​How is contemporary art funded in New Zealand?

Does your news article highlight the cost of art to the tax or rate paying public? Debate around public funds is essential to the democratic process but just hold fire on your headline because did you know that contemporary art is funded by many different sources? Different sizes of public galleries and museums have vastly different funding structures. The larger organisations are likely to be mostly central/local government funded but medium or small organisations might have less than a third of their revenue funded by public money.

Funding sources of contemporary art include:

• Central Government Agencies: The New Zealand Government funds contemporary art through crown entities such as Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Ministry for Culture and Heritage and Creative New Zealand. The government contributes to approximately 60% of arts sector funding which includes performing arts and visual art, but excludes self-generated revenue. Creative New Zealand is the main source of recurring and one-off project funding that individual artists and art organisations can apply for. However, less than 10% of Creative New Zealand funding was given to visual art in 2015.
              Government art funding comes from a mix of taxation and lotteries. This allocation is dependant upon the annual budget process. Since the 1980s Creative New Zealand funds have primarily come from lotteries.
              Sometimes New Zealand public galleries and museums might gain funding from overseas governmental agencies for the presentation of international artwork such as the British Council or Goethe-Institute.

• Council funding: District and City Councils across New Zealand support contemporary art through the ownership and operation of galleries and museums or through providing project funding. The distribution of funds is dependant upon the art and cultural policy of each council. For example, Auckland Council runs the Regional Arts and Culture Programme that administers grants and programmes. A 2015 study stated that local council funding equates to approximately $50m spent on galleries and museums nationally.
  
  
• Philanthropic trusts and foundations: There are a small number of trusts and foundations that support contemporary art. The most well known are the Chartwell Trust, The Asia New Zealand Foundation and The Arts Foundation of New Zealand. There are also gaming trusts that fund community-focused contemporary art.

• Commercial Funding: Certain corporations and businesses ranging from banks to car manufacturers sometimes support contemporary art in specific exhibitions in galleries and museums or through more long-term commitments. This funding can be motivated by brand association with perceived value of contemporary art or to show support of a location they may have business in.

• In-kind Sponsorship: It is common for many artists and art organisations to secure the in-kind support of individuals and businesses. This in-kind support may include key materials or services that enable an artwork to be made.

• Private Philanthropy: Private philanthropy by individuals, couples and families has a long history in New Zealand. A 2012 survey stated that private philanthropy equated to 6.9% of funding for the arts sector as a whole. This figure excludes self-generated revenue.

• Crowdfunding and fundraising: Boosted and Pledgeme are the two main crowdfunding platforms that artists and art organisations use in New Zealand.

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• Revenue Generation: Commercial galleries generate their own income primarily through the sale of artworks from which they share a portion of the sale with the artist. Traditionally this is a 60/40 (artist / gallery) split. Some not-for-profit public art organisations generate their own income to supplement central or local government funding. A 2011-12 study of New Zealand arts and heritage organisations showed that 41% of funding for art and heritage organisations is created through self-generated revenue. This income is produced through investments and by providing a range of goods and services such as space hire, long term leases, art classes, cafes, artwork conservation, art storage, touring exhibitions, tickets for particular exhibitions, and sale of books and exhibition merchandise.