Arts funding rises in flurry of activity

Creative Hawke's Bay chairman Roger King has noticed an increase in interest in the arts.

Creative New Zealand funding in Hawke's Bay has almost doubled in the past five years - but the arts scene is not as good as the figures show, arts facilitators say.

The Bay received $195,420 in Creative New Zealand funding in 2010. In the three years following, there was more than $250,000 in funding each year, and the last financial year saw a big increase in funding to $366,780.

Creative Hawke's Bay chairman Roger King said the region seemed to have had a general increase in arts activity, though he was not sure whether there were actually more things happening or whether there was just more publicity around them.

"I would say there's creatively more happening now than there was five years ago, but I'm not sure how significant that increase has been," he said.

In the visual arts sector, MTG - the biggest exhibition space in the region - had reopened; Hastings City art gallery had a new director, Kath Purchas, who had given it a boost; and the community arts centre in Napier was due to open shortly, he said.

While there were no professional theatre or dance groups in Hawke's Bay, a touring theatre group funded by Creative New Zealand had kept theatre alive. "At the moment there seems to be a flurry of activity that's getting more arts on the radar, but perhaps it's just that it's the summer months," he said.

Even so, local councils could be doing more to support the arts, he said.

"Other councils are funding the arts at a much higher level.

"In Hawke's Bay, the arts are seen as a peripheral activity, rather than a core activity."

Artist Sue Schaare said Hawke's Bay residents showed an interest in the arts but they were slow to delve into their pockets to pay higher prices.

"Most of my art is over $2000," she said. "Hawke's Bay people will turn up to exhibitions but it's out-of-towners that spend more readily."

Ms Schaare noticed a particular decrease in spending following the recession.

"Sales have started to pick up in the last couple of months but they're still down on what they were before the recession."