Town vs town
Auckland and Wellington square off over the arts
There it is again: ‘‘Wellington is known as the cultural capital of New Zealand,’’ – the claim from the city council in its latest draft long-term plan. Being thought of as artistically creative – or at least supportive of that creativity – is a key component of the way many Wellingtonians perceive themselves.
North, in the country’s largest city, the label that seems to have stuck is City of Sails – and you don’t have to be in Auckland long to see why.
Both cities are built on stunning harbours, one warmer and larger and more gentle: the other far more geologically dramatic, with great, sharp-edged ranges enclosing a space that feels almost like a lake.
The problem for Wellington is it can’t hope to compete with Auckland on sheer numbers. It has to create the perception that pound-for-pound it’s a better fighter – or person-for-person it’s more creative.
According to economic analysts Infometrics, the proportion of the capital’s workforce – or at least that in the Wellington city area – involved in creative and artistic occupations and industries is higher. In Wellington City it’s 6.4 per cent, Queenstown comes second with 4.9 per cent and Auckland third with 4.8 per cent. Other parts of the Wellington region don’t do too badly – Kapiti Coast 4.4 per cent, and Porirua 4.1 per cent. Even Lower Hutt at 3.6 per cent is equal with Christchurch.
Infometrics managing director Andrew
Whiteford believes Wellington is the nation’s most productive city.
But looking at the numbers, rather than percentages, it may be possible to draw another conclusion. The numbers show 10,377 people in arts and creative employment in Wellington City, 1724 in Lower Hutt and 679 in Porirua. In Auckland, the number is 39,939.
Wellington knows that it has a stoush on its hands defending its reputation. To maintain its position as a ‘‘city of unique cultural moments’’, the council is proposing to embark on a Decade of Culture, with a ‘‘coordinated programme of events, activations, theatre and public art, as well as planned infrastructure investment’’.
A year ago Wellington City boosted its funding for arts and culture by $500,000 as part of its ‘‘Capital of Culture initiative’’. That was partly driven by a report which found venues were too expensive for many performers.
Survey respondents also believed that while Wellington’s performing arts scene had suffered in recent years, Auckland’s had thrived.
And there was this comment from someone interviewed for the report: ‘‘As a Wellingtonian who works professionally in the performing arts I have been forced to relocate to Auckland in order to sustain myself financially in my career. I am very loyal to Wellington but in the face of a downturn in the ‘creative capital’ I, as well as my whole peer group, relocated up here to where there is more consistent work.’’