Philippa Stevenson: Arty splash in a cultural desert

In a word association test the name Waikato is likely to prompt the reply "river", maybe "cows".

Huntly might spark "power", "coal", and possibly "brick".

Only some oddball would say "arts and culture", yet Huntly last month hosted a successful art trail - a two-day showcase of arts and crafts exhibited at 14 stations around the town launched by the Prime Minister.

Co-organiser Huntly textile artist Yanny Split says the inspiration was discussions she heard in her role as deputy chairwoman of arts development trust, Arts Waikato.

A Waikato-wide art trail was being brainstormed but she and fellow organiser, her husband Alan Coates, thought a local event was a possibility, too. They were right. Huntly's art trail is likely to become an annual fixture.

Split is one of seven Arts Waikato trustees drawn from across the trust's catchment, which extends from the Bombay Hills to Taumarunui and coast to coast including the Coromandel Peninsula.

Established in 2001 by Trust Waikato, a community funding organisation, Arts Waikato is designed to strengthen the arts community by working alongside it. Apart from a few scholarships, it is not a funding body.

In fact, when a Trust Waikato three-year funding package runs out next March Arts Waikato must have its own backing to pay for its full-time chief executive, an arts adviser and a part-time administrative assistant.

As an artist and trustee, Split sees the big gap Arts Waikato is trying to fill.

"There's definitely a big need for a trust to help people in the arts. For the first three years we were finding out how big the need was. Now we're finding that we're doing good."

Chief executive Hilary Falconer believes the trust is special because of its specific help for all kinds of artists and community cultural groups. Other arts trusts nationwide administer galleries or have a regional promotional role.

"We develop the way groups operate, help them work more efficiently and give funding advice."

She readily acknowledges the Waikato is seen as a cultural desert and the trust is keen to raise the area's artistic and cultural profile. Their method is to strengthen the sector so it can raise its own head high.

Apparently I'm not alone in asking whether her appointment two years ago was akin to putting the fox in charge of the hen house. For years, Falconer was a theatre critic whose reviews took no prisoners.

"I never saw a conflict," she says. "I could see the logic in not carrying on [reviewing] in this job but my main imperative in writing theatre reviews was to raise the standard of arts in the region. It was my little personal crusade. I have a passion for developing the arts."

There's no doubt about that. She talks enthusiastically about arts and artists boosting the economy of small towns and rural districts. The revival of Tirau with its antiques and art and craft shops is a shining example of what is possible, Falconer says.

Otorohanga, which has branded itself the Kiwiana capital, and which is holding a festival of treasures such as the Buzzy Bee, hokey pokey icecream and hula hoops this weekend, is another town ripe for "creative tourism", Falconer says.

"Often what small rural areas need is a social and cultural hub that binds the community together."

Such centres can quickly become economy boosters. The domestic market may be small but the overseas one, whether accessed by tourists or via the internet, is huge.

"What a wonderful thing it would be if we were known as a nation of artists and creative thinkers," Falconer says.

Arts Waikato awards about 20 scholarships of up to $5000 each year for tertiary studies.

They've helped people study theatre lighting in New York, Shakespeare in Britain, dance in Melbourne, and art therapy and theatre marketing at home.

"The scholarships are about the only way an individual can get funding for professional development. But we have to know it will be coming back to a community group," Falconer says.

Split says many groups struggle as they age. They need new blood but haven't looked at changing their ways to attract it. "Struggling groups don't get to struggle in a week. It's over years," she says.

That's where Arts Waikato comes in. Arts adviser Saskia Schuitemaker is so flat out visiting groups Falconer estimates she could easily employ three more advisers.

She says vibrant arts and culture make for happy communities. Split goes one step further. The country's heritage is at stake, she says.