Sixty-five diverse arts projects have been supported through the latest round of the VicArts Grants program, while 24 Victorian creative talents are set to take their careers to a new level with support through the second round of the Creators Fund program announced this week.
Selected by expert panels from more than 350 applications, the latest round of VicArts Grants program provides a total of $1,570,304 for projects that will involve 1,500 Victorian artists and will take local talent across the state, the country and beyond.
Alongside activities by renowned artists such as master performer of the Chinese Mouth Organ Wang Zheng-Ting and former Stella Prize winner writer Emily Bitto, the round will support initiatives for emerging artists such as the Flinders Quartet’s composer development program, an electronic music workshop program for young people by musician Bridget Chappell, and The Lifted Brow’s Brow Books publishing program, which will publish eight titles by first time and emerging writers in 2019.
Many projects will go on to be presented at major arts events such as the Prague Quadrennial, Dance Massive and the Adelaide Fringe Festival, and local festivals have also received support including the Radiant Pavilion contemporary jewellery festival, ButohOut! – a celebration of the Japanese dance and theatre tradition Butoh, the Jolt Sonic Sound Art Festival and the video art event focused Channels Festival.
The second round of the Creators Fund program will see individuals as well as collectives and small companies embark on intensive research, development and experimentation that will set the foundation for career-defining new work in the years ahead. Collectively the recipients will share in $900,000 worth of funding.
Developed in response to extensive sector consultation, the Creators Fund is a fellowship-style program that provides grants of between $20,000 – $50,000 to Victorian creative practitioners or collectives to work intensively for a period of between three to six months.
Creators Fund activities for 2019 include research by fashion designer Courtney Holm into zero-waste technology for the fashion industry, and musician and composer Anthony Pateras’ exploration of the links between sound and medicine. Filmmaker and curator Tony Briggs will investigate, and take part in, international First Nations film festivals, and writer Lia Hills will base herself in the Mallee to research a new novel.
Several projects will see creatives – including multimedia artist Oscar Raby and filmmaker Jessica Barclay Lawton – meeting with experts, mentors and creative leaders, while others will allow the recipients to embed themselves in a new region or community as they build networks and undertake research.
The recipients will also pursue new ways of working. Game developers Ahmed Galea and Finn Morgan will develop algorithms to enhance game development, while architectural designer/artist Jack Mitchell and writer/artist Thomas Dudley will explore how First Peoples’ cultural knowledge can enhance urban development.
For more information on Creative Victoria’s funding programs, visit: www.creative.vic.gov.au for details.
Image: Yumi Tsuchiya-Umiumare – photo by Theresa Harrison