Arts Access Aotearoa
Whakahauhau Katoa o Hanga | |
| Formation | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Founded at | Wellington |
| Type | Charitable trust |
| Registration no. | CC33533 |
| Purpose | Arts Access Aotearoa advocates for all people in New Zealand to have access to the arts by supporting people who experience barriers to participation or whose access is limited. |
| Headquarters | Toi Poneke, Wellington Arts Centre |
| Location |
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| Coordinates | 41°17′46″S 174°46′24″E / 41.296099°S 174.773284°E |
Region | Wellington |
| Fields | Arts |
Official language | English |
Executive Director | Richard Benge |
| Affiliations | Creative New Zealand, Department of Corrections, Foundation North, Wellington City Council |
| Website | artsaccess |
Arts Access Aotearoa was established as a charitable trust in 1995 with funding from Creative New Zealand. It was created primarily to meet a key objective of the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Act 1994: that is, to support "the availability of projects of merit to communities or sections of the population that would otherwise not have access to them". Arts Access Aotearoa’s main areas of focus are supporting disabled people to create and participate in art of all kinds; encouraging performing arts companies, venues, producers and artists to increase their accessibility; and facilitating arts-based rehabilitative projects and programmes in prisons. It receives core funding from Creative New Zealand and has a major contract with the Department of Corrections. It also has support and sponsorship from local government, philanthropic trusts and businesses around New Zealand.