Nelson is seeking to cement its creative reputation by becoming a recognised global centre of craft.
On Thursday, Nelson City Council agreed to register the city’s interest in applying to become a UNESCO City of Crafts and Folk Art.
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, has a Creative Cities Network to identify, promote and encourage co-operation with, and among cities, on the contribution creative sectors can make.
Creative Cities can belong to one of seven fields: Crafts and Folk Arts, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music.
Nick Smith made the proposal as part of his mayor’s report for Thursday’s council meeting and thought the city should be proud of its creative sector.
“A key part of the character of our city is having a very strong creative sector.”
He pointed to the local toi Māori (Māori art), like using pakohe (argillite) to create taonga since before Europeans arrived in the area, as well as modern examples of the city’s multidisciplinary creativity with ceramics, jewellery, glass blowing, woodwork, costume design, and other crafts.
“I think we are in a strong position to be able to pursue this Creative Cities registration.”
Securing the City of Craft designation would strengthen the crafty identity of the city, attract and retain creative talent, and bolster the tourism industry, Smith said.
Deputy Mayor Rohan O’Neill-Stevens has worked on the proposal and said the initiative aligned with and built on council investments into creative tourism, and the arts industry more widely.
“Despite a really challenging economic and funding environment at the moment, there is a real sense of excitement and momentum within the art sector right now,” they said.
“[This] is a real opportunity to stand up and proudly celebrate something that we already hold very dear to our hearts.”
Councillor Kahu Paki Paki, a carver, “wholeheartedly” supported the proposal as an opportunity to promote crafts as a method of self-expression across the city, while councillor Rachel Sanson said the move was “brilliant” and would entrench the city’s global standing as a centre of craft.
Smith warned that the process would likely be a “challenging and quite bureaucratic process”, with the application expected to be lodged in 2026 with the hope of securing approval in 2027.
The proposal was raised through the What If Whakatū Nelson initiative and the City Revitalisation Summit, and will be supported by $15,000 from the council’s city revitalisation budget.
The next phase of the city’s application would involve extensive engagement with iwi and other stakeholders of the city’s craft scene, as well as the local chamber of commerce and economic development agency.
Other craft cities around the world include Ballarat (Australia), Bukhara (Uzbekistan), Cairo (Egypt), Jaipur (India), Perth (UK), Santa Marta (Colombia), Santa Fe (USA), and Suzhou (China).
Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
