Dunedin had "remarkable" arts facilities, Creative New Zealand chief executive Stephen Wainwright said yesterday.
Mr Wainwright and Creative New Zealand arts infrastructure services manager Jane Clarke visited Dunedin yesterday to address fears over the body's new funding regime.
The pair visited the Fortune Theatre, the Southern Sinfonia and the Dunedin City Council.
CNZ announced this month it would replace its present recurrently-funded model, under which arts organisations are allotted funding over a period of years.
This is operated through a two-tiered investment system whereby an arts leadership investment programme works with an arts development investment programme.
CNZ funds the Fortune Theatre ($480,000 per annum), the Southern Sinfonia ($315,000 pa) and the Blue Oyster Art Project Space ($85,000 to $89,000 pa).
In an interview with the Otago Daily Times yesterday, Mr Wainwright said facilities in Dunedin were remarkable for a city of its size. "They [Fortune and sinfonia] do a lot well, in a very challenging environment."
"Resources may or may not change. We try not to do that in a way that will do harm to the arts community."
CNZ has foreshadowed financial support for "at least" three professional theatre companies, in Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington, and for two high-standard orchestras, in the North Island and South Island, as well as the Wellington-based New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.
"Both the Fortune and sinfonia have expressed an interest in applying for the leadership programme," Mr Wainwright said.
He conceded that the changes had been unsettling for both organisations.
"Any uncertainty is unsettling. No-one wants to hear that they might have a different future. I'd take an intake of breath, too. That's to be expected.
"But, it is difficult to allay fears when you can't say for certain what will happen.
"It's only sensible to look again after 20 or 30 years and make sure what you're doing is relevant. Communities in New Zealand have very different flavours. There are some places where turbocharged changes are happening. For example, one baby in two born in Auckland is a Pacific Islander now. We wouldn't be being responsible if we weren't planning for those sorts of changes."
CNZ's charter to provide excellence and accessibility remained "an aspirational goal", Mr Wainwright said.
"We're certainly very conscious that there are a lot of areas ... where people say: `We want to have our own stuff'.
"But, the local authorities also have an obligation for the cultural wellbeing of a community. People want to live in a colourful arts and culture community. We hope these thoughts will crystalise at the council table".
The changes were designed to promote collaboration and the sharing of ideas and resources, Mrs Clarke said.
"We're looking across the whole country. We want people to continue to have reasonable access to arts and culture."
Organisations have until September 12 to apply for the new funding regime.
CNZ's existing funding arrangements end in December 2011. It will then work through a transitional period before the changes take effect from January 2012.
