The new Suffrage 125 Arts Fund, part of the Suffrage 125 commemorations, is led by the Ministry for Women in partnership with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The Fund supports high quality arts projects that recognise the contribution to women’s rights, by women from diverse cultural backgrounds.
The Office of Ethnic Communities values diverse cultures and ethnicities within communities, wider society and the nation. We encourage women artists from our mandated ethnic communities to explore whether the Suffrage 125 Fund could help their practice or organisation.
A total of $100,000 per annum will be available for projects in 2019 and 2020 with a maximum grant of $20,000 per project in each round.
Applications opened on 28 November 2018, marking the 125th anniversary of the first national election in which New Zealand women voted – the election of 28 November 1893.
New Zealand is the first country in the world where women achieved suffrage. When the new Electoral Act giving New Zealand women the vote was signed into law, women had only six weeks to register to vote in the upcoming election. Despite the tight timeframe, almost 110,000 women enrolled, about 84% of those eligible, and more than 90,000 voted on polling day.
Information about the Suffrage 125 Fund and how to apply is on the Creative New Zealand website.