation) to Toi Hourua is due to "a lack of due diligence", he poses a question on the renamed entity's current engagement. 

"I went to the web site, which I assume you have paid for, and there I found an invitation 'Hono Mai - Connecting People.'

"Did you know that so far a grand total of 7 people have taken up the opportunity to connect? That number will soon be 8 because I am going to try and connect to see if I can get some answers to what exactly it is that you are funding here. 

"I have yet to see a description of how this fund will work, or the deliverables it will be measured against. In the meantime - are you able to point me to any?"

Toi Hourua is currently engaging with members of the creative community via a focus group helped organised by CNZ (details of that process in this The Big Idea article)

Taylor (above) concludes "despite recent announcements by your CEO that We Are Indigo were far and away the best applicant, how do you explain this from another document released under the OIA?

"At the conclusion of the second meeting the Evaluation Team endorsed the scores and rankings and agreed that - all three proposals were high quality and any one of the three would be capable of acceptance.'

His public questioning was endorsed by another highly respected knight in scientist, entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Ray Avery.

"Ian, I know you are a man with the highest moral character and this debacle will have caused you great angst and so it should.

"Thank you for shining a light upon this issue which highlights the need for improved due diligence and public oversight regarding start up funding for our budding entrepreneurs.

"Irrespective of any due diligence or possible fraud issues, this false claim (that We Are Indigo Directors states Callaghan accepted a conflict of interest) demonstrates unethical behaviour on behalf of the Indigo directors.

"This seems OK with CNZ and perhaps we should put CNZ under the microscope for endorsing the funding of a questionable organisation who by any standard have shown a deliberate attempt to mislead CNZ.

"The tragedy is they were successful."

Taylor's LinkedIn post drew a response from We Are Indigo Director Andy Hamilton, through a series of posts and replies. 

"There are a number of matters in this that we could take issue with and we welcomed the opportunity to talk with you last year, even if your view did not change after that kōrero. However, you asked for an independent enquiry, and there is one underway. In February of this year, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) began an investigation into Callaghan Innovation and its RFP process. We could have shared that information but we chose not to as we wanted to respect their process. We continue to respect this process and we look forward to their findings. 

"There is complexity in this, that is not helped by social media allegations and also the feeding of media that is happening by a number of parties and one in particular. It is somewhat ironic that the news of the OAG investigation did not get out to the media for nearly two months, when at other times there has been 'breaking news' allegations and claims. We are going to wait for the OAG to complete its investigation and release its report. In the meantime, we continue to operate Manaaki, we are building Toi Hourua and we are also engaged in hoho te rongo while continuing to reflect on how we can be better in supporting our people. Let's leave the OAG to do its work."  

On Taylor's questioning of the limited connecting with the creative community via the Toi Hourua website, Hamilton responds "there is a clear path in the establishment plan for Toi Hourua which is about engagement, insights, research - it is not about the vanity of how many followers you have, but people seeing you, our team hearing the industry and then getting into the release of the services we bid on in the RFP."

Taylor also posed the question to Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Carmel Sepuloni.

"Minister, over the past few days we have seen a number of your colleagues and officials coming under fire for asking questions, or making statements in public, about issues that are of concern to them.

"The counter to that is the silence that has accompanied the We Are Indigo funding - or non funding - for months now. That silence has left doors open for all sorts of speculation to arise and claims and counter claims left to go unanswered.

"This situation centres around efforts to improve the opportunities for our rangatahi and the failure to address the questions that have arisen, openly and honestly, are impacting on that long overdue vision.

“When will you step in and sort this?"

The Lowdown contacted the Minister's office for comment.

Arts Culture and Heritage Associate Minister Willow-Jean Prime is responsible for CNZ from a Government perspective but she states as the situation is considered operational, it is up to CNZ as an independent Crown entity to respond. 

The Lowdown had also already approached CNZ, who replied with a statement they have been sharing for media enquiries.

"When we published our summary document in December 2022, it stated the information We Are Indigo Ltd had shared with us: that they believed Callaghan Innovation accepted there was a conflict of interest in their due diligence process. Since then, it has been clarified that Callaghan Innovation has a different view and that the matter of a conflict of interest is disputed.

