Massive Update: Our funding and the future

To our supporters, friends and whānau,

Just over a week ago Creative New Zealand (CNZ) informed us that Massive Theatre Company’s multi-year funding through the Arts Organisations and Groups Fund (AOG Fund) has been reduced by almost 60% - from $235,000 to $95,000 annually. This is despite our application being marked consistently high by assessors, and exceeding in all categories for community engagement, impact and delivery. We are shocked and devastated.

Massive is acutely aware that CNZ’s funding availability is extremely limited due to successive governments’ decades-long financial neglect of the arts sector. This is a sector that has grown despite challenging times, contributes upwards of 17 billion dollars to New Zealand’s GDP annually, and provides invaluable social benefit. Yet its funding has been essentially static for over 20 years.

We recognise that CNZ has had to make difficult decisions within a constrained financial environment and we commend them on their mahi knowing they are themselves facing budget cuts and job losses. Even so, this is a heartbreaking outcome for an organisation that has spent 35 years creating pathways for young people, nurturing generations of artists through free programmes, enriching Aotearoa's creative arts kete, and contributing to the substantial economic and social benefit that the arts sector provides our country.

Sadly, ours was not the only organisation to receive such dire news. Several long-standing organisations are in similar positions, and some well-reputed and previously funded companies have received nothing at all. Our hearts go out to these organisations and the people behind their mahi.  These decisions have, and will continue to have, a far-reaching impact across the arts sector and our community.

The results of the AOG Fund and the overall treatment of the arts sector by our government raise an important question about how Aotearoa values the long-term role of the arts in building strong diverse communities and nurturing future generations.

So where to from here?

We will be taking time to continue processing this news before making any big decisions. We will focus on supporting our company and our people, and work through how this outcome may change our pathway forward. While the challenges ahead are real, we remain committed to protecting and championing Massive’s kaupapa to ensure future generations of artists have a place to belong, create and be heard.

However, we challenge the premise that creating should be this much of a struggle. The arts is a resilient industry driven by hard-working, brave and worthy humans, but at some point, that is not enough. Whose voices go unheard and whose stories go untold when it is simply too difficult to afford a platform? The very voices that make our communities cohesive and our societies human; the very stories that most need to be told.

To our communities, our supporters, and to anyone with a love of the arts, please make it clear to those in power that the arts matter, that the arts are more than a nice to have. Make it clear with your voice, make it clear with your vote in this year’s election, and make it clear by turning up to and investing in the arts.

Finally, we are deeply grateful to the funders, partners, donors and supporters who continue to invest in Massive and share our belief in the value of this work. Massive Theatre Company will do everything possible to thrive within the arts eco system, but we know that we cannot do it alone. Your commitment has been, and will continue to be, vital. The support of our wider funding partners and community gives us confidence that this work matters. 

And with that, we turn our attention to opening our season of HOME MADE at Te Pou Theatre this Wednesday 22 July. Five stunning emerging artists, under the directorship of Massive’s own Denyce Su’a, have lovingly crafted this joyous and heartfelt production as a love letter to home and the people who make it so. It’s the perfect show to mark 35 years of Massive, and watching its development has been a wonderful antidote to our current disappointment. The show will go on.

In hope and resilience,

Sam Scott (Artistic Director), Carrie Rae Cunningham (General Manager), and the entire Massive Theatre Company team.