About the Arts Foundation
New Zealand artists are loved around the world, so much so that people are willing to dig deep to support them. We, at the Arts Foundation, think this is great. Being able to give a little, or a lot, means anyone and everyone can be involved in the arts.
The Arts Foundation was instigated 11 years ago by patrons wanting to support New Zealand's finest artists to create more work. Our founders had great ideas about how artists could be supported, without red tape and without conditions. They also had good ideas about how the people who support these artists could be closely involved.
We are now established as an exciting organisation to join as a patron or a sponsor. It is especially exciting for artists to become part of the Arts Foundation as a recipient of one of our awards.
Artists, which can be from any discipline, are selected for awards, such as our $50,000 Laureate Award, without their knowing they are being considered. We have established innovative selection processes where arts experts select recipients of awards on our behalf. Artists do not know they are being considered for an award until they are called with the good news that they are a recipient. These calls are magic. They change the lives of recipients, giving them an extraordinary boost.
Our most prestigious recognition for artists is the Icon Awards. These honorary awards are limited to a living circle of twenty stellar artists.
The Arts Foundation produces New Zealand's national celebration of the arts called the Macquarie Private Wealth New Zealand Arts Awards. This annual event features up to ten awards for artists from across disciplines. In 2011 $360,000 was donated to artists at the Awards. The event is a black tie dinner and is attended by people from the arts, business and philanthropic communities. The next Awards will be in Auckland in the fourth quarter of 2012.
You can make a one off donation, become a member on an annual subscription, or leave us a legacy. You can work in partnership with us to create a fund for a specific purpose, such as an award for one particular art-form. All donations help us build our Endowment Fund. Income from our Fund is used to support artists. Funding for the office and events comes from corporate sponsors, trusts and our members. We are independent from government.
When you give to the Arts Foundation, the world of artists opens up to you. We travel around New Zealand, with events and awards, featuring artists in discussion and performance. We maintain this website, provide regular emailed updates and produce a newsletter called Applause and have a Facebook page. We explore the arts through the people that create it and have found that their ideas are windows through which to explore the arts and all its colours.
At the Foundation you participate, not just give. So join today and become part of the team that is giving artists a liberating boost, honouring their past and investing in all of our futures.
