February & March Opportunities
We’ve combined all the best funding, competitions and happenings for regional WA arts into one easy place.
News & Announcements
Australia Council announced the results of their October 2017 funding round, supporting close to 200 projects with $6.4 million in funding, including $22,000 for Broome-based Indigenous publishing house Magabala Books.
Magabala Books also secured $60,000 over three years through the Copyright Agency’s December Cultural Fund round to fund their Magabala Youth Literature Award. Other successful WA applicants include the Perth Writers’ Festival, the State Library of Western Australia and Murdoch University.
Our sister organisation Country Arts SA is celebrating their 25 year anniversary this year with a series of events across South Australia.
The Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund has more than doubled its fellowships for visual artists and writers, from $120,000 to $285,000, which includes the addition of new fellowships for non-fiction writing, visual artists and teachers of English. Read more.
The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries has granted over $220,000 through its Aboriginal Arts Grants Progam. Successful applicants include the Laverton Leonora Cross Cultural Assocation, the Northampton Old School Community Initiative and the Walkatjurra Cultural Centre in Leonora.
Albany curator Shona Coyne will soon take up a curatorial position at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.
Art on the Move has moved. WA’s contemporary visual art touring organisation has shifted from its Malaga base to a new home on 21 Beach Street, Fremantle.
The Australian Government has announced the Festivals Australia Round 5 recipients, City of Albany, who have receive $20,000 for the Vancouver Street Festival’s Noongar Song Project.
The Australian Government has announced $125,000 for the national rollout of a ARTfinder, an online portal established by Arts Access Victoria, with information for people with disability about arts activities, cultural institutions and events.
The North Midlands Project and the Northampton Friends of the Railway are among the nominees for the WA Heritage Awards under the Contribution by a Community-based Organisation category.
Funding
Neilma Sidney Literary Travel Fund: Round 2 / Writers America
Grants ranging between $2,000 and $10,000 available Australian writers and literary sector workers to fund strategic travel opportunities to benefit their own writing practice, career development and the broader Australian literary sector. Funding can include national and/or international travel.
Closes 1 March.
Project Fund | Country Arts WA
For individual and organisations’ regional arts projects.
Closing 16 March.
Department of Communication and the Arts / Visions of Australia
Funding for cultural, art and heritage organisations to tour exhibitions of cultural material of historic, scientific, design, social or artistic significance across Australia. Tours must include at least three venues outside the organisation’s home state or territory. Regional and remote venues are a higher priority for funding.
Closing 16 March.
Department of Communication and the Arts / Festivals Australia
Funding available for high-quality arts and cultural heritage projects in regional and remote Australia that invite community participation and audience engagement. Projects can include (but are not limited to) a parade, performance, workshop, installation or exhibition.
Closing 16 March.
NAVA / Freedman Foundation International Scholarship for Curators
Scholarship for emerging curators with up to $8,000 available for an international project. One grant awarded. Applicant may undertake a residency, internship or mentorship, or undertake a self-initiated curatorial project.
Closes 24 March for projects commencing June 2018 onwards.
Maritime Musuems of Australia Project Support Scheme
Grants of up to $15,000 are available for regional museums and organisations to preserve and display objects of historical maritime significance. Funding can cover staff and volunteer costs, collection management, preservation, training and more.
Closing 30 March.
Cultural Fund | Copyright Agency
Closing 7 May.
For writing, publishing, education and the visual arts sectors.
Sidney Myer Fund & Myer Foundation Small Grants
Grants of up to $10,000 for ATO accredited Tax Concession Charities
Focused on programs designed to address issues of social exclusion (particulary among Indigenous Australians), asylums seekers and refugees, people in isolated rural and remote areas, and children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Programs can include employment initiatives, health, education, social connectivity, advocacy and community engagement programs.
No closing date listed.
The Balnaves Foundation
Year-round funding program supporting organisations “to create a better Australia through education, medicine and the arts.”
Sunsuper’s Dreams for a Better World
Quarterly grant round offering funds for community projects.
Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant
International grant for visual artists up to the amount of $15,000 Canadian. Open year-round.
James Kirby Foundation
Private grant foundation offering $3,000-$15,000 for a variety of community, health and arts organisations with DGR-staus. Prioritises NSW applicants but accepts applications from around the country.
Culture and the Arts (WA) – Aboriginal Arts Grants Program
Up to $15,000 available for programs and activities that support the sustainability of Aboriginal arts and culture in WA.
Applications open year round, due at least 25 business days before project/activity start date.
Department of Local Government & Communities’ Youth Engagement Program
Two-tier grant program available for local government and community service organisations to implement youth engagement projects (age 10-18 years old).
$5,000 available for one-off projects or activities with a duration of six months or less engaging one or more partners.
$10,000 available for longer term projects lasting beyond six months with a wide range of partners.
Applications close 30 June.
Creative Regions – Regional and Remote Touring Fund
Up to $200,000 available to support the cost of touring performing arts shows to regional and remote towns and communities in WA.
Applications open year-round, due at least 60 business days before the project/activity start date.
