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Nelson City Council is seeking feedback on the draft Whakatū Nelson Arts and Creativity Strategy.

Our City is home to some incredible arts and culture, but COVID-19 has hit the arts and creative sector hard and the feedback we’ve heard from the community is that Nelson has fallen behind other regions. We need to reset our direction as a city if we want the sector to survive and deliver the economic and wellbeing benefits a thriving arts and creative sector can provide.

The Strategy sets a vision for how the community can work together to unlock the City’s creative potential. It is intended that this will be a community Strategy that will stimulate collaboration and cooperation to support a sustainable arts and creativity sector.

A wide-ranging pre-engagement process has informed the development of the Strategy so far. Council representatives have met with about 200 people from February to the end of May 2022, as well as receiving written input. This pre-engagement involved both in-person and virtual sessions.

Now we want to hear your views on the content of the draft Whakatū Nelson Arts and Creativity Strategy.

Public feedback opened on Monday 27 June and closed on Tuesday 26 July 2022.

The Strategy is structured around five strategic pillars and outcomes:

• Whakaurunga - Participation
• Tuakiri - Identity
• Pou Tarāwaho - Infrastructure
• Tūranga Whakatū - Place-Making
• Ōhanga Auaha – Creative Economy

Every Nelsonian has access to the arts and the means for creative expression and fulfilment.

We see ourselves reflected in the city around us.

We have the soft and hard infrastructure that allows creativity to thrive.

Art and creativity is alive and well in the streets of Whakatū Nelson.

Whakatū Nelson’s creative economy is thriving and generating well-paid opportunities for creative practitioners.

The Strategy includes a series of key moves and actions to achieve the objectives. To succeed, funding and resources need to be allocated, and implementation should be community-led.

The Strategy leads to five ‘key moves’ needed to revitalise the arts and creative sector. These are priority projects that will help deliver the outcomes.

• Arts relief fund. A new relief package to respond to the impact of COVID-19 by supporting artists with paid employment opportunities and stimulating local spending.
• Development agency for the arts. An independent development agency for the arts to provide advocacy, investment attraction, networking, publicity, and capability development.
• Te Tauihutanga design and identity project. Greater recognition, resourcing, and visibility of Toi Māori in our city.
• Positive policies initiative. A review of Council policies and processes that act as a handbrake for the arts sector such as those relating to graffiti, noise, busking, signage, projection, and street closures.
• Creative tourism initiative. An initiative to shine a light on our arts and creativity nationally.

The strategy also contains a list of 27 direct actions that could be put in place as a result of the Strategy, with ideas ranging from integrating art into our City’s infrastructure to piloting a ‘pay-what-you-can’ ticketing system for arts events.

Public Information: All submissions (including the names and contact details of submitters) are public information and will be available to the public and media in various reports and formats including on the Nelson City Council website. Personal information will also be used for administration relating to the subject matter of submissions. Submitters have the right to access and correct any personal information included in any reports, information or submissions.