Art Grants

Art Grants are administered by Kiwiburn Art Committee (KAC). Kiwiburn currently has three categories of Art Grants.

Small Art Grants – for new projects under $500
Large Art Grants – for new projects that are expected to be over $500 (The biggest grant we have funded to date was $3680)
Large Art Logistics Grants – for funding towards the transportation costs of getting large artworks to the paddock

The amount awarded to granted artists will vary between each project and often acts more as a contribution to the costs, rather than paying for the entirety of the project. KAC also administers an Innovation Grant (details below).

If you’re keen to apply for an Art Grant, tino pai! Get up to speed by reading this page before you submit an application. Important information ensues… including (but not limited to)… art grant criteria, what KAC won’t fund, important dates, and the oh-so-important ticketing information.

Important Dates F0r Kiwiburn 2025

Innovation Grants, Small Art Grants and Large Art Grants

This year we are pulling the art grant round forward to allow more time for successful applicants to build!

Applications open Tuesday 14th May 2024
Applications close Tuesday 25th June 2024

Applicants will be notified of application outcomes by July 10th

Large Art Logistics Grant

Applications open Tuesday October 1st 2024
Applications close Tuesday 26th November 2024

Applicants will be notified of application outcomes by December 10th

For an example of an exemplary Art Grant application, click here

How to Apply

You can apply for Art Grants through the Kiwiburn Portal. Log in if you already have a Portal account, otherwise follow the steps to sign up. Once you’re in, head to the Art Grants section to find the application form to fill out.

When you receive an Art Grant, you’ll get an email and an electronic “kit” to store all your bits and bobs in! You will also be assigned an artist liaison who will be your go to person to chat through any issues, support you and will let you know all the things you need to do, such as:

You’ll be guaranteed at least one reserve ticket and can be awarded additional tickets for essential crew (all art reserve tickets are purchased at full price). Art reserve tickets are assigned to the lead and you designate the ticket holder and keep track in the portal
Register your art piece
Keep and record all payments/receipts (you are provided a template, and a folder to upload your receipts into). You can’t be refunded if this isn’t done!
Complete a health/safety form and think through the potential hazards
Take photos/prove ya made the thing!
Evaluate what went well for you, what KAC could do better to support you.

Typically grants are paid in arrears, on production of valid receipts. However, if you need upfront funding, get in touch and we’ll see what we can do. We’ll always hold back a little cash to make sure that the artwork was brought to life on the Paddock and that you MOOP swept your site effectively – we expect this of all our grantees.

Have a read of the Art Setup Guide to make sure you are primed and ready to set up your project once on the Paddock and please get in touch with the Kiwiburn Art Grant Committee if you have any questions.

Large Art LogisticsGrants

This new grant type is here to support artists with funding costs for transportation of the work to and from the paddock. If you have a huge work that’s gonna cost loads to bring to Hunterville, this is the grant for you! lt can contribute towards costs like:

Inter-island ferry tickets for the artwork
Hire of trailers/towing vehicles
Contribution towards petrol costs

But it will not fund:

Build costs
Artist transport costs

Innovation Grants

Kiwiburn offers Innovation Grants of up to $800 as administered by KAC. The Innovation Grants fund practical projects that improve Kiwiburn and the infrastructure or the processes that enable our community to exist. Innovation Grant projects don’t necessarily have to be participatory or artistic (although they can be), they can be ‘behind the scenes’ or purely functional.

What is it?

Based on the Innovation Grants from the awesome team at Nowhere (the big burn in Spain), the Kiwiburn Innovation Grants only help projects that improve Kiwiburn or reduce our impact on the surrounding environment. For example, projects that might speed up the construction and takedown of Kiwiburn, provide better lighting, save water or electricity, provide greener power, reduce vehicle use, or find a clever way of reusing rubbish. Innovation projects could be a single item, a series of items or even a service (such as a bike-loan scheme). Projects can be something you have developed from scratch, something you have assembled from parts or something you have purchased and want to bring to Kiwiburn. Any project must benefit the wider Kiwiburn community and cannot simply benefit a particular person or Theme Camp. It runs alongside, but separate to the existing Art Grants scheme. If in doubt, email us at ArtGrants@Kiwiburn.com and we’ll tell you if it’s suitable.

Art Grants, Innovation Grants, what’s the difference?

