Creative Fellowship Fund

About the funding

Funding for artists and practitioners to spend time developing their artistic practice and new work.

Funding rounds

• Creative Fellowship Fund 2026 - Round 2
  • For activities taking place between: 2 Dec 2026 – 31 Dec 2027
  • Opens: 17 Aug 2026
  • Closes: 24 Sep 2026, 1PM
  • Results due: 2 Dec 2026
• Closed rounds
  • Creative Fellowship Fund 2026 - Round 1 (21 May 2026 – 21 Nov 2027)
  • Creative Fellowship Fund 2025 - Round 2 (3 Dec 2025 – 3 Jun 2027)

Eligibility

Artists and practitioners who are New Zealand citizens or Permanent Residents.

• You can apply as:
  • an individual, or
  • a group of collaborators
• Arts organisations and groups cannot apply to this fund.

What can be funded

The Creative Fellowship Fund supports artists and practitioners to spend time developing new ideas, new work, and new approaches in their artistic practice. The artwork you create does not need to be ready to present to the public. The focus is on developing as an artist or practitioner and having time to experiment.

• You can apply for either:
  • $25,000 to support up to 6 months’ work
  • $50,000 to support up to 12 months’ work
• You can use the grant towards living costs, materials, and resources needed to develop new work.
• You can receive a maximum of $50,000 from the Creative Fellowship Fund within a 12-month period.
• If you receive a Creative Fellowship Fund grant, you must complete your grant before applying again.

Additional funding opportunities

You can apply to the Creative Fellowship Fund and the Creative Impact Fund in the same year, but you cannot apply for the same activities or for the same time period.

• The Creative Fellowship Fund supports you to develop your practice and your work.
• The Creative Impact Fund supports you to deliver activities that benefit audiences, participants, and communities.
• You can receive a maximum of $125,000 within a 12-month period between the Creative Fellowship Fund and the Creative Impact Fund combined.

Accessibility support

People who identify as Deaf or disabled, or experience disability or an impairment, can claim an additional payment on top of their grant to help cover accessibility costs during the period of the grant.

How to apply

• Start your application in the CNZ Portal. The application form is available when the funding round is open.
• You can submit one application per funding round. Submissions close at 1:00 PM on the closing date (NZ time).
• If you're a group of artists or practitioners working together on a specific arts activity or project, you can apply jointly:
  • One person starts the application in the CNZ portal as an individual.
  • They then invite the other group members to join the application in the CNZ portal.
  • Everyone must sign the application to agree to the terms and conditions of funding and will share responsibility for delivering the funded activities.
• If you operate as a sole trader or have a company for your arts practice, you still need to apply to this fund as an individual. If your application is funded, you can ask for the grant to be paid into your company's bank account.

Application questions

For a $25,000 grant, answer these three questions:

• What do you want to do in your creative practice with this funding?
• How will this build on your previous work, and why is it important that you do this now?
• How will this allow you to take risks, develop new ideas, and contribute to the growth of your arts practice?

For a $50,000 grant, answer these two additional questions:

• How will you share the learnings, discoveries, or reflections you experience through this process with others?
• How do you think this will evolve your creative practice, artform, or your community?

Support material

Prepare and upload the following to support your application:

• Your artistic CV
• Samples of work
• Letters of support
• Timeline
• Other relevant material

No budget is needed for the application. The funding amounts are fixed at either $25,000 or $50,000. It is up to you how you manage your grant.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

You can use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to help you draft, research, and refine your application, or to make funding processes more accessible. Consider the following if you use AI:

• Possible impacts on intellectual property rights and data privacy
• Cultural considerations, particularly in relation to Ngā Toi Māori and Pacific arts

Contact for support

Get in touch if you have questions or need support to complete your application.

• Email: funding@creativenz.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 CREATIVE (273 284) or +64 4 473 0880