26/07/2026
📣A Statement from Whakaari Aotearoa Drama NZ on Recent National Arts Funding Cuts 🎭
Kia ora e te whānau,
At Whakaari Aotearoa Drama NZ, we acknowledge the heartbreakingly difficult environment currently facing our sector—including the recent news that Creative NZ is proposing to cut nearly a third of its own workforce.
We hold deep empathy for the experienced staff and specialist advocates who are losing their jobs, alongside the artists and organisations facing reduced funding.
The arts are an interconnected ecosystem. When funding shrinks, it directly threatens the pipelines that support our up-and-coming artists, rangatahi, and educators—the very people who breathe life into our culture and stories.
The damage being done at every level is real, immediate, and long-lasting:
* For our emerging talent: Opportunities to create, experiment, and build sustainable careers are rapidly diminishing.
* For our educators: The struggle to show young people a viable path in the creative sector becomes harder every day.
* For our communities: We risk losing the vital stories and performance spaces that bind us together.
We add our voice to the collective push calling for sustainable, long-term support for the arts in Aotearoa. We stand in solidarity with all the creators, administrators, and advocates navigating these uncertain times.
Ngā mihi nui,
The Executive Committee
Whakaari Aotearoa Drama NZ
