More than $30,000 funding awarded to Rotorua arts projects

Te Pua Inano ran a series of workshops in Cook Island drumming. Photo / Supplied

The latest Rotorua District Creative Communities Scheme funding round has awarded $30,634 to 20 arts projects across the Rotorua district.

Creative Communities Rotorua lead Julie Parsons says 20 grants were offered to a wide variety of arts projects, including literature, cultural arts festivals and markets, instrumental and choral workshops, concerts, community murals, photography production and exhibition, art workshops, theatre and musical theatre, artists residencies, kapa haka ahurei and a series of alternative firings and pottery workshops.

"It is very rewarding to be able to offer performance opportunities to students of theatre, music and kapa haka, who have worked on their art all year only to have the event they were working towards cancelled due to Covid-19", says Julie.

The local Creative Communities Scheme committee is gratified to see funding that has previously enabled a project inspire the artist to want to know more about the community she lives in.

Katie Hoy's "100 Women – Rotorua" photography project, funded by CCS in 2020, has left her feeling she needs to know the stories of the men in our community.

She will be looking for 100 men who reflect the demographics of our community to sit and share their stories with her.

The Creative Communities Scheme offers two opportunities every year for creatives to fund their work, and is particularly invaluable to organisations and individuals that do not have charitable status.

This scheme is open to all New Zealand individuals and groups, provided the focus of their project is primarily creative art, is well thought through and delivered in the Rotorua Lakes District.

The next funding round for Rotorua District Creative Communities Scheme will open on February 1 and close March on 6, 2022.

Applications must be for projects that are primarily focused on the creative arts, have not yet started and will be delivered in the Rotorua district within 12 months of funding.

• Go to www.rotorualakescouncil.nz/creativecommunities for information and application forms or contact Julie Parsons Julie.parsons@rotorualc.nz.