Create - An Arts, Heritage & Culture Fund

You can apply to the Create Fund once in a 12 month period and applications are accepted from emerging/early career artists, heritage or cultural activators or practitioners who are:

• at least 15 years of age
• Aotearoa New Zealand citizens or a permanent resident
• currently living in our area (includes Southland, Queenstown, Glenorchy, Arrowtown, Tapanui and Heriot) and have done so for 3 years or more. Consideration will be given to those who have lived in the Trust's area for three years or more and whose immediate family still reside in here, but you have left the province to:
  • access specialist training related to your art, heritage or culture 
  • attend boarding school or
  • undertake tertiary study
  • and can show evidence of ongoing connection/involvement/giving back to art, heritage, or culture in the Trust region.
• undertaking their artistic, heritage or cultural activities in the Trust area
• able to provide evidence of and/or demonstrate a track record of involvement in their art form, heritage field or their culture.

In addition, your project must be time limited with a definite start and end date.

Recognition & Achievement

Purpose
Recognising outstanding achievement and artistic excellence.

Outcomes

• artists and practitioners supported to reach their potential
• artists, the arts, heritage and culture help to promote the region as vibrant and a great place to live, work and create

Types of activities supported
Artists, heritage or cultural activators or practitioners selected to attend, present, or showcase in a premier event or activity.

Amount of award

• NZ, Trans Tasman, Oceania & Southeast Asia - up to $1,000
• Asia, Europe & Americas - up to $1,500

Creative, Heritage and Cultural Skill Development

Purpose
Emerging/early career artists, activators and practitioners:

• learning new or improving creative, cultural or heritage skills in a practical hands-on environment
• developing the art, heritage, and culture practice
• upskilling in traditional cultural or heritage skills or crafts and sharing with community in the Trust's area
• undertaking activities that meet a traditional cultural or heritage skills deficit

Outcomes

• artists, heritage and cultural activators and practitioners increase skills and knowledge
• artists, heritage or cultural activators and practitioners supported to reach their potential

Types of activities supported

mentorships and internships with established or professional artists
specialised programmes, courses, workshops or other activities.

Amount of Award 

• Up to $1,500 for e.g. mentorships and internships
• For specialised programmes, courses or workshops:
  • Regional - up to $300
  • South Island - up to $500
  • North Island - up to $750 

• Arts, heritage or cultural organisations and groups as funding may be available through our General Grants programme.

• Trustees and staff of Community Trust South and their immediate families (immediate families include: partners, parents, children, step children, grandchildren, grandparents and siblings) due to a perceived conflict of interest.

• Employees or councillors of local government, employees of central government departments/agencies (including schools), tertiary institutes or for profit organisations unless the application clearly relates to a wider community benefit outside of the organisation. We regard professional development related to these organisations as the responsibility of the organisation and the expectation is the organisation would also be contributing.

• People applying as part of a service club or for profit organisation.

• Applicants from outside the Trust's rohe/area.

Individuals are only eligible for one Scholarship within a 12 month period, but can apply again in 12 months' time from the application decision date.

Applications are accepted anytime and are made online.

If you haven’t applied to us before you need to register by providing your name and email address as well as creating a password – it only takes a moment. Once registered you can log in at any time to start an application or to access it again later, so you can work on it over time. 

If you are under 18 years of age you will also need to include a completed Parent/Guardian Consent form as part of your application.

We carry out an initial review of your application to make sure you are eligible to apply.

Our staff then review your application to support Trustees in making an informed decision on your activity. We will often contact you to ask further questions about your activity or application.

What we look for when we are assessing your application: 

• Alignment with our Arts, Heritage and Culture Pou priorities and outcomes
• Artistic, heritage or cultural ability and experience and degree of achievement (i.e. your track record)
• Degree of recognition from appropriate peers, experts, or recognised body
• Strength of idea, proposed project process and budget
• Relevance of activity to stated learning and career development objectives and to stage of development
• Impact of the proposed activity on the applicant’s artistic, heritage or cultural skill development, practice and to the wider community
• Expertise and capacity of hosting organisation or individual
• Merit of workshop, conference, or training event
• Potential benefits to the relevant community and/or sector

It takes approximately 8 weeks for a decision to be made and you will receive an email letting you know the outcome.

If your application is successful, the email will outline the amount approved and any funding conditions. You can read Managing Your Funding for more information.

If your application is unsuccessful the email will outline the reasons for your application being declined.