Funding for artists and practitioners at the early stage of their career, to develop new work, new skills and to share their mahi with their communities.

On This Page

- Overview
- Funding rounds
- Who can apply
- What can be funded
- How to apply
- If you need more information or support to apply

Overview Funding for artists and practitioners at the early stage of their career, to develop new work, new skills and to share their mahi with their communities.

Funding rounds

Early Career Fund 2026 - Round 2 Opens: 31 August 2026

Closes: 1.00 PM (NZ time) on Thursday, 1 October 2026

For activities taking place between: 9 December 2026 - 31 December 2027

Results due: 9 December 2026

Early Career Fund 2026 - Round 1 Opened: 27 January 2026

Closed: 1.00 PM (NZ time) on Thursday, 5 March 2026

For activities taking place between: 17 June 2026 - 17 September 2027

Results due: 17 June 2026

Who can apply

Artists And Practitioners Of Any Age Who Are

- at the early stage of their career, and are
- New Zealand citizens or Permanent Residents

You do not need a track record to apply. You Can Apply As

- an individual, or
- a group of collaborators

If you’ve previously received an Early Career Fund grant, consider whether the Creative Fellowship Fund or Creative Impact Fund might now be a better fit for supporting the next stage of your artistic development. Read more about the Creative Fellowship Fund

Read more about the Creative Impact Fund

As part of our funding priorities, we seek to support a diverse group of early career artists, including applicants who are new to the process or who have not previously received funding from Creative New Zealand.

Who cannot apply

Arts organisations, groups, and established artists cannot apply to this fund, which includes applying on behalf of an early career artist or applying to deliver activities such as mentoring to early career artists.

What can be funded

You can request up to $10,000 to:

- create, present,



or distribute your work
- gain knowledge and recent skills
- pay a mentor

Include a mentor We encourage people applying to the Ngā toi Māori funding pool to include a mentor in their project.

Read more about our funding pools.

Payment for accessibility costs

People who identify as Deaf or disabled, or experience disability or an impairment, can claim an additional payment on top of their grant. The payment is to help cover accessibility costs during the period of the grant.

Read more about claiming an accessibility payment.

How to apply

Start your application in the CNZ Portal The application form is available when the funding round is open.

You can submit one application per funding round.

Submissions close at 1.00 PM on the closing date (New Zealand standard time).

Register or sign in to the CNZ Portal.

Get help using the CNZ Portal.

This fund is for individual artists and practitioners.

Applying as a group of collaborators

If You're a Group Of Artists Or Practitioners Working Together On a Specific Arts Activity Or Project, You Can Apply Jointly To This Fund. Here's How It Works

- One person starts the application in the CNZ portal as an individual.
- They then invite the other group members to join the application in the CNZ portal.
- Everyone must sign the application to agree to the terms and conditions of funding and will share responsibility for delivering the funded activities.

Applying as a sole trader or a company
- If you operate as a sole trader or have a company for your arts practice,



you still need to apply to this fund as an individual.
- If your application is funded, you can ask for the grant to be paid into your company's bank account.

Prepare answers to the application questions
- What do you want to learn, create, or develop in your artistic practice through this funding?
- Why is this the right moment in your artistic development to undertake these activities?
- How will these activities contribute to the growth of your artistic practice?
- What future opportunities or pathways do you anticipate this work will open for you?

Prepare support material Attach an artistic CV, samples of your work, or other material to support your application.

If you have a mentor, we recommend you include a letter of support from them.

Read more about support material, and which file formats can be attached to your application.

No budget needed for the application

You do not need to provide a budget with your application. If your application is successful, we will ask you to provide a budget when we offer you the grant.

Read more about creating a budget.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

You can use Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to help you draft, research, and refine your application, or to make funding processes more accessible.

We have developed guidance to consider if you do use AI in funding applications or creative mahi. These include thinking about possible impacts on intellectual property rights and data privacy, and cultural considerations, particularly in relation to Ngā Toi Māori and Pacific arts.

Read the guidance for using AI in funding applications and creative mahi

If you need more information or support to apply

Get in touch if you have questions or need support to complete your application.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 0800 CREATIVE (273 284) or +64 4 473 0880

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