Insights into New Zealand’s arts sector

Approximately 7% of New Zealand’s workforce is employed in its arts and culture sector, known for being inspirational and diverse.

As New Zealand’s contemporary art scene flourishes, other areas of the arts sector are also coming of age.

Music

Along with many artists gaining world recognition, New Zealand has three professional symphony orchestras and a variety of musicians with international fame. Such Kiwi musicians include Crowded House, Flight of the Conchords, Dave Dobbyn, The Black Seeds, Katchafire, Lady Hawke, Bic Runga, Gin Wigmore, Savage, Scribe, Fat Freddy’s Drop, and Split Enz.

Fashion

Theatre and Film

There are five professional theatre companies throughout New Zealand. Kiwi actors regularly appear on local stages and many actors are gaining international recognition.

New Zealand provides breath-taking scenery for film makers and many New Zealand-owned companies have participated in the production of movies. Peter Jackson's world-renowned Weta Workshop (the Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, Avatar and The Lovely Bones to name a few) continues to showcase our film, visual effects, multimedia and post-production industries.

Literature

New Zealand is also home to many successful authors. As a result, book publishing is robust. The most recent statistics show New Zealand’s fiction, poetry, children’s writing, art, history and educational resources helped book publishing turn over NZ$245 million in 2007.

Culture

Overall, New Zealand arts are influenced by Maori, Pacific Island, European and Asian cultures. With a strong cafe society and cultural activities throughout the country, New Zealand fosters an environment ideal for those interested in investing in the arts.

Key Resources

We suggest looking at the following resources:

• Arts Council of New Zealand is the national agency for the development of the arts and invests resources into New Zealand arts
• The Ministry for Culture and Heritage manages New Zealand’s cultural resources and provides funds for cultural organisations
• The New Zealand Art Guild provides promotion and support for New Zealand visual artists
• Visit Weta Workshop's website to learn more about the world-renowned creative organisation
• Explore New Zealand’s World of Wearable Art Awards
• Fashion Industry New Zealand provides representation and support for the fashion and apparel sector
• Located in Wellington, Te Papa is New Zealand’s national museum. It’s renown for being innovative, educational and bicultural.