Regional Arts Resilience Grants Recipients

Artzability Short Film Festival | South West | Funding Allocated: $13,120

Artzability will employ eight local artists to support Artzability participants to develop up to 8 short films over 18 weeks of 4-hour workshops. Outcome will be to host a Short Film Festival, exploring the theme of inclusivity, presented for the community at the Margaret River HEART. Local groups, artists and schools will also be invited to create and submit short films for the festival, promoting local artists, engaging wider community and encouraging people to explore disabilities and inclusivity.

Contemporary Aboriginal designs to be reproduced on clothing and accessories range | Kimberley | Funding Allocated: $15,000

Kimberley artist, Bianca Crake, will be supported to convert her artworks onto printed fabrics and launch her own fashion range. Bianca will work with Linda Molendijk in the creation of the printed fabric and will engage a professional photographer to conduct a photo shoot featuring young Aboriginal models on country.

Community Painting and Art Workshops | South West | Funding Allocated: $12,475

Carmen McFaull will deliver community painting and art workshops, providing a comprehensive guide to creating specific themed paintings on paper, canvas or boards. Each project will include reference material discussion, practice studies and some may involve “plein air” activities. The programme allows for a thorough exploration of painting methods and processes in a relaxed environment. There will also be time allocated for evaluation of artwork whilst in progress and at conclusion, with the possibility of exhibiting paintings in future.  

Denmark Early Music Summer Workshops | Great Southern | Funding Allocated: $14,000

Denmark Baroque Inc will provide an opportunities for 8 local resident (Great Southern) musicians to access the Denmark Early Music Summer Workshops. The workshops consist of masterclasses, ensemble work and live performance with professional tutors. They will support four students between the ages of 18 and 24 and four of working age (25 and 65) with their tuition fees. Two scholarships will be offered in each of the following areas: Strings, Woodwind/Double reed, Keyboard, Voice.

Great Southern Creatives Directory | Great Southern | Funding Allocated: $15,000

Emma Davis will be supported in the development and delivery of an artist directory for the Great Southern Region of Western Australia. The directory will provide a comprehensive and searchable database of individuals, collectives, and organisations which are involved in the creative industries. It is the intention of the directory to bridge the gap between creatives and those that would seek to engage them in work both paid and unpaid. Currently no directory exists for the Great Southern Region, however it is a tool that is repeatedly requested by creatives, organisations, and the community.

Guddir Guddir at Shinju Matsuri | Kimberley | Funding Allocated: $15,000 

Marrugeku launched, as a key part of its pivot to COVID-19 recovery, its new multichannel 15 minute dance video installation, Gudirr Gudirr, directed by Vernon Ah Kee, at Shinju Matsuri in Broome, September 2020. The work features a 3-channel triptych, with stereo sound and additional text panels on two other walls produced by Felix Media – an independent film production company specialising in exceptional multi-screen installation works with artists. 

JOSHUA Music Artist Creative Development | Great Southern | Funding Allocated: $14,685

Singer, songwriter, producer JOSHUA (Joshua Brew) will work on the creative development of five original, release-ready songs that will establish JOSHUA as an emerging WA artist. The development will be a collaboration with MSQUARED (Michael Delorenzis & Michael Paynter, songwriters/producers), Cam Nacson (songwriter/producer) and Rahel Phillips (vocal and artist coach), supporting the music production and mastering of the songs to make them ready for consumption, establishing JOSHUA as an exciting emerging artist.

Live Streaming Development and Capacity Building | Mid West | Funding Allocated: $14,990

Funtavia Inc will engage an experienced live streaming mentor from Kalgoorlie- Boulder to run, coach, and mentor artists and producers who would normally produce work for the Funtavia Festival in Geraldton. With the aim to effectively COVID-proof the local arts community by teaching and developing skills in the use of online streaming equipment, and creating content to be experienced through this platform reaching audiences regardless of COVID conditions. 

Manjimup Bluegrass and Old Time Music Weekend presented by Act-Belong-Commit | South West | Funding Allocated: $15,000 

The celebratory weekend will feature bluegrass jams, buskers and stalls on Brockman Street, followed by a concert featuring Bluegrass Parkway at the Manjimup Town Hall. Music workshops will be held throughout the weekend, a Gospel SingOut, and performances by The Wayward Earls and The Lost Followers. The event concludes with a blackboard concert featuring musicians who had travelled into town for the weekend. 

Marri Tree Girl | South West | Funding Allocated: $14,850

Three award winning Margaret River artists will engage in a collaborative period of professional development. Puppet maker and writer Sky River proposes working with digital media specialist Danny Jennings and environmental researcher and extraordinary paper cut/collage artist Katarina Meister, to develop a short animation showcasing and exploring the South West Marri and Balga (grass tree). Using the symbolic language of myth, the artists will experiment with unique methods and story to explore Marri Canker disease and the interrelated natural world. Funding would both enable the artists to spend time developing skills and purchase materials.