Lotterywest Trails Grant
Funding available for the development of trails, including Aboriginal cultural trails and art trails.
Lotterywest Heritage & Conservation Grants
Funding available for conservation and interpretation of cultural heritage and community histories, including conservation material, building preservation, oral history, education programs, interpretation activities and Aboriginal language preservation.
Lotterywest Big Ideas Grants
Funding available for a broad range of projects that add value to WA, benefit many people over time and have a major community impact.
Lotterywest Community Events Grants
Funding available for events of various sizes that encourage community celebration, promote an important cause, celebrate an anniversary, as well as commemorative or cultural events.
Lotterywest Regional Performing Arts Grants
Funding for arts initiatives in regional and remote WA that promote greater involvement and community attendance, with a focus on underrepresented groups.
Competitions, Awards & Calls for Entries
🎨📷🏺 City of Rockingham Art Awards
Visual art award open to photography, 2D & 3D work with more than $10,000 available in prizes. Categories for emerging artists, Indigenous / Torres Strait Islander artists, Heritage category and the Open prize.
Entries close 23 February.
📷 Head On Photo Awards
Multi-category national photography prize. Categories for landscape, portrait, mobile and student entries.
Entries close Sunday 25 February, 8pm WAST. Entry fee applicable.
✍ Express Media’s Toolkits
Express Media are offering 12-week long mentorships to writers under 30, with programs in fiction and non-fiction, encouraging applications from rural and regional writers.
Entries close 1 March.
🎨🏢 Heartwalk Artist Applications
Applications are open to artists to paint a mural as a part of Kalgoorlie’s Heartwalk Festival, running from 30 April – 5 May.
Artists from outside Kalgoorlie-Boulder are encouraged to apply.
Entries close 2 March.
🎨 Calleen Art Award
$20,000 on offer for an original painting from an Australian artist over age 18.
Entries close 2 March.
🎶 Act-Belong-Commit Fairbridge Festival Quest
Young songwriters and folk / world musicians are encouraged to apply to this competition to join the Fairbridge Festival lineup, taking place 22 April.
Entries close 3 March.
🏺 2018 Indigenous Ceramic Award
A $20,000 prize on offer to Indigenous groups and individual artists.
Applications close 13 March.
🎨📷🏺 Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Awards
Indigenous visual art award multiple mediums (painting, multimedia, 3D, photography + others). Over $80,000 in total prizes.
Closing 16 March
🎨📷 David Bryce Rural Art Award
Photography and 2D visual art award for work produced in and depicting rural and regional life.
Closing 16 March.
🎨 Gallipoli Art Prize
Original painting competition offering $20,000 to the winning entry. Open to citizens of or those born in Australia, New Zealand or Turkey. Entries to be delivered to the organising committee in Sydney, NSW, between 11 & 14 March.
🏆 Fuse Glass Prize
$20,000 prize for Australian & New Zealand glass artists.
Entries close 16 March.
🎨 Golden Mile Art / Kalgoorlie Boulder Community Fair Art Prize
Seeking original visual arts works to be displayed at the Community Art Fair. Works to be delivered by Wednesday 21 March.
Up to $500 available in prizes.
goldenmileart@gmail.com
🎨 Geelong Contemporary Art Prize
Painting prize run by the Geelong Gallery in Victoria for Australian artists. Entrants may submit up to two works per artist. $40 fee per entry.
Entries close Friday 23 March.
✍ 2018 Peter Carey Short Story Award
$1,500 in prizes for Australian writers for a short story of 2,000-3,000 words. The 1st and 2nd place entries will be published in the Spring 2018 issue of literary journal Meanjin.
Entries close Monday 26 March.
📜 Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery’s National Works on Paper
Up to $50,000 available in prize money for contemporary Australian artworks working on or with paper.
Entries close 6 April.
🏆 Museum and National Gallery Awards
Award open to cultural collecting institutions, with categories in traveling exhibitions, fit-outs, Indigenous projects and more.
Closing 9 April.
🎨 Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize 2018
Two-category art prize for Australian female artists: Professional Artist ($35,000) and Emerging Artist ($5,000) centred around the theme of resilience.
Entries close midday Tuesday 17 April.
🎨 Dardanup Art Spectacular Awards
Annual art prize for the Shire of Dardanup in the South West, just inland from Bunbury. More than $6,000 in prize money across four categories – any subject/medium (excluding photography), Themed (around ‘Shorelines), Portrait (non-photographic) and Photography.
Entries open 27 March and close 18 April.
🎨 Broken Hill Regional Art Gallery’s Pro Hart Outback Art Prize
Visual art prize (any medium) for work showcasing the spirit and diversity of the Australian outback. Four award available with a total prize pool of $19,000.
Entries open 2 April, close 15 June.
💸 Creative Partnerships Australia 2018 Awards
Annual award celebrating individuals and organisations making significant contribution to Australia’s cultural life by promoting private sector investment, encouraging increased giving, fostering engagement between business and arts, and encouraging philanthropy in the sector
Nominations open now in four categories: Arts Leadership, Business Leadership, Emerging Philanthropy Leadership and Philanthropy Leadership.
