Grants and residencies totalling $700,000 for Asian artists in Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Tai Tokerau — final year of the fund in its current form.
The Asian Artists' Fund is a suite of grants and residencies created to support Asian artists living and working in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) and Te Tai Tokerau (Northland). Administered by Satellites and backed by Foundation North, Creative New Zealand, and Auckland Council, the fund was established in 2022 to directly address the systemic underrepresentation of Asian practitioners in Aotearoa's arts funding landscape.
This is the final year the fund will be offered in its current form, and $700,000 is available to distribute across a range of funding streams.
Funding Streams:
- Creative Fellowship — Up to four fellowships of $60,000 each, for mid-career and established practitioners to develop new ideas and take creative risks. Failure is welcomed.
- Creative Projects — Up to 11 grants of up to $35,000 each, supporting the development and/or presentation of a creative project.
- Professional Development — Up to four grants of up to $5,000 each, for mentorship, workshops, documentation, archiving, or other career development activities.
- AAF Visual Arts Residency — $10,000 stipend plus 12 weeks of shared studio space at Te Tuhi.
- AAF Music and Sound Art Residency — $10,000 stipend plus four weeks of studio space at Te Oro or an alternative Auckland Council venue.
- AAF Dance and Movement Residency — $10,000 stipend plus four weeks of studio space at Te Oro or an alternative Auckland Council venue.
- AAF Writers Residency — $10,000 stipend plus six months' access to the co-working space at Samoa House Library, open to writers of poetry, fiction, non-fiction, comedy, or theatre.
- AAF Performance Art Residency — $10,000 stipend plus four weeks of studio space at Silo Theatre, alongside curatorial conversations with the Artspace Aotearoa team.
Please note: only one application per person or group is permitted across all fund streams.
Key Dates:
- Opens: 18 August 2026
- Online Information Session: 20 August 2026, 5–6pm
- In-person Information Session: 26 August 2026, 6–7pm
- Closes: 17 September 2026
- Results: 20 November 2026