"For clarity, Creative New Zealand does not believe that We Are Indigo Ltd intentionally shared incorrect information.

"It is worth noting that whether or not there was a conflict of interest in the due diligence process between Callaghan Innovation and We Are Indigo had no bearing on Creative New Zealand’s decision making – it is not material to our process."

In an interview with Stuff's André Chumko this week, Wainwright stated he "looks forward to the clarity that (OAG) inquiry will bring, and says the agency is keeping an open mind and will react accordingly when it’s complete."

Time running out

The countdown clock for submissions to the Auckland Council regarding the proposed $35m slashing of arts and culture funding from next year's budget is starting to tick towards completion.

Submissions close at 11pm on 28 March - with the final rallying of support starting to take on Mel Gibson's emotive speech in Braveheart proportions.

It was certainly a hot topic at the launch of the Auckland Writers Festival programme for 2023 last night, with some strong words from Festival Board Chair Leigh Melville here on The Big Idea (as well as a pretty awesome line up).

Some are trying to take the conversation direct to Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown and his councillors - with 36 arts and culture groups banding together to co-sign a letter to the man designated the city's mayoral chains, imploring him that “our sector has had it hard the last few years, and we recognise this is a lived experience for many across Tāmaki Makaurau.

“We know that you can choose to prioritise the liveability of the city, the value of our arts and culture rōpū, and the impact we have on making this city the best it can be.”

The Lowdown is aware of a number of councillors who have heard the outcry from the creative community - and all have advised that for them to have a strong position to work from when the budget is debated, they need to have all objections and opinions included in submissions.

It's not just creatives and promoters on the  outside of Auckland Council concerned for the city's future - the council's own economic development agency is feeling the pinch.

Tātaki Auckland Unlimited (TAU) - who are facing $27.5m worth of cuts to its funding - has released figures that state in the six months to February, the 34 events it helped bring to the city injected almost $40m into the region's economy. That is up $13.7m from the the same period back in 2019 BC (Before COVID).

TAU oversees several crucial cultural events and institutions like Auckland Art Gallery, but it should be pointed out the above figure was headlined by sporting events like the Women's Rugby World Cup and ASB Tennis Classic.

Alarmingly, TAU director of arts, entertainment and events, Richard Clarke states the events calendar is looking empty after this year, and the organisation doesn't have the funding to bid for big events right now with the current budget forecast.

"It's a long-term play. They don't just come about immediately, it's a two to three year minimum lead-in to secure a lot of these events and so our ability to bid and secure events past 2024 is starting to become challenging."

So let's make this crystal clear - if you don't want the arts and cultural sector in Tāmaki Makaurau to be dealt a brutal funding blow, you have to speak up. Not doing the submission form is akin to not voting - if you don't do it now, you can't complain about the outcome.

Here again is the submission form link, and here are some more voices from the creative community explaining how it impacts all in the sector - and finally, here is the Stop The Cuts website's guide on how to handle the submission process if you're unsure. 

5 days (as on publication) left to be heard. 

Tick, tock.

Already listening

Hopefully the turn out and response is as strong as what other funding bodies are experiencing at the moment.

Manatū Taonga Ministry of Culture and Heritage (MCH) has has another strong response to its most recent - and now closed - feedback window for the third round of the Cultural Regeneration Fund.

MCH Deputy Chief Executive Joe Fowler told The Lowdown "it’s been a busy start to the year for many, and, for some, it has obviously been a very stressful time.

"The team here have tried hard to make things as easy as possible for people applying to the Regeneration Fund from areas affected by Cyclone Gabrielle – we know that our world in Wellington must seem a million miles away from the daily lives of the communities affected. If you are affected, we encourage you again to get in touch.

"Amongst everything else that has been going on, thousands of people took the time to submit over 5,000 comments on the 206 proposals being considered in the third round of the Regeneration Fund. We’ve now received more than 14,000 pieces of feedback – way more than we ever expected.

