Wellington’s Creative Capital identity is not accidental — the arts are the heart of who we are.

This identity has been built over time through the work of artists and arts organisations, sustained public investment, and the everyday cultural life of the city. This ecosystem is now under pressure from proposed budget changes.

We call on Wellington City Council to reconsider the proposed reductions to the Creative Capital budget and to ensure arts and cultural funding is treated fairly within the broader Council budget process.

The Creative Capital budget faces proposed cuts of 5%, compared to significantly lower cuts across other departments (for example, 0.4% in the Council's Social and Recreation area). This disparity raises serious concerns about fairness and the strategic value placed on arts and culture within Wellington’s long-term priorities.

These reductions would also undermine Council’s ability to deliver on the Aho Tini 2030: Arts, Culture and Creativity Strategy, the city’s long-term framework for arts, culture, and creativity, developed through extensive sector consultation and investment. Weakening its delivery risks eroding both the strategy itself and the partnership that underpins it.

Arts investment is essential civic infrastructure. It supports a strong creative economy, sustains jobs and creative careers, strengthens community wellbeing and connection, and underpins Wellington’s cultural identity and public life.

Importantly, Creative Capital investment is not abstract — it translates directly into work for the sector. Cuts reduce paid opportunities for independent artists, performers, technicians, designers, educators, and the businesses that support cultural activity across the city. The proposed $350,000 cut to the Te Ngākau activation budget represents a direct loss of income for artists and organisations contracted to deliver this work. Combined with a further $410,000 in proposed cuts across events and grants, these changes represent a significant loss of employment for performers, community educators, and suppliers who contribute to activating civic spaces and sustaining Wellington as a vibrant and distinctive city. They also reduce opportunities for the public to experience cultural programming that informs, challenges, and enriches life in the capital.

Cuts of this scale will be felt most acutely by independent practitioners and small organisations already operating under significant pressure.

We recognise that Council faces substantial financial constraints and must make difficult decisions across essential infrastructure needs. However, a thriving city also depends on sustained investment in arts and culture alongside other core priorities — and on maintaining the long-term pipeline of cultural work, development, and opportunity that underpins sector sustainability.

We urge Wellington City Council to:

1. Correct the disparity in proposed arts and cultural funding reductions so that cuts are not disproportionately borne by the arts and culture portfolio compared with other Council departments and programmes.

2. Ensure no reductions are made to arts and cultural grants allocations, recognising that these funds directly support independent artists, organisations, and the wider cultural ecosystem.

3. Uphold and fully deliver the Aho Tini 2030: Arts, Culture and Creativity Strategy, maintaining Council’s long-term commitments to a thriving and sustainable cultural sector.

We ask Council to stand by Wellington’s identity as a Creative Capital and ensure arts and culture are treated with fairness, consistency, and strategic care in all future investment decisions.

This petition is a collaboration between Toi o Taraika Arts Wellington and Wellington Independent Arts Trust. We invite and welcome signatures from local and national supporters who value a strong and sustainable arts sector.

✦ Petition Closed

This petition is now closed. We thank all signees and will continue to update our membership and community with our advocacy work in response to the Council’s budget changes. This petition is the basis of Toi o Taraika Arts Wellington’s written and oral submissions to Council. Ngā mini nut!