The arts has boosted its percentage contribution to New Zealand's economy - but there's been stagnation of growth in the sector. 

Those are some of the headline points of new data released by Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH) in its now annual findings through Infometrics.

All up, the arts and creative sector contributed $17.5 billion to Aotearoa - which equates to 4.2% of GDP. That's 2.5% higher than last year, while the total economy has raised 1.4% for the year ending March 2024.

MCH Secretary for Culture and Heritage, Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae states "The arts and creative sector make a significant contribution to the lives of all New Zealanders, and it’s great to be able to measure economic impacts as part of our wider insights programme. 

"This data is valuable, as it gives us a good indication of how the arts and cultural sectors are faring against the rest of the economy."

The numbers certainly sound good - and there's plenty to chew over in the meaty and multiple reports that have all dropped simultaneously - but there are a few points that illustrate the difficulties and vulnerability that the sector faces right now.  

The sector's had a marginal decline (-0.3%) in its GDP contribution from the prior year - with the massive landscape change in the media playing a leading role, with that sub-sector feeling the pinch with negative GDP growth of -1.9%. Take into account this data is only until March 2024 - so not even taking into account the closure of Newshub in July and the many other news media dominos that followed.

That will speak to many in the sector feeling the pinch - slimmer pickings at the funding table and overall anxiety of what lies ahead has seen many organisations shrink (to avoid closing altogether), artists look to prioritise financial stability in other forms of employment, festivals and events go on hiatus and some longstanding gateway opportunities fall by the wayside.

But there are still signs that artists and creatives continue to hang in there and hold their own.

There are 117,912 people describe their primary employment to be in the arts and creative sector  - that figure was 116,979 the previous year.

Most of those were based in Auckland - with the 51,692 in Tāmaki Makaurau representing 43.8% of the sector's workforce, bringing in $8,513m (48.7% of the sector's GDP). Wellington (15.2%) and Canterbury (11.3%) are next in line, while Waikato (6.1%), Otago (5.1%) and Bay of Plenty (4.7%) make up the other biggest regions for arts and creativity.

There are 37,504 businesses in the Arts and Creative sector in New Zealand - a growth of 0.7%, which is slightly behind the total economy's 2024 growth (0.9%).

One area the sector stands heads and shoulders above the rest of the country is its 35,711 self-employed - which at 30.3% of the sector is almost double that of the overall New Zealand economy (15.5%). But it should be pointed out that this is actually the lowest number of self-employed workers in the arts sector since 2019.

Another dominant category - the report shows 68.9% of the Arts and Creative sector workforce in this country were employed in Highly-skilled occupations in 2024. This is higher than for all occupations in New Zealand (38.5%).

Some other noteworthy points within this stat:

• 104,638 Full time equivalent roles in the Arts and Creative sector
• Arts and Creative sector employment grew by 0.8% in 2024, compared with overall growth of 2.2% in New Zealand
• 50.8% of all workers in the sector are female, ahead of the country's overall workforce percentage (47.2%)
• 11,129 of the sector identify as Māori
• For the first time, the heritage sector received its own category, contributing $5.1 billion and employing just under 36,000 people
• The top 5 occupations are; graphic designer, architect, advertising and public relations manager (the biggest growth occupation in the sector), librarian and private tuition music teacher

Looking to the future as this regular MCH report always does, there is expected to be 8,683 new jobs created in the sector by 2030 - which is an impressive number when you take into account they're forecasting -550 for next year (probably keeping a running tally of media companies closing doors and ending contracts at rapid pace).

Arts and creative sector employment is forecast to grow by 1.2% per year between 2024 and 2030, on track with the overall New Zealand employment growth forecast over the same period - something not often achieved.

Where you're a fan of statistics and number crunching or not - this clearer picture will be a useful gauge for many in the sector, and hopefully a morale boost to some who might need it.

Govt called on to boost creative exports

One group who certainly have optimism about where the future can lie is WeCreate, the alliance of New Zealand’s creative industries - and they see that future in helping to double the country's export value, growing our share in the predicted $5.9 trillion global Entertainment and Media Industry in 2028.

They've just released an explainer report that sets out what they believe is needed to sell our creative industries sell to the world - posing the following question; 

What could New Zealand achieve with a dedicated creative export strategy (like is backed in countries such as Australia, South Korea, the UK and Ireland), and a government trade system that supports, and has expertise in, creative trade?

