Resources and funding - Culture sector news

Events | Call for entries | Announcements

Events

Good Practice or the Goods Lift? Catalyst or Chasm... - Sydney

3 September 2008

Key arts workers will discuss inclusive leadership, innovation and impact through international exchange and dialogue. Betty Siegel, Director of Accessibility at the Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts, will provide insight into how arts and disability programming can encourage arts organisations to incorporate access as part of their core business. Rafferty's Theatre.

Open Access and Research Conference 2008 - Brisbane

24-25 September 2008

Researchers, academics, and educators with interests and expertise in open access will benefit from this conference. The conference topic is Media, communications and cultural policy. The Open Access to Knowledge (OAK) Law team led by Professor Brian Fitzgerald received a Vice-Chancellor's Award for Excellence. Stamford Plaza Hotel.

Call for entries

Visions of Australia - National

Entries by 1 September 2008

Visions of Australia aims to enable more Australians to enjoy diverse culture by accessing exhibitions of cultural material. It provides funding to eligible organisations to develop and tour exhibitions of Australian cultural material across Australia. Exhibitions should have a predominantly Australian source or theme. Examples of eligible organisations are not-for-profit public collecting institutions, museums, incorporated not-for-profit galleries, botanical gardens, national collecting institutions and organisations specialising in curating or managing touring exhibitions.

Don't DIS my ABILITY Small Grants Opportunity 08 - New South Wales

Entries by 1 September 2008

Accessible Arts is offering the opportunity for organisations and arts workers to apply for small grants to assist in their budgeting for International Day of People with Disability (IDPWD) 2008 arts events. These grants have been made possible with the support of the Department of Ageing, Disability and Homecare.

Young People and the Arts Funding - Western Australia

Entries by 26 September 2008

Applications are open in the categories of Development, Distribution and the Young People and the Arts Fellowships for activity commencing after 1 January 2009. These programs are designed to support artistic activity, for, with and by young people aged 26 and under, in all art forms excluding film, TV and radio. Applications for funding are assessed by a panel of young artists and arts workers, appointed by the Minister for Culture and the Arts. Five $10,000 Young People and the Arts Fellowships are open to both artists and arts workers aged 26 and under, with a track record of excellence.  The Fellowships allow recipients to develop their skills and focus on their own creative practice. 

The Ian Potter Cultural Trust - National

Entries by 6 October 2008 - for project/travel after 22 December 2008

The Ian Potter Cultural Trust seeks to encourage the diversity and excellence of emerging artists in Australia. The Trust makes grants of up to $7,000 to early career artists practising in a wide range of disciplines within the arts, including the performing and visual arts, crafts, music, film, television, radio, literature, Indigenous art, design, community arts and other areas.

Janet Holmes à Court Artists' Grant - National

Entries by 15 August, 15 November 2008

The Janet Holmes à Court Artists' Grant is designed to provide financial assistance to professional artists for the public presentation of their work. Artists working in the disciplines of painting, printmaking, drawing, textiles, photo media, sculpture, mixed-media, installation, glass, ceramics, woodwork, jewellery, furniture, performance art, electronic and digital media are encouraged to apply. Amounts available are $500 for individuals and $1,000 for groups. This Grant is a NAVA initiative, made possible through the sponsorship of Mrs Janet Holmes à Court and the support of the Visual Arts Board, Australia Council for the Arts.

Out of Your Shell - ArtStart 2007 NSW Youth Arts & Skills Festival - New south Wales

Entries ongoing

Submissions are invited for ArtStart, a New South Wales Government initiative for young people aged 12 to 24, which is an exhibition space and a forum for creative exchange, information and networking. The program funds opportunities for young people to develop skills by participating in arts and cultural projects, and performing and exhibiting their work. More than 200 ArtStart projects have involved over 6,000 young people in workshops, exhibitions and performances featuring drumming, digital storytelling, mosaics, garden design theatre, wearable art, hip-hop dancing, stencil art, multimedia and much more. 

