Local artists (in any discipline), performers, venue owners, space-holders, and anyone interested in creativity, placemaking, and community connection.

This is about bringing spaces to life, offering visibility to artists, and contributing to a wider cultural story for our district. It’s an opportunity to build new collaborations between artists, performers, venue owners, and creative thinkers — and to help shape something uniquely local.

If you're a local artist living in the Queenstown Lakes District and have work you'd like to share — we want to hear from you.

We’ve connected with a range of venues across the district that are excited to celebrate creativity and showcase local artists throughout November. Your work might be:

• Something already created and ready to show

• A new project you'd like to develop

• A live performance or an artwork made in real time

This is an opportunity to promote your work, share your practice, and be part of a district-wide celebration of creativity.

Each venue is different — from shopfronts to lobbies, libraries to restaurants — and varies in size, setup, and style. Once you submit a short proposal, we’ll aim to match your work with a venue that best suits your idea. We’ll then introduce you to the venue so you can discuss the details together.

This is primarily a visibility and profile-raising opportunity, a way to showcase your work and you as an artist. While most venues are offering space and promotion rather than payment, some may be in a position to contribute financially. We encourage transparency in your proposal:

• If you have costs (e.g. performance fees, materials), please let us know.

• We’ll do our best to match artists with venues that understand and value those needs.

There are also some funding opportunities that might support your involvement:

• Contact Jan Maxwell, Relationship Manager Arts and Events at QLDC: jan.maxwell@qldc.govt.nz

• Or apply to the Creative Communities Scheme (CCS), which closes at the end of August:
  👉 Apply here

Every participating venue will include a displayed artist profile alongside the work — featuring a short bio and a QR code linking directly to your website, portfolio, or chosen platform. This ensures people engaging with your work in person can easily connect with you and explore more of what you do.

The Creative Spaces Project will be promoted by both QLDC and Three Lakes Cultural Trust through a range of channels, including social media, newsletters, limited paid advertising anda through Te Wāhi Toi.

We’ll be showcasing the project as a whole while also highlighting individual artists, venues, and stories along the way. This includes:

• Artist spotlights and behind-the-scenes posts

• Creative previews and installation photos

• A digital map of all Creative Spaces across the district

We encourage both artists and venues to share their involvement through their own channels — more voices create a louder collective impact. We’ll provide social media templates and assets you can use, but feel free to get creative and share your own content too.

Have photos or something exciting to share along the way? Send it our way - we’d love to help spread the word.

Let’s get the district talking.
#creativespacesproject

Unfortunately, no. While we’d love to place every creative, a match isn’t guaranteed.

The Creative Spaces Project is designed to connect artists with venues in a way that suits both parties. Once we receive proposals, we’ll review them alongside the interests and capacity of each venue. We’ll then send selected proposals to venues that align with what they’re looking for — and they’ll make the final call.

For example, if a venue is interested in showcasing sculpture, we won’t send them proposals for live music.

If a match is made, we’ll introduce the artist and venue to work through the details together. If a match isn’t found this time, we’ll keep your proposal on file and let you know about future opportunities where it might be a better fit.

This is the first ever Creative Spaces Project — we're giving it a go in 2025 and seeing what works. Our hope is that it becomes something we can build on and grow in future years.

If you and your matched venue hit it off and want to continue working together beyond November — amazing! That’s entirely up to you and the venue, and we’d love to see those relationships continue.

We’ll be gathering feedback from both artists and venues at the end of the project to help us shape what comes next — your insights will be really valuable.

Sunday 17 August (midnight)
📝 Registrations close — all creative proposals must be submitted by this date.

Wednesday 20 August
📬 Proposals will be shared with participating venues for review.

Friday 29 August
✅ Venues confirm their selected artist. Artists and venues connect to finalise details.

Wednesday 10 September
✍️ Artists and venues confirm their partnership.

Saturday 1 November
🎉 The Creative Spaces Project comes to life!
Installations, performances and exhibitions take place across the district, supported by a marketing and promo push.

We’re keeping the process as simple as possible, while also trying to facilitate the perfect match.

To help us match you with the right venue, we need a bit of information from you. This will be collected through a short Q&A form (link below).

The form will ask you things like:

• Who you are and what you do

• A quick summary of your creative proposal

• Links to your work (e.g. website or Instagram)

• Any requirements?

📅 Deadline to submit: Sunday 17 August (midnight)

🔗 Link here to Proposal Form

If you’d prefer to submit your proposal in a different format (e.g. video, document) feel free to get in touch with us directly. We’re trying to keep the process simple - please contact Marie Schmidt - marie.schmidt@qldc.govt.nz

By participating in the Creative Spaces Project and agreeing to work with a venue, you agree to the following:

1. Deadlines & Dates
You’ll stick to all key dates and deadlines set by the Creative Spaces Project, as well as any timelines agreed on with your matched venue.

2. Communication & Follow-Up
You’ll keep in regular contact with your matched venue and make sure they have the information they need to support your creative proposal.

3. Payment & Costs
All financial arrangements, including any costs associated with your work (e.g. materials, performance fees), must be discussed and agreed upon directly between you and the venue before the project begins.

4. Insurance and risk
Artists and venues are responsible for discussing and agreeing on insurance and risk management. The Creative Spaces Project does not provide insurance for artworks, equipment, or activities.

4. Promotion
We encourage you to help spread the word! Share your involvement through your own channels (e.g. social media, newsletters, flyers, or event listings), and help support the wider Creative Spaces kaupapa.

5. Respect for Space
You agree to use the venue respectfully and leave the space in the same condition you found it, unless otherwise arranged.

6. Safety & Permissions
You’re responsible for ensuring your work is safe to display or perform in a public space and that all permissions (e.g. use of images, sound, copyright) have been secured if needed.