We can build a new utopia by Rosabel Tan

Written in February 2021. 

The end of the COVID-19 pandemic is in sight. As vaccination programmes are rolled out around the world, a return to pre-pandemic life is being eagerly anticipated. For our sector, however, a return to ‘normal’ life is not a given. The Covid crisis has both revealed the underlying vulnerabilities in the ngā toi arts and culture sector and created space for a creative conversation about the sector’s future. This historic pause has allowed time for reflection about what we do, how our work is funded, whose voices we bring forward, and who we are making for.

As a contribution to this process, Te Taumata Toi-a-Iwi commissioned Rosabel Tan to talk to some of “our architects of imagination, map-makers to the unknown” about the questions they are asking and the opportunities they are seeing to reimagine and reshape the post-Covid ngā toi arts and culture sector in Aotearoa.

Rosabel concludes that while the questions and issues raised by her interviewees are not easy, “it’s essential we keep making space — not only for these conversations, but for one another. A bolder, better arts sector will involve radical change. That’s confronting and uncomfortable, but it’s spine-tinglingly thrilling too.

“As we stand at this precipice, let’s choose to stand tall and proud, and as we start to plant these first seeds, let’s choose to lead the way.”

You can read the full report here.