Arts and culture sector funding is often measured through a narrow economic lens in terms of direct return on investment. Understanding how funding has changed over time provides some indication of how much value is given to the broader benefits arts offer to society, such as its contribution to culture, wellbeing and social inclusion (Gattenhof et al., 2022).
This research aims to better understand the extent to which the art and cultural sectors of Aotearoa are funded by government and work as a baseline for future analysis. For this, a broader lens is required to analyse funding levels across an extended period domestically. Information about government arts funding was not readily available or consolidated in the public domain – this research aims to fill this gap.
We investigate the level of general government expenditure (GGE) towards recreation, culture and religion as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), as defined by the OECD. This methodology and measure of contribution enables OECD comparison against GGE in Aotearoa. We explore vote appropriation dedicated to arts, culture and heritage, and given that funding to the sector occurs through various avenues, we analyse the lottery grant board funding to statutory bodies, such as Creative New Zealand and the New Zealand Film Commission.