The chief executive of Creative New Zealand has condemned a “racist rhetoric” behind criticism of its decision to cut funding of a popular Shakespeare programme in schools. The Shakespeare programme funding application was unsuccessful because of the strength of competing applications, the statement said. Grant Matthew/Stuff Creative NZ chief executive Stephen Wainwright says he is alarmed by some of the rhetoric following criticism of his agency’s funding decisions. Creative NZ was accused of “cancelling” the Bard after declining the $31,000 funding proposal for the Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ, which had run the Shakespeare competitions for more than 30 years. Much of the conversation surrounding the Shakespeare Globe Centre’s funding has failed to address the limited pool of funding Creative NZ is dealing with.

Source: Stuff October 18, 2022 22:20 UTC