WeCreate Chair Paula Browning states ”Selling services and intellectual property is a very different way to export than what happens in our traditional export sectors, and it’s a significant opportunity for New Zealand to diversify both what New Zealand sells and where we sell it to.”

As you'd expect, they've done their homework, which will hopefully be food for thought for the government and trade sector heads who will likely find this in their inboxes.

The explainer report promotes tapping into the "unrealised opportunity" to grow the country's export revenue "through shifting some of New Zealand’s trade focus and intent to supporting creative, and particularly creative digital, exports – which largely do not face the same risks and barriers."

WeCreate highlights "New Zealand is not currently well-positioned to compete internationally, nor make fit-for-purpose trade policy and agreements for these ‘industries of the future’ - unless changes are made in our trade agencies’ understanding and recognition of our creative sector, and government’s prioritisation of the sector as a high-potential economic contributor."

Among the examples laid out - New Zealand's $548m video game industry has consistent double-digit annual growth, with exports that "now exceed staples like pharmaceuticals, iron and steel, and wood pulp in importance for New Zealand"  thanks to the likes of Kiwi companies PikPok, Black Salt Games and RocketWerkz.

It sees music as another area for huge potential export growth - stating that 77% of New Zealand 2023 wholesale recorded music revenues of $146.4m came from digital streaming.

"More NZ musicians and music businesses than ever before are enjoying significant international success – there are 23 artists from Aotearoa who have had more than 50 million global streams in the last 12 months, and 20 who have had more than a million streams per week in the past year."

The screen industry's well-established economic role is also highlighted - pointing out that expenditure has grown by an over of 20% every year since the introduction of the New Zealand Screen Production Grant in 2014, where more than 100 international productions have helped boost our economy (recorded as $985m in the 2020/2021 period).

They've urged the government to take heed, with many suggestions of what can be done to boost our creative industries export value.

Among them:

• Embed creative and tech exports into all government trade strategy and functions.
• Develop a creative export strategy and invest in associated support programmes
• Improve the level of creative and digital trade expertise in government trade agencies
• Include more creative exporters in government Trade Missions to key markets.
• Develop tailor-made export support for Māori-led creative businesses to grow the value of their exports
• Establish a trade relationship with global platforms like Netflix, Spotify and YouTube
• A more future-focussed approach to creative education and training from schools through to tertiary institutions

Style and Grace

One well-known creative export is Black Grace - and the iconic and pioneering dance company has kicked off its impressive 30th year in its own inimitable way.

This is Not a Retrospective was one of the highlights of the Auckland Arts Festival by all accounts, with the heart and soul of the organisation - founder and artistic director Neil Ieremia - in fine form at the Town Hall.

From its humble beginnings to its place among New Zealand's most in-demand performing arts collectives internationally, Ieremia and co have every reason to celebrate - a Pacific lead dance company was no guarantee to succeed 30 years ago. It's an astonishing achievement. 

Alongside the Black Grace dancers, a number of industry headliners helped kick off their 2025 season, with Che Fu and Tha Feelstyle, DJ Manuel Bundy, drag queen diva Buckwheat and NZ Trio on stage (as well as a bespoke Pacific choir curated by Strictly Brown Ltd). Behind the scenes, they called on production heavywieghts like sound designer Faiumu Matthew Salapu (aka Anonymouz), internationally respected NYC-based lighting designer JAX Messenger, and digital content designer Delainy Kennedy.

True to the show's name, it was far more than just a reflection of where they've been - with the audience introduced to several new works.

Creative cuts lead to crowdfunding calls

Crowdfunding is becoming a very popular phrase in 2025.

Celebrated Nightsong co-director Ben Crowder wrote in The Big Idea how they're turning to Boosted to help fund their international touring ambitions - now a long-standing writers’ residency the latest to thread that path.

The Randell Cottage Trust has opened a Boosted campaign to urgently seeking crowdfunding to continue its sought-after writers’ residency after Creative NZ's reduced funding capacity saw them pull its grant for the fellowship stipend as of 2025.

Since 2001, the Randell Cottage Writers Fellowship has offered six months of rent-free accommodation each year to mid-career New Zealand writers. They stay in a restored heritage cottage in Thorndon, Wellington, with a stipend to cover their living costs.

Trust Chair Christine Hurley says they're determined to find ways of continuing to fund the Fellowship so that this year’s recipient, Sri Lankan/Pakeha writer Saraid de Silva, can take up her residency from July.

