Philanthropists John and Jo Gow have been recognised for their contribution to the arts with an Award for Patronage at the New Zealand Arts Awards.

The Arts Foundation Awards celebrate arts philanthropy in New Zealand and every year the $40,000 Award for Patronage is gifted back to the arts. The Big Idea is thrilled to be a recipient along with Tautai, Q Theatre and Sculpture On The Gulf. 

John and Jo Gow have supported The Big Idea for the past decade through their time, advice, encouragement, resources and effort. 

They have provided important opportunities to discuss problems, strategy, the state of the arts sector, and what it takes to build viability and resilience with philanthropy as an investment to help lay those foundations.

This investment is an opportunity for The Big Idea to pick something from its plan that is not only an exciting project to work on but can showcase gains for creative professionals. 

“We want to thank them for their ongoing generosity and fostering of creative innovation.  This will be a significant contribution to our next stage of development,” says The Big Idea chief executive Annie Ackerman.

The Award for Patronage was one of 11 presented at the NZ Arts Awards on Wednesday 23 November. With the majority of funds awarded on the evening being generated by private donations, the Awards are also a celebration of philanthropic support for the arts.

About John and Jo Gow

John and Jo Gow’s love of nature began when they owned a home in Wellington originally built by Leonard Cockayne, who is regarded as New Zealand’s greatest botanist. They were regular visitors to Wellington’s Otari-Wilton bush reserve inspired by Cockayne.

The couple have always had a passion for theatre, which saw them run a successful business financing musical theatre productions throughout the world including Cats, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and many others.

They subsequently brought their love of nature and arts together with the formation of the Connells Bay Sculpture Park in 1993, installing the first sculpture in 1998 and opening to the public in 2003. John and Jo find great joy in working alongside artists, as their ideas and thoughts often align to their own. Guiding visitors through the sculpture park gives them the opportunity to share the artists’ experiences with people interested in the arts and nature.

The focus of their philanthropy, which is channelled through the Connells Bay Sculpture Trust, is in theatre and visual arts. The main organisations that have benefitted from their philanthropy include Auckland Art Gallery and its Foundation, Auckland’s Artspace, Auckland Arts Festival, Indian Ink, Len Lye Foundation, Q Theatre, Silo Theatre, Sculpture on the Gulf, Tautai Trust, The Big Idea and the NZ Venice Biennale Patrons Group.

John and Jo have also contributed funding towards numerous artists’ books and projects. Several key projects include facilitating the Phil Price Fulcrum sculpture exhibition in 2008, enabling Darryn George to participate at a Venice Biennale collateral project in 2013 and initiating the International Sculpture Symposium in Auckland in 2013.

John and Jo enjoy taking a leadership role in philanthropy by frequently offering leveraged or matched funding opportunities to encourage organisations to succeed in their fundraising, and individuals to share the enjoyment of funding arts and theatre projects. They wish to acknowledge and thank those who have supported them in the past and to encourage others to join them on future projects.

About the Arts Foundation 

The Arts Foundation was instigated in the late 90s by arts visionaries who wanted to build a philanthropic organisation to help support New Zealand's finest artists to create more extraordinary work. It was founded with a grant of $5million from the Lottery grants Board, and continues to be invested, with a total equity of $8.2 million. The Foundation has several financial awards for artists and honours significant New Zealand Artists with Icon Awards. 

About The Big Idea

The Big Idea is New Zealand’s online hub for creative people. Our aim is to support talented, innovative individuals and organisations, back the creative industries and advocate for creativity as an essential ingredient in the cultural and economic wealth of New Zealand. The Big Idea is a not-for-profit trust started in 2001 and is New Zealand’s longest running creative sector website.