Fighting For The Arts In Auckland

The folks at Basement Theatre have posted a plea to help support the arts in Auckland by asking people let Auckland City Council know how you feel about their funding of the arts.

Here is part of their post:

We’re calling on the creative arts sector in Auckland to rally with us and hold Auckland Council accountable for ensuring ongoing investment and support for the arts in our city.

The draft Auckland Plan currently up for consultation (until Wednesday, 28th March) represents a crisis point for all Aucklanders who love and participate in the arts, if the plan were to be published in its proposed form.

The draft effectively removes almost all references to arts, creativity and culture that existed in the previous plan, and makes no acknowledgement of their role in bringing about the plan’s vision of “a world class city where talent wants to live”.

While the draft states upfront that “auaha – creativity/innovation” is one of the core values woven through the plan, very little reference is made to creativity, especially arts-led creativity, in any of its five outcomes and their priorities: Belonging and Participation, Homes and Places, Transport and Access, Environmental and Cultural Heritage, and Opportunity and Prosperity.

We have developed an easy to follow guide for submitting in this consultation process, and implore you to join us in requesting more arts representation in this plan for the city.

Click here to go to the page and take part in the submission process.