Arts in New Zealand: The evolution of two peoples

This thesis examines the national arts policies of New Zealand including the structure and development of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council, the national governing body for the arts; the multicultural crises involving the Pakeha, the settlers and majority population; and the Maori, the indigenous people; the economic impact of the arts and the current crises concerning new national arts policies. In 1989, the New Zealand Parliament mandated a reevaluation and restructuring of the entire support framework for the arts and culture. The mandate required a reexamination of the relationships between the Maori and the majority population as manifested in education, the arts and cultural heritage in the context of the Treaty of Waitangi, the founding document of New Zealand. The thesis examines the history of national policies in the arts and the contributing factors that led to the dissolution of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council (QE II) and the 1994 birth of the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa, as well as the formulation of new national arts policies for New Zealand. The thesis is divided into two parts. Part One focuses on the Treaty of Waitangi, in light of its 150th anniversary in 1990; the establishment of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council and the conflicts and issues which led to Parliament's 1989 mandate to reexamine the entire structure. Part Two also explores policy developments in arts and education, the Maori concepts of art and tradition, and the birth of the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).