While theatres, galleries, arts and music venues are temporarily closed, the Victorian Government continues to invest in Victoria’s artists, enabling them to work and develop new creative projects.
The latest round of the VicArts Grants program will provide grants totalling more than $1.17 million for 71 projects, that will provide employment for more than 1,500 Victorian artists, back of house staff and technicians. The grants will support artists in regional and metropolitan areas across the state, and span artforms including sculpture, literature, performance, music virtual reality and children’s theatre.
While applications were submitted ahead of the pandemic being declared, some projects take a new resonance including a non-fiction book by writer and editor Nicola Redhouse about the impact of isolation on humans, and Working from Home – a book exploring the contribution of Vietnamese workers to Australia’s fashion industry.
The funding will enable creatives to kickstart new ideas, further develop projects or build their skills and creative practice. To view the list of funded projects, click here! The Victorian has also announced the successful recipients of the Music Works and Innovation in Marketing programs.
The arts and creative industries are among the sectors hardest hit by the impacts coronavirus (COVID-19). The grants are part of the Victorian Government’s urgent program of work to support the state’s creative industries. The package includes the new Sustaining Creative Workers initiative – which is open to independent creative practitioners, micro-businesses and organisations.
For more information about Creative Victoria programs, visit: www.creative.vic.gov.au for details.
Image: Colossus by Stephanie Lake. Arts Centre Melbourne Take Over! Commission, 2018 – photo by Mark Gambino