Te Puna Creative Hub - Open Call
Win $2,000 towards your creative project plus free venue facilities
Nau mai, haere mai ki Te Puna Creative Hub
Welcome to Te Puna Creative Hub
Te Puna Creative Hub, in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, is home to a vibrant, talented ecosystem – one where creativity, technology, culture and education intertwine.
It is the epicentre for an exciting, dynamic industry that fosters collaboration, innovation and cultural expression, all from new state-of-the-art multi-purpose spaces, in Te Kōpua Henderson.
Unleash your potential at Te Puna – calling for submissions for Q1 2026
There is an exciting opportunity to collaboration with Te Puna when it promotes its offering. The hub team is inviting creative talent, or work that celebrates the guiding pou, to be immersed in a showcase of all that is on offer at Te Puna Creative Hub.
Are you looking for an opportunity to showcase creative vision or celebrate local talent? Could this emerging creative suite of spaces be the perfect location for you?
We are calling for expressions of interest for February to April 2026 in our range of creative offerings:
- Kōmanawa Theatre - for live performance, spoken word, music and immersive experiences
- Takawai Film Studio - for film productions, music videos, digital installations and media production
- Grand Foyer - pre-show celebrations
Get in quick. Applications close January 11 2026!
What Te Puna can offer you:
- A range of creative spaces (with no venue hire fee for emerging and unfunded artists)
- Wrap-around support from the Te Puna team
- $2,000 Te Puna Creative Hub contribution to the installation costs · Marketing advice
- A fit-for-purpose space to play, develop your craft and add to your growing kete of creative knowledge
- The opportunity to foster meaningful connections and be a part of the Te Puna Creative Hub community.
Te Kawerau ā Maki, the mana whenua of west Auckland, gifted the name Te Puna to the hub that is destined to become a centre of innovative excellence – Te Puna translates as ‘the spring’. It also means 'to well up' or 'to flow'.Traditionally, puna were places where the people came together
Te Puna is guided by five pou (foundations/principles):
- Whānau (community)
- Auaha (innovation and creativity)
- Mana Motuhake (self-determination)
- Kaitiakitanga (guardianship)
- Mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge)
The successful applicants will be proposing a project that is reflective of these pou.
Expressions of Interest – Open Call process & requirements
Eligibility
- Open to individual artists, collectives and creative organisations
- Priority given to local talent and stories from Tāmaki Makaurau and wider Aotearoa
- Emerging and unfunded artists particularly encouraged to apply
Submissions
- Project overview (500 words maximum)
- Clear description of your proposed activation
- How your project celebrates local talent and/or stories
- Alignment with Te Puna's guiding pou
- Creative concept (300 words maximum)
- Artistic vision and creative approach
- Target audience and expected impact
- How the work reflects introspection and/or challenges
- Technical requirements
- Preferred venue (Kōmanawa Theatre, Takawai Film Studio)
- Equipment and technical needs
- Accessibility considerations
- Timeline & logistics
- Proposed activation dates (within January-April 2026 period)
- Setup and pack-down requirements
- Rehearsal/preparation schedule
- Artist information (200 words & 5 images/links maximum)
- Biography/collective profile
- Portfolio samples
- Previous relevant experience
- Budget breakdown
- Detailed cost breakdown
- Identification of any external funding or in-kind support
- Clear justification for requested resources
- Community engagement
- Plans for audience development
- Community partnerships or collaborations
- Educational or workshop components (if applicable)
Supporting materials
- Visual mock-ups or concept art (optional)
- Letters of support from community partners (optional)
- Audio/video samples of previous work (optional)
WHY TE PUNA CREATIVE HUB?
Combining the power of high-tech facilities, including a digital theatre and black box studio, alongside premium event spaces, Te Puna Creative Hub is Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s home of unforgettable creative experiences.