Space is at a premium in Tāmaki Makaurau. Whether you’re a theatremaker who needs space to perform, and even rehearse, a visual artist who needs studio space to create in, or simply a writer who needs a space away from home to have a clear head – there’s simply not enough of it, and what is available can be financially or logistically prohibitive to access.

A new space in downtown Auckland is an example of a creative way that artists are finding spaces that work for them. The Anzac Ave Studios, launched by Artspace Aotearoa in early July is one such space.

“While some artists are very adept at making work outside of a studio environment more often than not it is a requirement for practice,” says Bridget Riggir-Cuddy, Kaiwhakahaere Tuarua deputy director. “The problem is that recently, with rent prices, especially in Auckland, the necessity of a studio has become a bit of a dream.” 

“Studios allow artists to test and experiment, make a mess, but importantly they also allow artists to dedicate space to carry out professional activities like studio visits with gallerists or curators.”

Shared studios are an extra kind of wonderful, as they become hubs where artists support each other's growth and where visiting professionals may experience the work of many at once.

The studios themselves have a very New York loft feel to them, and you can imagine there are more than a few ghosts – artistic and otherwise – hanging about within the walls. Like all of the best artist spaces, be they studios, rehearsal spaces, or libraries, it feels completely owned by the artists inside it. Less occupied, and more owned.

This genesis of occupying this particular space came from artworkers Sally McMath (manager of the May Art Fair in Tāmaki) and Riggir-Cuddy, who both knew that there was a need for more studio space. Their initial endeavour was a small studio complex on Karangahape Road, but they encountered the new Anzac Ave space after the Coastal Signs gallery presented Emma McIntyre’s Objects exhibition on the floor of an empty downtown building at the end of last year. McMath then took over the space to establish what is now known as the Anzac Ave Studios.

As you might expect, finding more creatives to join the space as residents wasn’t difficult, and the studio is now home to 13 practitioners, including Artspace Aotearoa Kaitohu Director Ruth Buchanan, Steph Arrowsmith and Ensemble favourite Samuel Te Kani.

“The Artspace Aotearoa New Benefactors programme aims to show people the significant impact on the arts they can have at entry level amounts while experiencing the reward of watching an artists’ practice develop,” says Riggir-Cuddy. “Supporters get to see behind the scenes, experience the intimacy of studio visits, and artists’ work before it debuts.”

Philanthropy and art are inextricable from one another. Put bluntly: Most art is not commercial, and none of the best art is made with commercial gain in mind. It is made with the intention to express, to discomfort, to reveal, and to do any number of things that have nothing to do with economic success.

However, art takes money to make and that’s where philanthropy comes in.

“Supporters are vital to the production of artworks, the careers of artists, and the running of galleries,” she explains. “Historically and internationally, arts patrons have reached pretty renowned status, donating collections, wings, even buildings, establishing art prizes, or even catapulting generations of artists.

“Currently here in Aotearoa, there is an established generation of arts benefactors who have shaped the sector for many years, their names are on every significant public gallery’s wall and in the acknowledgements of our most renowned artists. Art history is made up not just by artists and their work but also by a group of committed individuals who supported this to happen.” 

It has to be pointed out, darkly, that there’s an underside to this kind of philanthropy. A quick google of the names “Sackler” and “Wallace” gives one at the very least the slightest of pauses. Darkness aside, and looking forward, however.

“We want to make sure that a new generation of arts benefactors is ready to pick up the mantle and ensure Aotearoa has a healthy arts future for everyone to enjoy,” says Riggir-Cuddy.

What makes this programme different is that it invites benefactors to make comparatively small contributions – anywhere between $200 to $5000 annually – to give targeted donations to support very specific goals. There are three circles; The Producers Circle (supporting the commissioning and presentation of artwork), The Outreach Circle (amplifying the work that Artspace Aotearoa does), and The International Circle (supporting relationships between the arts scene in Aotearoa and internationally).

Support – benefaction if you’re fancy – doesn’t just come in the form of putting cash in hand. It’s not necessarily funding like an artist would receive from Creative New Zealand or various council funds in the traditional sense, which comes with many explicit strings attached. It can look like providing accommodation or studio space, or simply keeping up with artists and their practices. 

While the practice historically has been more common in the visual arts and classical music, there is absolutely room for it to develop into other sides of the performing arts. The Ockham Collective, which provides free space for a group of artists each year to embark on whatever projects they desire, is an example of some of this kind of support.

The dream for arts in Aotearoa is a slightly obvious one; artists are supported to make art to the height of their talent. In a way Anzac Ave Studios represents a part of the dream. “Imagine if some of the many empty city retail spaces were occupied by artists and creatives,” says Riggir-Cuddy. “It would be a much more vibrant and interesting city to inhabit. The dream is to see these studios replicated and adapted to the needs of creatives and spaces made available to them.

“Enabling access to space is one version of what support for the arts can look like.”