Recipients of 125 Years of Women’s Suffrage arts fund

Recipients of 125 Years of Women’s Suffrage arts fund announced

Creative New Zealand has announced 10 recipients to receive funding totalling over $150,000 through a new Suffrage 125 Fund. These innovative arts projects will recognise women from diverse cultural backgrounds that have helped advance women's rights.

Creative New Zealand’s Senior Manager, Arts Development Services Cath Cardiff said, “We are delighted by the applications we received from practitioners and organisations across Aotearoa wanting to creatively engage with New Zealand’s suffrage history.”

“Fifty applications were received, with a total of $773,750 requested, which tells us there is a rich resource of stories about those who have helped advance women’s rights and which bring diverse cultural perspectives. “ “The work we have been able to fund includes sharing stories about wāhine e toa in print, performance, online publications and using crafts traditionally associated with women such as textiles and crochet.”

2019 recipients are: Ema Tavola - $18,800 towards a series of large scale, crocheted, site-specific installations in South Auckland.

Femisphere - $15,725 towards the development costs for a new website and publication of arts series, Femisphere.

Jennifer Gillam - $7,941 towards a publication exploring the heritage practice of pelting kiwi, kaitiakitanga, and the role of Māori women in birdlife conservation efforts.

Julia Holden - $17,455 to create a series of experimental visual portraits exploring the intersections between women’s roles and the legacy of Suffrage in New Zealand.

Melissa Williams - $19,620 towards a publication of essays focussing on the impact of mana wāhine and activism of Māori women in New Zealand’s social history.

OneTree House - $10,000 towards a collection of stories and publication based on the lives and social impact of 14 Māori women.

Qiane Matata-Sipu - $20,000 towards the second phase development of a multimedia storytelling project focussed on the experiences of indigenous women.

Vinnie Re Sew - $13,704 to create and present a 300m textile work, ‘Suffrage in Stitches’ commemorating New Zealand’s Women’s Suffrage petition signed in 1893.

Sarah Hudson - $9,360 towards a visual arts exhibition about motherhood, mothering and maternal roles.

TAPA (Tautua Aiga of Performance Art) - $20,000 to research and develop a theatre work based on women’s involvement in Samoa’s Mau Movement.

This fund has been made available for projects in 2019 and 2020 with a maximum grant of $20,000 per project in each round. The 2020 round will be opened at the end of this year.

The Suffrage 125 celebration was led by the Ministry for Women in partnership with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. These celebrations recognise New Zealanders from diverse cultural backgrounds that have contributed to progressing women’s rights.

When the new Electoral Act giving New Zealand women the vote was signed into law women had only six weeks to register to vote in the upcoming election. Despite the tight timeframe almost 110,000 women enrolled, about 84 percent of those eligible, and more than 90,000 voted on polling day.

More information about the Suffrage 125 Fund is on Creative New Zealand’s website.

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