"I know that there was some nervousness about the open feedback process - we were nervous too! - but we are really pleased with how it has worked out. Feedback has been overwhelmingly constructive and positive, and we have benefited greatly from local insights and sector knowledge generously shared. 

"Thank you to everyone who has helped guide us so far."

And CNZ has had good turnouts and constructive communication from the creative community with the regional roadshows happening in different parts of the country.

The CNZ teams that have been on the road have reported they're loving connecting with people in the regions, getting great feedback that’s really thorough, considered and engaged. 

Strong team forming

An organisation building a strong reputation for its focus and for its mahi has made another important addition.

Papatūnga, a development programme focused on delivering learning opportunities for a diverse range of arts practitioners in Tāmaki Makaurau, has secured the services of internationally acclaimed creative Edith Amituanai (above).

A New Zealand-born Sāmoan photographer and arts educator who has previously been nominated for the Walters Prize for her exhibition Dejeuner will come on board as Programme Manager at Papatūnga HQ's in O Wairoa Marae, an urban marae in Howick.

Amituanai exclaims “I am excited by the potential of the Papatūnga project and the impact it can make in the lives of artists, their whānau and wider communities. 

"I have always been interested in the power of art. I will draw on my experience in both teaching and community development to serve the needs of Papatūnga.”

The appoints been applauded by the Director of Te Tuhi, Hiraani Himona. 

“We are hugely proud to be launching Papatūnga and very privileged to have Edith Amituanai bringing her experience to the leadership team. We are excited to see the outcomes.”

Amituanai will work alongside James Tapsell-Kururangi, the Curator and Facilitator of Papatūnga, to lead Papatūnga’s programme of activities and events.

Every bit helps

Time usually sees fundraising support fade - but that's not been the case with the creative community's aroha for those affected by the wrath of Cyclone Gabrielle.

Following on from and last weekend's Tūtira Mai concert in Wellington and Ōtautahi 4 Aotearoa back in February, more of the music industry's big names (and some backing up from the earlier ones as well) will be part the latest collaborative concert to support those suffering from the natural disaster.

Indeed, the entire nation will get the chance to see Saturday's #Maranga Rise Up Aotearoa concert at West Auckland's Parr's Park - it's being broadcast and streamed online by Whakaata Māori (Māori Television) as well as well on TVNZ 2 and its digital platform.

The eight hour mini-festival has some big names (and some cool merch) involved, looking to raise as much as they can;  Stan Walker, Bic Runga, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Troy Kingi, Che Fu, Three Houses Down, Rob Ruha, Ria Hall, Drax Project, Anna Coddington, Muroki, King Kapisi, Maisey Rika, Kings, Teeks, Louis Baker, Bella Kalolo-Suraj and Ardijah. 

Tāmaki Makaurau artist Jess Driver's (above) been desperate to help those impacted by the floods for weeks - and after having her original plans thwarted by leaking issues at Remuera's Arthaus Gallery, she's finally able to do her part, albeit with new dates and support target.

Originally looking to support families feeling the impacts of Auckland's first sudden deluge, the subsequent arrival of insurance funds and the devastation of Cyclone Gabrielle has seen Driver change her focus to offer half of all proceeds to the Red Cross disaster fund for those still struggling in the Hawke's Bay and Gisborne. 

Her exhibition Veil (open until 26 March) explores the themes of portrait, figurative and primordial expression. In this body of work completed during and after lockdowns, Driver presents a series of portraits that delve into the complexities of the human experience during the height of the pandemic.

The organisers of The Wonderland Glow Show that's touring the country has opened a GiveALittle page to raise funds so they can donate 2000 tickets for the giant scale glow-in-the-dark puppet show to the children and families effected by Cyclone Gabrielle. 

The shows will be held 23 June at Napier Municipal Theatre, who have given the fundraising its full support.

They're aiming to raise $15,000 - purely to cover the production and touring costs of a show that has 18 people behind its creation and 8 on the road. Like so many that take the arts and entertainment to regional communities, they're "working on the smell of an oily rag" to reach 27 locations from Kaitaia to Invercargill over a 5 week period.

As you can imagine, those smiles in the audience will be more priceless than usual if they reach their target.