The Big Idea | Valuing creativity, accelerating success

Big Idea is the online hub for creatives seeking collaborators, opportunities and inspiration for enriching careers in the arts.

Word on the Street
FAF SWAG, Migrant Zine Collective, Books and Coffee
Here are some of Dominic Hoey’s picks, including body positive workshops, zine exhibitions and art performances.
The Lowdown
Where are the queer art exhibitions?
A startling statistic around LGBTQ+ representation in public galleries in this week’s Lowdown with Mark Amery, along with art news from the spotlight and the wilderness (literally).
Art off the Beaten Track
Take Me to the River
Annie Pokel takes us to a brave little enterprise well off the beaten track.
Feature
Five wāhine you should be following on Instagram
Jess Thompson Carr meets the modern Māori artists using Instagram to share their mahi with the world.
Arts Smarts
How to create your ideal artistic life
Mary de Ruyter talks to two artists and asks them how they made it to the point of an enviable creative life.
Word on the Street
And we’re away
After a much-needed break, Dominic Hoey is back giving us his best picks of what’s coming up in Aotearoa.
The Lowdown
Concern over creatives’ earnings and the ‘gig economy’
Mark Amery’s Lowdown is back for 2020, and chock-full with all the major arts stories from over the break, including fresh concerns about the dire state of creative sector incomes.
Advice to My 22-Year-Old Self
Regrets? He’s had a few
Sir Roger Hall is arguably New Zealand’s most successful playwright, yet there are still things he’d like to have done differently. Here, he shares the things he wish someone had told him at 22.
Feature
How to be an activist everyday
There’s more to being an activist than attending protests and marches.
Arts Smarts
Meet three creatives turning ideas into reality
Got a brilliant idea for a creative product or service, but need help taking it to the next level? Massey’s Master of Creative Enterprise could be for you.
Arts Smarts
How to stop worrying about not having one career path
There can be internal or external pressure to "pick one thing" in our careers, but several arts professionals share how they embraced multiple passions, paths and creative pursuits.
Arts Smarts
Scratch that itch: Turn your creativity into a career
Passionate about a creative pursuit, but too scared to turn it into a full-time career? Here’s some expert advice to help you make the leap.
Feature
Split Enz’s Mike Chunn looks back at a career in the music industry
The co-founder and former bass player for Split Enz talks about his new memoir, 'A Sharp Left Turn'.
Feature
Challenge it all in your artistic practice
Artist Vanessa Crofskey talks to Dominic Hoey about her co-dependent relationship with the internet, cancel culture and the freelance challenge.
Arts Smarts
Knowing when it's time to go
Its the time of the year that we review what's working. Arts industry figures share their stories about knowing when it's time to seek the next challenge, and how to handle the process of moving on.
Mentoring / Arts Smarts
Arts Smarts: Why you need a career strategy
Yes, even creatives need a career strategy! We talk to Tim Walker, master strategist, arts leader and mentor on The Big Idea mentoring program.
Arts Smarts
Landing a job in the arts
There are lots of industry job opportunities beyond actually producing art. Sam Grover caught up with Elizabeth Swinburn to find out her experience of how these careers can work.
Feature
The arts are vital to wellbeing, but where’s the Govt support?
Professor Peter O’Connor says the Government is ignoring the overwhelming evidence regarding the arts’ role in education and mental health.
Arts Smarts
Tips from Jon Toogood on going back to study
Thinking about returning to university after a long gap, or for the first time as an adult student? Shihad’s Jon Toogood has been there, done that, and has some advice.
Arts Smarts
Breaking out of that creative rut
If you work in the arts, at some point you’re bound to experience the dreaded rut. Kathryn Burnett has some top tips for moving forward the next time your creative juices stop flowing.
Feature
Want to build a sustainable career in the creative sector?
Applications are now open for Massey’s Master of Creative Enterprise 2020 programme. Here’s how it can help you to turn your creativity into a career, and some inside tips for your application.

Jobs

opportunity

Whanganui District Council

Strategic Lead - Creative Industries & Arts

As Whanganui becomes a cultural and commercial hub for New Zealand's creative industries this has created an opportunity for an innovative and creative Strategic Lead to make their mark.

Region:

Manawatu / Wanganui

Closes:

14 Feb 2020

opportunity

World Symposium on Choral Music

Artist Co-ordinator

Unique opportunity to be part of the team delivering the World Symposium on Choral Music 2020 - an 8-day festival of concerts, workshops and masterclasses.

Region:

Auckland

Closes:

31 Jan 2020