Local artists, creatives, and community groups are encouraged to get their applications in now for the latest funding round from the Creative Communities Scheme.
Creative Communities funding supports local projects that increase participation in the arts, celebrate the local art culture and make the arts more accessible to communities across the district.
Like the children’s clay pottery workshop by local artist and mother, Jodi Collins. Her popular project received funding in round one of the 2025 funding year.
Ms Collins said, the Creative Communities funding that I received helped me to deliver a workshop I knew kids would love. Before Ōpōtiki we lived in Raglan where I ran a kid’s after school programme so it was great to be able to re-explore that here and get a feel for the communities and the kids’ interest for it.
As an artist who works across a range of mediums and a passionate advocate for repurposing and sustainability, Jodi is a great example of partnering artistic skills with funding sources to create something meaningful for the community.
Ōpōtiki District Council’s Maheesha Silva administers the Ōpōtiki District scheme and said the popularity of Jodi’s clay workshop demonstrated the value of community arts funding for creating opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t exist for kids to connect, learn new skills, and express themselves creatively with clay.
"The Creative Communities Scheme helps bring ideas to life and supports the talented artists, makers and creatives who enrich our communities and Jodi's workshop is a great example of how funding can create meaningful experiences that inspire young people and strengthen community connections,” Mrs Silva said.
The Creative Communities Scheme supports a wide range of projects, including workshops, exhibitions, performances, festivals, public art initiatives and arts events.
“We encourage everyone interested in Creative Communities to get their applications in early, before the deadline. There were applications last year that were not included because they missed the cut off date. We would hate for that to happen again this year – so please if you are interested, get your application in early or reach out to me, as administrator if you have any questions about the process”, Mrs Silva said.
Applications are now open and close on 9 October. There is $10,000 to allocate in this funding round.
Details including application forms, criteria and guides are available on council’s Creative Communities Scheme page at www.odc.govt.nz/ccs.
