Introducing a new commission opportunity for Waikato creatives to create work in response to climate change.

Poipoia te kākano kia puāwai | Nurture the seed and it will grow.

Already this year, our communities have been faced with the effects of climate change: heavy rain, slips, severe flooding, evacuations and states of emergency.

Climate change is here and we all have a part to play in making positive changes now, for the future. Creativity is a powerful tool in this space. It can help us to connect with one another, work together, find inspiration, imagine new possibilities, educate and share ideas, speak up and remember. It can help us to process, support our wellbeing, and combat fatigue and apathy.

We know that creativity lives and thrives in Waikato, and our region is woven together by artists, performers, ringatoi, creatives, community activators (and more!) who create work in conversation with the social challenges we face. In 2020, Creative Waikato launched the Kotahitanga project, focused on sharing the message of unity to combat prejudice and division.

Thanks to funding from Len Reynolds Trust and Trust Waikato, Creative Waikato are commissioning 20 Waikato creatives to create original work in response to climate change. This project is called Kaitiakitanga: futures through creativity. This time, the focus is on te taiao (and our place in–and of–it), guardianship, possibility, and our relationship to wai, whenua and whānau.

We want to hear from emerging and established artists across our mighty Waikato region. The twenty artists will be chosen by a panel of local community activators and creatives. Ten emerging artists will be commissioned and paid $1,000, and ten established artists will be commissioned and paid $2,000. 

The commissioned works will be photographed, and the artists will feature in a short video about their work. These will be hosted online on the Kotahitanga online gallery, and shared and promoted through Creative Waikato channels to advocate for kaitiakitanga and creativity in Waikato and beyond.

To find out more and express your interest, please check out the link below to the EOI form.

Express interest here:

And please, pass this on to any creatives in your life who are on the kaupapa: Kaitiakitanga: futures through creativity.

EOI submissions close:  July 5

Proposals selected and artists notified: July 16

Works completed: August 31

If you have any other queries or concerns before making an Expression of Interest, please feel free to contact us via email: hello@creativewaikato.co.nz