Creative NZ

Creative NZ declined the proposal of $31,000 which would go towards funding the centre from 2023 to 2025. The organisation is behind an annual competition where ...

The Prime Minister said the Ministry of Education would find a solution that ensured the programme would continue, after Creative New Zealand declined ...

I look at the very best of what that language has to offer" - Tania Roxborogh](/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018862963/teacher-defends-shakespeare-after-creative-nz-funding-cut) "We can look at Shakespeare and we do through a kaupapa Māori lens, ... would want to also get rid of the bible as well." I look at the very best of what that language has to offer" - Tania Roxborogh duration 7:56](/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018862963/teacher-defends-shakespeare-after-creative-nz-funding-cut) ["If I want to improve my understanding of the way a language is used... So we've found a solution and that's what we're going to do." It struck me that actually this is one of those situations where it best sits with Education anyway.

Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand's application for $31000 was declined by Creative New Zealand.

"We can look at Shakespeare and we do through a kaupapa Māori lens, ... would want to also get rid of the bible as well." So we've found a solution and that's what we're going to do." "If I want to improve my understanding of the way a language is used then I look to kōrero tuku iho, I look to mōteatea and whakataukī and the origins of those whakataukī and whakatauākī, I look at the very best of what that language has to offer." It struck me that actually this is one of those situations where it best sits with Education anyway. "As an English teacher and former drama teacher, I look to Shakespeare as an exemplar of the best of English literature and yes his works were used I think as a tool of the coloniser.

An art council in New Zealand has decided to terminate its financial support for a decades-old Shakespeare festival because it says, among a handful of ...

Creative New Zealand has been criticised over the move by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – a former participant in the Shakespeare In Schools scheme.

“And I was one of those kids. I thought it was a great programme. A panel concluded that the Shakespeare centre “seems quite paternalistic” and that its funding proposal “did not demonstrate the relevance to the contemporary art context”. Students can act, direct, make costumes or create a soundtrack. “I was gobsmacked and disgusted,” she said. She said: “I was a participant in Shakespeare In Schools.

We're pleased to hear that the Ministry of Education (MoE) has agreed to work with Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand (SGCNZ) to find the funding that SGCNZ ...

We challenge the narrative that our decision was driven by reverse racism and that we are the “cultural Taliban”. For this particular process, the Arts Council received advice from arts practitioners, input from our staff, and recommendations from the Chief Executive, before deliberating on the issues and opportunities and reaching final decisions. It lasts for three years and at the end of that time, organisations in the programme need to reapply. Their bid for Creative New Zealand funding towards organisational support was unsuccessful within a group of other stronger proposals that were more closely aligned with our strategic and funding priorities. However, we don’t have the money to fund everyone. That means we contract artists and arts practitioners outside of Creative New Zealand to evaluate applications and make recommendations. SGCNZ have guaranteed (transitional) funding from us until June next year and had been told about other Creative New Zealand funding options available to them. We have a limited amount of money to invest, and we had to make some tough decisions. We support Shakespeare productions and we support Shakespeare being in schools. Unfortunately for Shakespeare Globe Company New Zealand (SGCNZ), their proposal wasn’t as strong as others and didn’t align with the Kahikatea programme requirements, and so they missed out this time around. We simply can't meet the demand for our funding, and hard decisions need to be made. For those who have contacted us with questions over the past couple of days we offer this statement in response.

Creative New Zealand claims rhetoric following its decision not to fund a Shakespeare programme has been "alarming, misleading and racist".

“We expect to share a little bit more detail over that final resolution. After discussions with Hipkins, she said they would ensure the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival could continue. Creative NZ is a government agency but operates independently of ministers. And those articles are free. “Many people have taken exception with some of the comments made about SGCNZ’s proposal. Four were not – among them the Shakespeare application. “The Ministry of Education intends to reach out to the Shakespeare Globe Centre to work with them to find a solution that ensures the programme will continue,” Ardern said. We support Shakespeare productions and we support Shakespeare being in schools. We simply can't meet the demand for our funding, and hard decisions need to be made.” Sixty-two organisations submitted proposals to its Kahikatea programme for funding from 2023 to 2025. [Creative NZ assessor claimed](https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/300713429/cancelling-shakespeare-must-we-have-fboy-island-but-not-the-tempest?rm=a) Shakespeare was “locked within a canon of imperialism” and his work was not relevant to “the contemporary art context of Aotearoa”. [accused of “cancelling” the Bard](https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/130191733/shakespeare-festival-funding-cut-takes-opportunity-away-from-teenagers) after declining the $31,000 funding proposal for the Shakespeare Globe Centre of New Zealand, which had run the Shakespeare competitions for over 30 years.