Arts, culture, and heritage are essential for a healthy, connected society. They play a critical role in placemaking, helping to shape environments that people want to live, work and invest in. They contribute to economic development, but their deeper value lies in how they foster learning, empathy, understanding, and cultural diversity. They help communities express who they are, where they come from and what they aspire to be.

Mid Canterbury is home to many organisations, dedicated volunteers and a bustling creative community, that work across a wide range of arts, culture and heritage activities and we recognise the immense value that they bring to our district.

In May 2024, Council voted to develop an Arts, Culture and Heritage strategy for the district. Developing the strategy will help to identify challenges and opportunities present across our arts, culture and heritage sectors, and provide an opportunity to establish a shared vision for future decisions for the cultural sector in the district.

We believe, that with your involvement, a successful strategy could encourage more collaboration, showcase the unique aspects of our community, help ensure that available resources are being fully utilised, and protect our cultural and heritage assets for future generations.

As an initial step, we’re keen to get a better understanding of the people and groups who contribute to the sector, identify our local strengths and learn more about the aspirations and concerns within our creative community.

Council currently supports arts, culture and heritage activities throughout the district in a range of ways.

For example, the Ashburton Art Gallery and Museum and Te Whare Whakatere - Ashburton Library and Civic Centre, are directly funded by Council. The Art Gallery and Museum staff are custodians to five culturally significant collections, including the Civic Art Collection and the Ashburton Art Gallery Inc art collection.

In the heritage sector, Council maintains the Ng King Bros. Chinese Market Garden Settlement, a Historic Place Category 2 site, looks after the Ashburton Museum and Historical Society’s Community archives and objects and provides historical interpretation signage around the district.

The Council event team organises an annual musical festival and the Hakatere Noodle Festival, a celebration of our multicultural community.

Council provides financial support through annual agency funding to the Ashburton Trust Event Centre, and contestable grants for heritage and community projects. We also promote and administer the Creative Communities Scheme within our district on behalf of Creative New Zealand.

It’s worth noting, that while Council has approved development of the strategy, no additional funding for arts, culture and heritage, apart from the existing commitments, is currently allocated in our Long Term Plan