Dunedin City Council arts adviser Cara Paterson said it was important to recognise the challenges faced by arts practitioners and organisations and "respond accordingly".
"There is a lot of uncertainty out there, as our creative sector tries to negotiate a new understanding of the changes to the funding pathways," Ms Paterson said.
In May, the Government announced a boost in funding to help the arts and culture sector to recover from the effects of Covid-19 over the next two years, including $25 million to Creative New Zealand.
"At present, the sector is trying to understand where they fit in with that," Ms Paterson said.
"And when they are making applications for project funding, they are having to think of how changing alert levels could affect them."
The council’s $408,000 City Service and City Project grants had had to be shared between cultural and social sector organisations, and had experienced high demand.
For projects which had already received funding, the council had tried to be flexible and to give people "space and time to adapt", Ms Paterson said.
The impact of Covid-19 had been frustrating for groups, such as Arcade Theatre Company, trying to rehearse and bring work to the stage, only to be forced to cancel at the last minute.
"That is very hard on that young cast and production team, even as they look for new ways to give that work another life."
Ms Paterson said the difficult situation for arts practitioners was likely to continue for the next 18 months to two years, and council was trying to help people one-to-one, as well as working strategically with funding partners.
"We need to work in a way that values our creative sector, and while acknowledges the knowledge and experience we have here in the city," she said.
"It is also very important for Dunedin to stay on the radar nationally as a valid, vibrant, and creative community."
