The Stable Spaces research found that owning infrastructure has significant benefits

Visit the project website: stablespaces.nz

The Stable Spaces report is the first significant national survey on the state of independent arts housing in Aotearoa.

Completed by independent researcher Dr Melissa Laing, the report Stables spaces looks at the state of independent physical arts infrastructure in Aotearoa.

The report examines what makes successful asset ownership in the arts and provides practical strategies for strengthening asset ownership in the sector. It also outlines strategic interventions that we – the government, creative and philanthropic sectors – can put in place to grow building ownership in the arts in Aotearoa.

The report Stable spaces is released alongside its companion reports – The Stable Spaces survey and Nine approaches to buildings – sharing the findings of the Stable Spaces survey and presenting nine extended case studies on the experiences of building owning arts organisations in Aotearoa.

Main findings

The arts needs physical infrastructure to thrive

Cultural and social infrastructure is enabled by built infrastructure. From home offices, rehearsal studios, recording booths and workshops to theatres, galleries, bars and libraries, the vast majority of creative work is made and shared inside the shelter of a building.

We need buildings – both custom-built and adaptively repurposed – for the cultural sector of Aotearoa to thrive.

The arts are are space-stressed and unstable

Artists and arts organisations across artforms struggle to find affordable and appropriate spaces to operate in. In many cases the cost of accommodation is prohibitive or tenure is insecure. Almost half of the survey respondents (47%) report moving once or more in the last five years. One-third of respondents (32%) are spending over 30% of their income on
accommodation, and one fifth (22%) are moving between temporary and domestic spaces.

This instability impacts on their ability to create and present work, undertake long-term planning and development, and build sustainable communities.

In Aotearoa, only a small number of arts organisations and individuals (13%) own their own buildings in which they can make or present their artforms. In the Stable Spaces survey, two-thirds of respondents leased their premises either within the commercial market or from local government, and a fifth made alternative arrangements, ranging from remote working to moving in and out of temporary spaces or popping up in public spaces.

A solution to this instability is to support arts organisations to own their own spaces.

The Stable Spaces research found that owning infrastructure has significant benefits

Stable Spaces identified six major benefits to owning, or having an ownership-like control over a building. These included: increased autonomy; the ability to design or modify a building so it fits its purpose; increased stability and organisational longevity; a perception of professionalism; better financial control; and a flow-on ability to support the wider arts community and economy.

While a shift to ownership may seem like a daunting prospect for many arts organisations, there are local and international examples that we can learn from, to drive policy and action that increases ownership. Even incremental increases in ownership or ownership-like arrangements will boost organisational stability and have ripple effects into the wider arts community.

Stables Spaces proposes two key pathways to grow asset ownership in the arts

1. Create and fund an independent body to provide property development and management service to the arts and community.

This will provide much-needed expertise and support to arts organisations along the pathway to building ownership.

Modelled on organisations like CAST (Community Arts Stabilization Trust) in San Francisco and Creative Land Trust in London, the mandate of this independent body would be to grow stability in the arts via building ownership.

2. Develop and advocate for nationally-consistent policy and guidance

Current approaches around asset transfer, ground lease settings, the growth of maintenance funds and reserves, and infrastructure operations funding are inconsistent. This causes uncertainty about what is possible, and uneven access to opportunities across the regions. Nationally consistent policy and guidance would give greater confidence to organisations pursuing building ownership, and enable advice to be shared across the sector.

Who needs to be involved in creating solutions

Developing these pathways will require not only significant advocacy from the arts, but also the participation of the government departments and ministries that have responsibility for community development, arts, housing and urban development. It will need input from Local Government New Zealand and the Companies Office, as well as community law bodies, developers and the philanthropic sector.

The Stable Spaces research was funded by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage through Te Urungi innovation fund.