The fund’s objectives are:

• to build audiences for the performing arts and
• to develop and maintain Auckland’s performing arts infrastructure including resources, skills, information, professional support and networks

Auckland City Council receives proposals in March and August each year from individuals, organisations, venues or businesses seeking funding for their projects in the city.

Projects may be a production season, a performance series, a one-night show or concert, or festival work of music, dance or theatre, or a combination of these artforms.
Arts Alive does not support school projects, community or amateur groups.

The applicants must be prepared to enter a funding agreement that provides an arts grant for their project and the opportunity for Auckland City Council to promote its involvement in and support of the professional performing arts in Auckland.

Funding round dates
Next round: August 2010 (Round 33).
Funding term: between 1 November 2010 and 31 December 2011.
Closing date: 4.30pm, Friday 20 August 2010.
Decisions: will be announced in late October 2010.

Please note, due to the transition into the new Auckland Council later this year, this is the only funding round for Arts Alive this year.

Click here for more information.

There will be a number of Mayoral Candidate Forums held over the next four months and it is imperative that probing questions on arts funding, policies and development are asked, answered and reported on.

The nominations for Auckland’s local body elections officially open on July 23 with elections just four months away.  Check back here for regular updates on issues relating to the arts and details on attending Mayoral Candidate Forums.  If you would like to post your views, questions or concerns regarding the representation of the arts and culture sector in the 2010 mayoral elections you can do so by sending the contact form, available by clicking here.

Creative New Zealand provides Local Councils with funding to support Community Arts and Cultural projects. The fund is called the Creative Communities Scheme. A set of new criteria and a changed process is to be introduced from 1 July 2010.

North Shore City Council has organised the following workshops for community and artists to attend to learn more about these changes and the application process.

Monday, 7 June 2010,7pm
Mairangi Arts Centre Hastings Road,
Mairangi Bay
09 478 2237

Friday, 11 June 2010, 10.30am
Lake House Arts Centre
Fred Thomas Road
Takapuna
09 486 4877

Tuesday, 15 June 2010, 10.30am
NorthArt Galleries
Ernie May Road
Northcote Centre
09 480 2386

Wednesday, 16 June 2010, 10.30am
Depot Artspace
Clarence Street
Devonport
09 963 2331

The evening will be led by artist Robyn Gibson followed by an opportunity for participants to have the floor to discuss their own work and projects.

Please feel free to bring your work and ideas to share.

28 Clarence St | Devonport
ph 963 2331
www.depotartspace.co.nz

An important part of this research involves a survey of emerging young arts practitioners throughout the country. If you feel you fit the following description and would like to take part in the survey, please follow this link by clicking here.

The arts practitioners CNZ is interested in will:

• have excelled and/or demonstrated promise in their chosen form of arts practice
• be aged between 18 and 30 years
• have made a positive commitment to the arts i.e. they have made a conscious decision to develop their chosen form of arts practice to a    professional standard
• be in their first five years of committed arts practice
• be actively involved in the arts
• currently ‘doing’, ‘producing’ or ‘supporting’ art, and with a track record of doing so; and/or currently training to further develop their art.

Arts practitioners are defined as artists, writers and practitioners in all forms of arts practice currently recognised through CNZ funding bodies, including heritage-based (e.g. Māori, Pacific or Western arts) and contemporary forms of arts practice (media, digital arts etc.).  The term practitioner also includes people who enable an arts project to occur. This may include producers, managers, technicians, publishers, curators, agents, dealers and community arts organisers. Practitioners are people who may not necessarily classify themselves as “artists”, but who may be necessary for creating, presenting and/or distributing an artwork.

This musical thread of the community – its past, present and future – has been captured in Guitars From the Leafy Suburbs, the latest work from documentary maker Julian McCarthy.

The film follows several of the Devonport’s finest young bands from their humble beginnings as recorded by studio engineer and mentor Rikki Morris, to their heady live concerts and growing success, – as recording deals and album releases start to become a reality.

Filmed over two years, Guitars From the Leafy Suburbs blends interview with footage from recording sessions and live shows that tell the story in a fly-on-the-wall style.

“I had an idea about filming them over a period of time and seeing what developed for them – of following particular bands and seeing how things panned out.”  The result is a slice of history – or perhaps of history in the making.

The film features music from The Checks, The Electric Confectionaires, White Birds & Lemons and The Earlybirds.

www.guitarsfromtheleafysuburbs.com

Now gearing up for its third year, ART Venture is firmly establishing itself as a vital development programme for creative practitioners serious about accelerating their entrepreneurial skills, projects and businesses.

This year, places in the programme are limited to 15 creative entrepreneurs drawn from across all disciplines of the arts, culture and creative industries sectors. The programme caters for those who are in the early stages of enterprise development as well as those who are more experienced and wanting to take what they do to the next level of success.

To find out more and to find application documents visit:

http://www.artsregionaltrust.org.nz/art-venture/

8th  May – Acoustic/Pop Night:  featuring Maia Peehikura, Anna Kaye, Penny J, Jesse Sheehan and Eastern Flowers.

15th  May – Rock Night:  featuring Caleb Smith, Graham Candy, Ryan Kershaw Band and Frozen Alice.

22nd May – RnB/Hip Hop Night:  featuring Ceekavaar, Tyrone, Team Dynamite and The Homebrew Crew.

Masonic Tavern, 29 King Edward Parade, Devonport 09 445 0485

7:30 doors open – 8 pm gig.
$5 door tickets

A series of conversations at the Depot Artspace with Rikki Morris, Boyd Thwaites and Linda Blincko, led to the idea to create  a different kind of seminar. It would be a seminar where those who actually provide services to musicians could have their say.  They could share tall tales and true about their experiences with musicians; the good and the bad, successes and failures, the dream and nightmare musicians. And from these invaluable insights, musicians will learn and understand to work with confidence and be respected in the industry – thus developing sustainable careers.

Six music industry professionals have made themselves available for the seminar:

David McLaughlin (McLaughlin Law) – MC and legal perspectives
Vicky Blood – band/musician manager
Boyd Thwaites – Event venue provider
Chris Tate – College Hill Productions
Rikki Morris - Recording engineer
Feleti Strickson-Pua - Nesian Mystik performer

Email Lynn at pace@depotarstpace.co.nz to register

www.depotartspace.co.nz
Wednesday 12 May 10am – 3pm
$5 entry

Auckland City Council invites local groups and organisations to submit their event ideas by 15 May for consideration in the 2010 programme.

Auckland Heritage Festival offers people the chance to discover, experience and celebrate our city’s heritage and features numerous events and activities across Auckland.

Last year’s programme featured events from guided heritage walks and open days, to tours of historic sites, vintage fashion displays and heritage market days.

To submit their ideas, people should download an application form from the Auckland Heritage Festival page at www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/events or phone 09 379 2020 to request a copy.

Further information:

Auckland Heritage Festival page at www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/events or phone 09 379 2020

For media assistance, please contact: Melanya Burrows, Communications and Marketing Ph 373 6883 or 027 239 0429