Joe Fowler Photo: supplied
Deciding which creatives get a cut of the limited government funding pie is always contentious.
Art is subjective after all. There are inevitably claims of favouritism on panels selected to recommend winners and losers. And those who miss out, understandably, often feel aggrieved.
The Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage regularly comes in for criticism over previous allocations.
Last year, for instance, it found itself in hot water with the arts community after awarding $500,000 from its Covid Response Innovation fund to a hitherto unknown, start-up group called Narrative Muse, that had promised an online platform to match readers and books.
So now Culture and Heritage is trying something radically different, as it decides how to allocate the new 28 million dollar Cultural Sector Regeneration Fund it's responsible for.
There have been more than 660 proposals from groups and individuals keen for a piece of the action. And the Ministry is going to the public, to ask which ones they support, and why.
Deputy Chief Executive Joe Fowler talks with Lynn Freeman, first explaining what this Fund is specifically for.
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