The Art Grants fund participatory art projects at Kiwiburn that bring people together and get them to interact and have fun together. The Innovation Grants fund practical projects that improve Kiwiburn and the infrastructure or processes that enable our community to exist.

For example! The Innovation Grant has previously funded better WiFi for set-up crews, the Two Moons Temple (a safe space for wāhine identifying folks) and The Royal Pootanical Gardens in 2023. It’s a good idea to think about whether your idea could benefit Kiwiburn for years to come.

How do I apply?

You can apply for an Innovation Grant through the Kiwiburn Portal, the same as you would an Art Grant. Log in if you already have a Portal Account, otherwise, follow the steps to sign up. Once you’re in, head to the Art Grants section to find the application form to fill out.

Criteria

The KAC team uses the following criteria to support decision making and grant allocations. This year we’ve added two new criteria!

Interactivity with people and the environment

Interactive Art is our particular obsession. It transforms participants into active contributors to the artist’s creative process. It transcends the static conception of an art object that is contemplated by a detached audience. Interaction may be achieved in a variety of ways. Sometimes, a single encounter is sufficient, sometimes you’ve gotta go back for more! Artwork may impart a gift or token. Likewise, works may be designed to receive something from the participant.

Works may be activated by participants or by forces of nature, or they may function as social environments. Interactive artworks may also be made mobile, bringing an experience to passers by. When art is placed within an interactive environment like Kiwiburn, participants will invent unexpected forms of interaction, and you should be prepared for this. However, with planning, we have found nearly any form of conventional art can be created with an interactive aspect.

Relevance to theme

Relevance is about pertinence and connectedness. Most Kiwiburn themes are quite open to interpretation and intended as a springboard for creativity, so how your art is relevant to the theme is up to you. What we’d like to see is your interpretation of how your art interacts with the theme based in your own paradigm. We ask you to provide an explanation of your art with your submission to help us see its relevance in the overall space of Kiwiburn.

Wow factor

Wow factor is the degree to which the first impression of something makes a person say “Wow!” You know when you randomly come across something someone’s made, and you stand there with your jaw on the floor, trying to find words to articulate what you’re feeling? Or even how it was created? That’s what we’re looking for here. Whether it’s an amazing application of a simple idea, an abstract concept made simple, a new take on an old theme, or just something really really cool/funky/shiny, if it makes us go “Wow” we want it at Kiwiburn.

Ingenuity

Ingenuity is what happens in the space between a problem and a solution. Ingenuity isn’t a linear process but involves various dimensions of human cognition, intention, learning and the creation of novelty. These processes interact with each other as we try out ideas, fail, learn, modify, and try again. New ways of organising ourselves, new ways of communicating, new ways of making things work. How can we use the natural environment? Or minimise waste in interesting and new ways? Kiwis are famous for this, Burners are famous for this – show us your ingenuity!

Cost effectiveness

What we’re looking for here is ‘Bang for the Buck’. We might be artists, but we’re also practical. Does the amount you’ve asked for realistically coincide with what will be produced? Is there evidence of use of recycled and naturally-sourced materials? Have you borrowed your mate’s tools instead of buying new ones? While we understand that any creation will cost money to make, we’d like you to show us how your art will be produced in the non-consumerist spirit of Kiwiburn by avoiding unnecessary expense, and how the cost will be used to create an experience for the participants interacting with your piece.

Ability to produce what is proposed

This takes into consideration an artist’s track record with building or making stuff on the paddock at other festivals and in the default world (if they have – we welcome first timers)! We will also consider other transferable skills and the strength of the application to assure us that you are capable of bringing your ideas to life. We often consult as a team and with external experienced artists about ambitious plans – can it be pulled off?

Environmentally Aware

While new materials are sometimes needed, the Leave No Trace principle requires us to consider our impact on the environment and our planet, beyond just MOOP. We want you to think about the life cycle and supply chain of all of the components of your piece. What are the materials made from? Who makes them, where have they come from? What will happen to your piece once it leaves the Paddock? Not all projects need to be 100% upcycled and made from reusable materials (although we’re not against it!), but we want evidence that you have thought about and included a sustainable approach. It ties in with Cost Effectiveness too!

Accessibility

Radical Inclusion requires art to be accessible by all. We want to know how your art brings radical inclusion to life. We will be looking for ways that our community can engage with your art, whether it is big or small. Does it awaken the senses? Does it create a physically and culturally safe place? Does it encourage a diverse range of engagement?