Scholars and Artists in Residence at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) - National

Entries ongoing

The NFSA invites research proposals from academics, performers, artists, audiovisual industry and archive professionals to draw fresh, innovative perspectives from the national audiovisual collection.  Fellows will use the NFSA's collection to create a new sound or moving image work, a publication, an exhibit, a live audiovisual event or a combination of these and other approaches. The Fellowships offer specially facilitated access and research into the national collection; close collaboration with NFSA curatorial and technical experts; access to the Library; modern accommodation; and a fully equipped work space provided on-site.

Announcements

Increased government funding for cultural activities

August 2008

New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that government funding for cultural activities has risen to $5.6 billion. That is an increase of 2.6 per cent in 2006-07, with the Federal Government contributing one third of the funding, and state and local governments making up the rest. The biggest recipients of funding are broadcasting, film and multimedia with $1.2 billion from federal and state governments combined. Other major recipients of cultural funding include national parks, museums and libraries.

'Guess Who's Going To The Gallery?'

July 2008

A first report from ground-breaking new research shows art is not just for the élite. The report on the first year of a major new three-year study of visitors to galleries and museums released by Museums & Galleries NSW strongly demonstrates the value of galleries and museums to all sectors of the community and dismisses the common stereotype of art-lovers as 'champagne-sipping élite'

Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2008

July 2008

Arts and Culture in Australia: A Statistical Overview, 2008 (First edition) (cat. no. 4172.0) was released on the website of the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The report includes up-to-date data and updated census figures. Featured articles are Cultural Encounters - Australia's Arts and Heritage Volunteers; Cultural Attendance by Persons With a Disability; Art Galleries Fact Sheet; Libraries Fact Sheet; and Museums Fact Sheet.

Australia 2020 Summit - Final Report

31 May 2008

The Prime Minister announced the public release of the Final Report of the Australia 2020 Summit on 31 May 2008. This report is intended to provide a record of the Australia 2020 Summit and recommendations on each of the discussion areas for consideration by the Australian Government. It is based on ideas put forward by participants during the Summit discussion sessions, outcomes from preliminary Summit events and ideas generated from public submissions received prior to the Summit.

Marcus Westbury, Creating cultural cities - discussion

May 2008

'Take a city. Add creative people. Build a theatre and an art gallery. And in theory at least the result should be culture; a place which is intellectually stimulating and rich in everything the arts have to offer. But it isn't quite that simple. Every town wants to nurture creativity but the realities of how to achieve that are often complex.' (ABC audio). Griffith essay.

New Culture and Arts Director General appointed - Western Australia

8 May 2008

Culture and the Arts Minister Sheila McHale announced the appointment of Allanah Lucas as the new Director General of the Department of Culture and the Arts (DCA).

Cultural Ministers Council - Communiqué - Ministerial statement on the Creative Innovation Economy

29 February 2008 - ongoing

A statement by the Cultural Ministers Council on the new Building a creative innovation economy report on opportunities for the Australian and New Zealand creative sectors in the online, mobile and broadcast digital environment. Arts and Culture in Australian Life: A Statistical Snapshot was endorsed and released by the Cultural Ministers Council. Building a Creative Innovation Economy was endorsed and released by the Cultural Ministers Council. CMC is inviting public comment on this report.

Key online resources

• artsConnect
• fuel4arts.com
• OzArts Online

Institutions and government organisations

• ABS - Attendance at cultural venues and events
• Cultural participation by persons with a disability and older persons
• Cultural Data Online
• Strategic Approach to Northern Territory Government Applications & Participation in Commonwealth Government Research and Innovation Grant Programs
• J Craik, Re-Visioning Arts and Cultural Policy, ANU E Press, Canberra, 2007.
• Australia Council for the Arts - Grants

Peak bodies and associations

• Collections Council of Australia
• Arts NT
• Regional Arts Victoria
• Regional Arts New South Wales
• Tasmania Regional Arts
• Country Arts South Australia
• Country Arts Western Australia
• Queensland Arts Council
• Creative Volunteering - No Limits
• Arts ACT

Featured websites/projects

• CreateBiz - Business assistance programs
• Australia 2020 Summit Initial Report, 2008 (38p 1.2MB PDF)
• Australia 2020 Summit Towards a creative Australia, background paper, 2008 (12p 194kb PDF)
• New Directions for the Arts, 2007 (17p 150kb PDF)