Wellington City Council Long Term Plan

If you live in Pōneke, you might be aware that the Wellington City Council is currently reviewing it’s Long Term Plan. This plan informs the councils decisions for the next 10 years, and helps to decide where the council will spend its’ funding. 

This is a critical moment to have your say to support both Footnote, and the future of arts in our city. 

Clicking on the link below will take you to the council’s survey for the long term plan. There are also dates and registration information for public workshops. 

The Footnote team has been to a few of these workshops and are urging you to go. These workshops are an opportunity to really let council know how important the arts are - trust us, not many other people place value on the arts like you might! We certainly found that the other attendees at the workshops we went to did not value the arts, and since they are the people making their voices heard, we may face funding cuts in our near future. 

If you are short on time (and we totally understand that!) then you will probably find it easier to fill out the survey. We have some suggestions on how you may want to support the arts while answering this. 

Questions 3 and 7 are where you can make an impact on the arts. 

Question 3: Our Economy: 

Please rank these priorities in order of importance to you (1 = most important).

We suggest ranking “Provide great venues and attract top events” first.  This is a key factor in the Wellington arts community. Many artists do not feel that there is an appropriate, mid size venue for arts in Pōneke, which reduces the opportunity for people to bring work here. 

Question 4: Our Economy: 

In the comments section, we suggest that you speak to the following points:

-There is no professional mid size venue in Wellington for our arts community to present works. Having a venue such as this would allow more artists to bring their works here from other cities, and prevent us loosing local artists. 

-There is a lack of dedicated dance rehearsal venues in Wellington, this greatly impacts our dance communities from being able to create new works. We are loosing our local dance artists to other cities because the lack of infrastructure makes it too challenging to be able to stay in Pōneke. 

-We have excellent events here in Wellington, but they need further support. With the cost of living higher than ever, artistic events are becoming inaccessible for many, and this affects our economy. We need Wellington City Council to support local attendance at existing arts and cultural events. 

Question 7: Our Culture:

Please rank these priorities in order of importance to you (1 = most important).

We suggest that you rank “More funding for the arts and cultural sectors” first. 

Question 8: Our Culture: 

In the comments section, we suggest you speak to the following points:

-Funding for the arts and culture in Wellington is critical. Wellington prides itself on being the cultural capital of Aotearoa, however we are steadily loosing artists to other cities due to lack of funding. 

-Arts organisations such as Footnote New Zealand Dance need further support and funding. Footnote New Zealand Dance is dealing with the challenge of loosing their dedicated rehearsal space, and with no support from the council, the company is put into a difficult position. Supporting companies such as Footnote to be in professional spaces is an urgent priority. 

Thank you for your time, energy and support. You are making a big difference to the future of our city!

Razz by Malia Johnston, at Cubadupa 2023