Ngā mihi nui to all the artists who responded to our recent Artist Survey. We received 56 replies, of whom 75% had a page on CIRCUIT.
We asked 18 questions across six categories:
Production and Finance
Exhibition and Distribution
Professional Development
CIRCUIT Website
CIRCUIT and You
While many responses confirmed what we knew already—particularly the poor state of production support in Aotearoa—other responses also supported ideas in development. The challenge for CIRCUIT in 2025 will be to develop the logistics and funding to make these a reality.
Thanks also to all those who offered such positive support for CIRCUIT and our current activities. Some artists asked specific questions, and we will be in touch directly to answer these before the end of the year.
Below is a summary of the responses by category.
Production Support
66% of respondents described the production cost of their last moving image work at less that NZD$5k, indicating the local artists are often working with skeleton support.
Accordingly, when asked "Beyond an increase in funds, is there any specific area of production support that would elevate your practice going forward?" there was an overwhelming need for technical support, mentoring and affordable equipment rental.
Exhibition and Distribution
We received a range of responses to the question "How would you rate the infrastructure and support for exhibiting artists moving image work in our local spaces? What's good? What could be better?" Recurrent mention was made of the need for more spaces to exhibit, show and share work.
While some rated the infrastructure and support from local galleries as supportive, others lamented some basic technical support for the specificities of the moving image.
87% expressed interest in attending an annual festival.
76% said they would like CIRCUIT to submit to film festivals on their behalf
Professional Development
78% said they would like more opportunities to meet with peers. There was strong support for some kind of mentorship, addressing production advice, critical feedback, and funding support.
CIRCUIT Website
Most respondents identified the streaming video aspect of the site as most valuable. There was mostly positive feedback on the design and navigation, but also some specific concerns identified that we will be looking at in the new year.
CIRCUIT and You
When asked what CIRCUIT should prioritise long term there was strong support for more opportunities to show work; to come together as community, and mention of the potential festival event proposed earlier in the survey.
The survey pointed to the uncertain state of preserving artists moving image; only 42% said their important original materials (digital video, documentation) were housed in a secure environment with regular back-ups. 41% said partially. 76% said If CIRCUIT were to develop a safe storage facility, they would you see CIRCUIT as a trusted repository.
The winner of the $250 PB Tech voucher was Warisara Thomson.