What we won’t fund:

Artist fees/artist labour
Kiwiburn tickets
Funding for goods purchased from the artists company. If you are getting goods at cost through your own company, you will need to supply the company purchase receipts from the original supplier to claim the goods.
Theme Camps. We do not fund Theme Camps as these are spaces that are not always accessible to all Kiwiburners and can be perceived as decor. A Theme Camp is defined as: a group of people camping together, sharing facilities ie: kitchen, lounge, hangout space. Theme Camps typically offer gifts/services to the community. Theme Camps are awesome – but we ain’t giving you money! We have recently changed our rules around funding art that is placed nearer to Theme Camps (e.g. if you need to share a generator, or keep an eye on your art) – but we need to make sure this is a specific and separate project – please get in touch if you have questions around this (see also: notes below regarding placement).
Stages
Equipment or resources that after the event become “cool things you own”. This one’s a bit hard to explain and is at KAC’s discretion. An example could be a Gazebo to house your project in, or a solar panel for the top of your van that you needed/wanted to buy anyway.
Folks that might have a bad track record. You applied for a grant in the past and didn’t deliver? Sorry, fool us once! However, we do take into consideration personal circumstances if you are unable to complete your art piece. Just talk to us!
Certain elements of transportation (e.g. petrol to get to the event). We may fund transport specific to the art project, for example: trailers or international baggage.
Artwork that will create MOOP (or is MOOP).
Pyro and fuel for Effigy pre-show entertainment.
When performances or workshops are funded, we may require the artist(s) to offer a certain number of these events in order to fund.

Leave no Trace/MOOP Policy

In line with the principles of Kiwiburn, all artists are expected to Leave No Trace after the festival.
The KAC reserves the right to partially withhold grant money if an applicant fails to leave no trace – this amount is at the discretion of KAC.
If a grantee does leave MOOP, the KAC will take this into account when the artist is applying for another grant and they may be denied a grant on these grounds, or less funds allocated.

A few other things of note:

Returning Art – new art that has not been to the Paddock before (or funded previously) will have priority over returning art, or art that we have funded before. This is to support new artists and encourage a diverse range of art unseen by the community. We encourage returning art (as it has a fanbase and we love ‘the classics’) to seek funding from the community and would be happy to help promote this through the official Kiwiburn channels. KAC reserves the right to stop funding these art projects if we feel we have invested enough resources in these pieces over the years.
Placement – We understand placing art near your Theme Camp can be helpful, so this year we’ll work with you to support this where needed (e.g. sustainability of power supply). Your art must be accessible e.g. on the road front, so participants don’t have to enter your camp to engage with it. If this would be helpful for your art, please let us know your requirements in your application.
We love seeing Kiwiburn art have life at other locations and other events – but if we’re paying for it, we want to see it first! This means that if we are funding your art, the first viewing must be at Kiwiburn. Afterwards – we encourage you to share it at other events/locations with our best wishes.
Tickets – all granted artists are guaranteed a reserve ticket, if needed (which you still have to purchase). For larger projects, we may be able to secure more than one ticket, so let us know about your crew needs. Kiwiburn has become very popular now and tickets are harder to come by so any reserves tickets are for crucial members of the team only.
Due to our resource consent – Early Entry (pre-event) onto site is limited to only those that have to be there! If you require Early Entry to be able to complete your project, then please make sure you mention this in the part of the form that asks about the timeline of your project and provide the reasons why. Early access is not guaranteed, your request will be considered alongside all other requests and prioritised. And don’t forget – Wednesday is setup day!.
We particularly encourage Māori and Pasifika people to apply for these grants. We also have no lower age-limit on accepted grantees (we might just need ya parents to help you out with the money stuff)!
It is expected that the artwork produced by the grantees maintains the spirit of the proposal submitted to the KAC. We understand that often ideas change and evolve, just flick us an email with your new thinking. If it is deemed by KAC to differ too greatly from the proposal without prior communication, KAC may withhold the grant money.
Communication – If for whatever reason you cannot complete your art piece in time for Kiwiburn, please tell us as soon as you can! We understand life happens, but we would love to work at reallocating these funds. Communication is key! If you let us know your needs or changes in good time, you’ll be in good stead for future grant applications.

We wanna see what you can do! Go on, apply!