Our history - Ngā Toi Hawke’s Bay (formerly Creative Hawke’s Bay)
In 2000, Creative Hawke’s Bay was one of five pilot sites for Creative New Zealand’s new Regional Strengths Strategy Funding Scheme. Creative New Zealand saw Hawke’s Bay as having significant creative potential but recognised that the region was politically scattered and fragmented, with a low arts profile.
Creative Napier set up a working group with representatives from the arts, culture, tourism, iwi, local government, legal and business sectors. In 2001, it was proposed that Creative Hawke’s Bay: take up the offered funding; $60,000 for one year only, establish Creative Hawke’s Bay, a charitable, regional arts trust; utilise an opportunity to promote the region’s visual arts and cultural tourism and create a Regional Hawke’s Bay Arts Guide in conjunction with the new regional tourism body Hawke’s Bay Wine Country Tourism.
Following the success of the 2001 activities, Creative Hawke’s Bay received funding for another 10 years from Creative New Zealand, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Social Development (Maurangi Toi), the Hawkes Bay Regional Council, Eastern Central Community Trust and a number of local pub charities and trusts. Successful projects included:
· Hawke’s Bay’s creative database, regularly updated
· Hawke’s Bay Regional Arts and Culture Guide, updated annually
· Creative Hawke’s Bay website, with current information
· Monthly Arts lecture series held at the Century Theatre at Napier’s MTG
· Annual, curated Invitational Regional Art Exhibition; involving artists from or linked to Hawke’s Bay and held at Hastings City Art Gallery
· Two Economic Impact surveys, five years apart, to show the value of the creative sector in Hawke’s Bay
· Regular hui, lobbying and consultation with local and national creatives and politicians.
In 2011 Creative Hawke’s Bay’s funding situation changed dramatically due to a series of events including a change in Government, reduced funding to Creative New Zealand, the global financial crisis and the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council funding priorities changing. In response, Creative Hawke’s Bay strategically decided to close its office, stop employing staff and handed over three main projects:
· Hawke’s Bay Arts Guide to Creative Napier and Hastings, which still continues
· Arts Lecture series to MTG but didn’t continue
· Invitational Art Exhibition to Hastings City Art Gallery, which has become the successful biannual show East.
In 2012, Roger King replaced Ros Stewart as Chair and new trustees joined. The Board considered initiatives such as a “State of the Arts” research project and the development of a Hawke’s Bay “What’s On” App. However, Pecha Kucha became Creative Hawke’s Bay’s most visible project with a strong community presence, held four times a year from 2013.
In late 2016 Roger King resigned and took over the Pecha Kucha project, which is still successfully operating today. Kate Howard became Chair. During this time a new informal coalition of creatives met, called CoCO, who subsequently wanted to work with Creative Hawke’s Bay. CoCO wanted Creative Hawke’s Bay to grow its funding, status and projects, to help achieve the regional creative community goals.
In 2017 Dr. Dick Grant became Chair of Creative Hawke’s Bay and the Board was joined by two members from CoCO. Following a Hawke’s Bay creative hui, the Board agreed to evolve into Ngā Toi Hawke’s Bay with an updated constitution, new Board members, a revised Strategic Plan, commitments to find funding for administrative staff and regular huis to ensure it connected with the local creative sector for guidance.
In 2018 Hawke’s Bay was granted $6,000 from Hastings District Council and employed Emma Ward as Executive Officer in a part time role. Tasks currently underway include the launch of a Facebook page, the development of a new website, the development of a creative database and regular art sector huis to help gather information about the regional creative needs and how Ngā Toi Hawke’s Bay can respond and meet these.
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