Survival and now growth - that's how the Government is selling its $374 million, Covid-recovery investment in the arts.
Overseeing this unprecedented spending in a sector that's often been neglected in the past is the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Carmel Sepuloni.
She took over the portfolio from the Prime Minister after last year's election, having served as Associate Minister for the previous three years.
She's entrusted Creative New Zealand and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage to hand out the money, so is she confident that the government is getting enough bang for its big bucks? And once we're through the Recovery phase, and that specifically-targeted funding has been spent, what's next?
Many artists have fond memories of the so-called "artists' benefit" PACE - the Pathways to Arts and Cultural Employment programme - that ran from 2001 to 2012.
This government is spending $7.5 million on a Careers Support for Creative Jobseekers' programme, working with tertiary institutions to upskill arts workers in areas like finances and marketing.
Lynn Freeman sat down with the Minister to find out the priorities set when deciding how much money to invest in the art and entertainment sectors. .
