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Tonight’s Arts Access Awards are a celebration of the power of art to change lives and bring joy and fulfilment to all New Zealanders, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry and Disability Issues Minister Nicky Wagner say.

“These awards are all about recognising the many different people who work tirelessly to open up the experience of creativity to New Zealanders with disabilities, and are a true celebration of the transformative power of the arts,” Ms Barry says.

Corporate lawyer Daniel Wong has been appointed to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra Board, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has announced.

“Mr Wong has an extensive background in the corporate legal sector in New Zealand and the UK, and is the director and co-founder of the Auckland based specialist corporate law firm, Flacks and Wong Limited,” Ms Barry says.

The 2016 New Zealand International Film Festival will showcase our thriving film industry and distinctive identity, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

“Eight New Zealand feature films have their world premieres at the festival, with Poi E: The Story of Our Song by Tearepa Kahi a sold out opening night feature in both Auckland and Wellington,” Ms Barry says.

Launching in Auckland tonight, this year’s line-up brings more than 160 features and documentaries to the big screen in 13 towns and cities.

Two new appointments to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa Board have been announced by Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry.

Auckland businessman Sir Rob Fenwick and experienced director Abby Foote of Christchurch will take up their positions on August 1.

Board Chair Evan Williams will continue in the role he has held since 2013, with existing members Dayle Mace and Paul Majurey also reappointed.

Four new appointments and two reappointments to the Arts Council have been announced by Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry.

“Philanthropist Dame Jenny Gibbs, experienced arts sector leader Roger King and highly regarded Māori arts leaders Karl Johnstone and Professor Taiarahia Black are the new appointments to the council,” Ms Barry says.

Former Wellington mayor Kerry Prendergast has been appointed Chair of the New Zealand Film Commission, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has announced.

“Mayor of the capital from 2001-2010 and now chair of both the Environmental Protection Authority and Tourism New Zealand boards, Ms Prendergast brings extensive experience in governance to the role,” Ms Barry says.

She replaces outgoing chair Dame Patsy Reddy, who will be New Zealand’s next Governor-General.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says the newly named Queen Elizabeth II Pukeahu Education Centre will be an excellent home for education programmes at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington.

“The War Memorial Park is a place where New Zealanders can learn about our nation’s involvement in war, honour those who fell and remember the impact of conflict throughout our history,” Ms Barry says.

Three major arts organisations will receive a funding boost in Budget 2016, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO), Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) and Te Matatini Kapa Haka Aotearoa will share $11.6 million of new operating funding over the next four years – a permanent increase of $2.9 million a year for the arts.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has congratulated the winners of a photo competition which challenged New Zealanders to define their modern Anzac Day experience.

Entries for the contest, run by the WW100 centenary programme, came from across the globe.

“From Gore to London, New Zealanders have taken some thought-provoking images which show what Anzac Day means a century on from the first Anzac Day services,” Ms Barry says.

The richness and diversity of modern New Zealand culture is reflected in the literature honoured at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards 2016, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

“From kiwis racing in the 1928 Tour de France to the complexities of Maori urban migration, the winning entries explore the diverse strands that combine to define us as New Zealanders.”

Ms Barry presented the four categories of Best First Book awards at tonight’s ceremony in Auckland.

The ASB Theatre in Blenheim will receive $1 million from the Government to assist with its development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has announced.

“This is an important project for Marlborough which until now has not received direct central Government support,” Ms Barry says.

“We recognise the need to help the efforts made by the community and council to make the theatre a sustainable prospect, and I’m pleased to announce our $1 million commitment today.”

A multi-million dollar fund to support regional cultural centres has been launched and opened for applications today by Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry.

The Regional Culture and Heritage Fund will be worth an average of $6.67 million a year.

A replacement and renaming of the former Regional Museums Policy, the RCHF is funded at the same level, but broadens its scope to include potential support for performing arts venues such as theatres and opera houses, heritage buildings with display collections and whare taonga.

A new online history launched today illuminates an often overlooked part of New Zealand’s First World War story, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

A joint effort between the State Services Commission and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, The Public Service At War tells the story of the service and sacrifice of government employees throughout the conflict.

New Zealand Music Month is a time to focus on the wealth of musical talent we have here in New Zealand, Broadcasting Minister Amy Adams and Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry say.

“NZ Music Month as an opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of all those who create, perform, record or promote New Zealand music.

“The success of NZ Music Month is in the wide support it receives, not only from the partnering organisations but also from New Zealand music labels, venues, media and the public,” says Ms Adams.

A new book featuring research by New Zealand historians will provide unique insights into the battlefields of Gallipoli, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

Anzac Battlefield: A Gallipoli Landscape of War and Memory details the first comprehensive archaeological survey of the battlefield and is the result of a joint project by New Zealand, Australian and Turkish experts.

“Ministry of Culture & Heritage military historian Dr Ian McGibbon was one of the experts involved in the work, from 2010-2014,” Ms Barry says.

Anzac Day 2016 is an opportunity for all New Zealanders to remember the sacrifice of previous generations and reflect on this formative time in our nation’s history, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

This year marks 100 years since the first Anzac Day services were held, after the Massey Government declared 25th April 1916 a half-day holiday in recognition for the dead of Gallipoli.

The centenary of the horrific Battle of the Somme and the enduring impact of the First World War on New Zealand society will be marked by the WW100 programme this year, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

“2016 sees our overseas commemorations move from Gallipoli to the Western Front, with the Battle of the Somme an anniversary of particular significance,” Ms Barry says.

New Zealand forces joined the slaughter of the Battle of the Somme in mid-September 1916. It was the country’s first major engagement on the Western Front.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says a new co-production agreement with Israel will have significant benefits for New Zealand’s screen sector.

Ms Barry and Israeli Ambassador Yosef Livne signed the agreement at a ceremony in Wellington last night.

The agreement covers film, television, animation and digital productions. It provides official New Zealand-Israel co-productions with access to distribution rights and screen finance in both countries, including the New Zealand Screen Production Grant.

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has done the country proud with its Best Orchestral Performance nomination at the Grammy Awards despite not taking home the prize, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

“On behalf of the Government I extend my warmest congratulations to all members of the NZSO,” Ms Barry says.

Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has welcomed the launch of Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision’s new website, which makes archive film and audio recordings available to all New Zealanders.

“This important website connects New Zealanders with their heritage in an exciting and accessible way,” Ms Barry says.

Thousands of visitors have taken the chance to experience the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington since it opened in April this year, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

“In April the park attracted 16,116 visitors with a further estimated 50,000 at the Anzac Day Dawn Service, and numbers have remained high,” Ms Barry says.

Conservation and Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has congratulated the young winners of the 9th annual The Outlook for Someday film challenge.

“The Outlook for Someday is all about sustainability, celebrating New Zealand’s natural world and exploring the social and environmental challenges which confront us as a nation,” Ms Barry says.

Governance of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds will be strengthened after the Waitangi National Trust Board Amendment Bill passed its third and final reading today, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry says.

“These changes are about the Government working constructively with the Board to protect Waitangi for current and future generations,” Ms Barry says.

“They amend and modernise the Waitangi National Trust Board Act 1932, which vests the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and wider estate in the Board, to be held for the nation.”

Tāmaki College principal Soana Pamaka has been appointed to the Board of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry has announced.

“Mrs Pamaka has an extensive track record of achievement as an educator, an understanding of younger people and a wide-ranging cultural knowledge. She will bring a fresh perspective to the important work of the Te Papa Board,” Ms Barry says.