There's plenty of great New Zealand creatives who have been involved with this residency, including founding trustees Dame Fiona Kidman and Vincent O’Sullivan - de Silva is (hopefully) joining a list of residents award-winners like Kirsty Gunn, Peter Wells and Witi Ihimaera , as well as the most recent Randell Cottage resident poet Hinemoana Baker, who endorses its unique position in the literary landscape.

“I was troubled to hear that the Trust will need to find other funding for the coming three years, but also deeply confident there are many people and organisations who will be really excited at the prospect of supporting this singular, extraordinary project.

“There are other residencies in the country, and indeed in the world, but so few have the combination of unique offerings that Randell Cottage does.”

Aindow's new direction

A well-respected Christchurch creative leader is on the move - but staying in the Garden City.

SCAPE Public Art has announced Executive Director Richard Aindow will leave the organisation in three months to become Chief Executive of The Court Theatre, an occupancy that arose from Gretchen La Roche's upcoming return to CNZ as its next CE.

“As only the second Executive Director in the organisation’s 27-year history it has been a huge privilege to lead SCAPE Public Art. Although I will be sad to leave the team, I will certainly remain connected to the SCAPE whānau and community. I cannot wait to see new permanent artworks arriving across our city and region, adding to the 20 legacy works currently in public space. I also look forward to sharing the excitement of the SCAPE Public Art Season 2025 as a passionate observer.”

The hunt it on for his replacement - details can be found here on The Big Idea's job listings. Graham Dockrill, Chair of SCAPE Public Art, adds “Over the last two years SCAPE has delivered strongly in times of economic uncertainty. We have a brilliant team in place and will continue to work hard to expand and deliver our programmes.  We are excited to see how a new perspective will build on Richard's hard work and continue to grow SCAPE's presence as New Zealand's leading producer of contemporary public art.”

NZ features at museum sector "Oscars"

A big ka rawe to Auckland’s MOTAT (Museum and Transport and Technology). For the second year in a row, it's been shortlisted for an International Museums + Heritage Award – dubbed the Oscars of the museum world.

MOTAT's in the running for International Exhibition of the Year for Te Puawānanga Science and Technology Centre - up against five other museums including the Cairo's Grand Egyptian Museum and The Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle.

This comes after winning the Best Use of Digital - International category award last year with immersive experience Te Kōtiu.

MOTAT’s Director, Museum Experience, Sally Manuireva said: “We are so thrilled and proud to be shortlisted for this award. Congratulations to the incredible team of MOTAT staff, external suppliers and contractors, and advisors who developed Te Puawānanga, from the ground up, to remove barriers for young learners in engaging with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and maths) learning and pursued MOTAT’s mission to educate and inspire the innovators of tomorrow." 

MOTAT's on an awards roll recently - also collecting three gold pins and one silver at the New Zealand Best Design Awardss and 2024/2025 Resene Total Colour Installation – Experiential – Product Award.

The Museums + Heritage will be revealed in London on 15 May at the global awards night.

Japan calls

Tauranga mural artist Sam Allen's ready to take his mahi abroad - after being awarded an arts creator residency in Japan.

A resident artist at the Incubator Creative Hub for the last six years, self-taught artist he has steadfastly honed his craft and developed a deep connection with the local community.

Now, at 25, he's set to be part of the Creative Power Garage 101- PONDALIZE Art Project in Japan, bringing together artists, researchers, and local residents through co-living experiences, artwork creation, and exhibitions. 

Allen told The Lowdown "My hope is that it will give me the opportunity to connect with local people to experience and learn what Japan is all about from a perspective that most tourists won't see. New perspectives are what fuels my creative fire, so the deeper my connection with others the hotter the flame burns.  

"It's great to feel validated in the fact that someone else thinks that I have something to offer the world."

Miyuki Kobayashi, Art Director of PONDALIZE Art Project says, “We believe that Sam's artwork will not only contribute to the revitalization of our community but also encourage the creation of new relationships and inspire future generations' cultural expressions. His work will delve into the spirit cherished by our ancestors and carry it forward into future activities."

Allen will design a mural inspired by 'POND Culture' - a tribute to the traditional rice cultivation techniques sustained by pond water in Namegawa Town. The mural will serve to highlight the environmental and cultural significance of this heritage but also explores the connections between physical and mental well-being, creativity, and nature.

Incubator Creative Hub Director Simone Anderson states “Sam’s journey with us has been nothing short of extraordinary and the perfect example of how an early mentorship can spark motivation and give the tools for artists to self-develop and grow.”