Auckland Festival comes of age with increased profits and audiences

Auckland Arts Festival’s fifth festival held in March this year has reported a $40,000 operating surplus and increased audience numbers

It is the sort of news that Aucklanders need to hear and that may help drive performances in more venues across the city as well as making the festival an annual event.

Auckland Arts Festival Trust chair Victoria Carter says the festival took place in an extremely challenging environment, butcareful management ensured costs were controlled. The surplus will now go toward the small operating deficit from previous festivals.

Ms Carter said increased sponsorship played a significant part in the positive outcome for the 2011 festival with sponsorship income more than double that of 2009.

“Sponsorship is absolutely crucial to presenting an event of this size. Major sponsors and funders for 2011 included our core funder Auckland Council with gold sponsors New Zealand Post Group, TV3 and Colenso BBDO, and key funding partners Creative New Zealand, ASB Community Trust, Te Puni Kōkiri, The Lion Foundation, Pub Charity, The EDGE and Heart of the City.”

Additional media support from TV3 and Colenso BBDO also enabled television advertising to be used for the first time, providing an opportunity to reach more members of the public. “We also had significant support from the NZ Herald and we believe that this increased exposure led to an increase in audience numbers, up 30 per cent on 2009 figures.

Key factors contributing to audience growth were the success of headline shows including NBR New Zealand Opera’s Xerxes, U Theatre’s Sound of the Ocean, Smoke and Mirrors, Martha Wainwright, Douglas Wright’s rapt, The Manganiyar Seduction, the development of the Festival’s popular education programme, and new initiatives White Night and the Festival Garden in Aotea Square.

The introduction of the first White Night event in the Asia Pacific region involved art galleries and museums across the Auckland region opening late for one night with free transport provided between each venue.

Te Tuhi Director James McCarthy said: “We were overwhelmed by the response to White Night with approximately 4000 people coming through our doors over the course of the event. It was fantastic to activate the gallery space at night and I was thrilled to see so many people engage with the art in a relaxed and fun atmosphere.”

Auckland Arts Festival chief executive David Inns said the Festival Garden in Aotea Square created a great festival hub with the Speigeltent, Vietnamese Water Puppets and the TV3 Stage creating a central focus.

auckland.scoop.co.nz » Leading water expert in Auckland

As the population rises and urban development continues, a secure supply of high quality drinking water and the effects of polluted stormwater are ever more in the spotlight in Auckland.

Hans Schreier discusses innovative global approaches to reducing water use, improving source water protection, and minimising pollution in our expanding urban environment.

Professor Schreier is from the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. This event is sponsored by GHD, a recent recipient of the IPENZ Arthur Mead Award for Environment and Sustainability. The event is a part of Auckland Council’s Auckland Conversations series of free lectures.

GHD’s recent award was in recognition of its innovative road contaminant management programme with Auckland Transport. As event sponsor, professional services company GHD is underlining its commitment to helping Auckland Council meet its objectives with respect to cleaner water in Auckland’s receiving environment.

When: Wednesday 22 June, 5pm-7pm.

Where: Upper NZI Conference Room, Aotea Centre, Auckland

Free entry. Please RSVP to aucklandconversations@aucklandcouncil.govt.

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