Re-write the Book | Kimberley | Funding Allocated: $7,600

Re-write the Book is a community art project that asks participants to use a book as the raw material for an artwork that re-imagines their narrative, retells their story and determines how they would like to present their thoughts and ideas. Kimberley Arts Network will engage professional artist and trainer, Jacky Cheng to deliver 9 workshops to the community and the exhibition of the artworks produced at the Broome Public Library during Mental Health Week (10 – 17 October).

South West Festival of Japan | South West | Funding Allocated: $15,000

Community members are invited to touch, smell, hear and see Japan at the South West Festival of Japan – a ten-day festival celebrating the arts and culture of Japan and Bunbury’s longstanding relationship with their Sister City in Setagaya. The 2020 Festival includes two hanami parties (outdoor picnic) with live entertainment by local and Perth based artists, arts workshops, Japanese food, and a Japanese Film Festival. The funds will be used to engage regional artists in York, Busselton, Mandurah and Perth, covering their transportation and accommodation costs, project materials and venue and equipment hire. 

Studying Art Licensing | South West | Funding Allocated: $15,000

Alicia Rogerson will undertake a series professional development opportunities held by experienced art licensing agents or artists to expand her knowledge and ability to engage further in the field of art licensing. It will be a dive into how artwork can be licensed to appear on products including books (botanical illustration, children’s books, cover art), magazines (editorial), clothing, surface design (clothing, fabric, homewares) and products (homewares, stationery, wall art, toys). Alicia will engage mentors to review her current portfolio and help form action plans for improvement.

South West jazz album and concert series | South West | Funding Allocated: $14,994

Cassandra Charlick will undertake a creative development of a new body of work with local artists culminating in the production of an album in a regional studio. The album will be used to promote their work and provide income now that many of regular gigs have been cancelled for the foreseeable future. It will also be used as the focus and ‘hook’ for a series of regional jazz concerts to celebrate the launch of the album and new creative work.

The Memory of Forgetting (previously known as Scones with Nanna) | Kimberley | Funding Allocated: $13,090  

Gwendolyn Knox will storyboard and develop the script for a theatre work titled The Memory of Forgetting. Gwen will work with North of Ireland theatre director and dramaturg Paula McFetridge of Kabosh Theatre, Belfast, who specialises in creating positive social change, giving voice to the marginalised through story-gathering and provocative participatory projects in theatres and found spaces. All work will be completed online and in isolation of their respective offices on either side of the world. 

Activating Youth Arts in the Shire of Ravensthorpe | Goldfields-Esperance | Funding Allocated: $15,000  

The Ravensthorpe Regional Arts Council will run an after-school arts program for youth, supporting the development of new skills and encouraging participation in creative activities that are not normally offered in the area. Artists will facilitate workshops over six weeks in Term 4 of 2020, continuing in Terms 1 and 2 of 2021. Artists will enhance their project management capacity by working with the Rave About Arts Team and participating in Train the Trainer workshops with Euphorium Creative. 

Art in the Park (AITP) presented as part of 2021 Ord Valley Muster (OVM) program | Kimberley | Funding Allocated: $15,000

Ord Valley Events will coordinate Art In The Park: An open-air gallery, shining a spotlight on 30 Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists from the East Kimberley as part of the 2021 Ord Valley Muster. This is an opportunity for guests to meander through the park and discover arts created with various mediums, including traditional ochres, fabrics, pottery and didgeridoos.

They will have the opportunity to interact with creatives and learn from Indigenous artists, as they reveal strong cultural and spiritual links between people and Country. The evening includes culturally informative stations such as bush medicine, hunting, bushfoods, traditional ochres and dancing. This will be the first event in the East Kimberley where multiple art centres and galleries work together to showcase the region and bring communities together.

Capel Makers Trail | South West | Funding Allocated: $14,900 

The Capel Makers Trail is a local makers and artisans trail that will run for three days from Friday 21 May to Sunday 23 May 2021. Visitors will be invited to community centres and artists’ studios to meet the makers, learn their story and watch them hone their craft. Along the Trail there are many opportunities to buy art and artisanal products.  

CovidArt – A Mukinbudin Youth Art Project | Wheatbelt | Funding Allocated: $14,970

The Shire of Mukinbudin will engage artist Sioux Tempestt who will work alongside local youth to create public artworks around Mukinbudin. As part of the project Sioux will deliver a Youth Mural Mentorship Program that incorporates creative workshops, education in the design process and elements, teamwork, and onsite installation of collaborative public artworks. The project will culminate in a community celebration at the Mukinbudin Caravan Park.

FIFO – the play, to premiere its production in Broome at Goolarri Media’s Gimme Venue | Kimberley | Funding Allocated: $14,000 

A co-production between Goolarri Media and Yirra Yaakin to develop and premiere the production of the contemporary new Indigenous play FIFO – Fit in or F…k Off! by Melody Dia and directed by Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company’s Artistic Director, Eva Grace Mullaley. The play emerged out of Goolarri Media’s innovative Indigenous Writers Program and is the first Indigenous play to premiere in its own hometown since Bran Nu Dae 30 years ago. 

In Their Footprints: A guide to Noongar bush knowledge | South West | Funding Allocated: $12,394 

Glen Stringberg will work with a local First Nations Elder Ken Ninyette to create an online bush tucker series with eight entertaining short online videos on traditional bush skills and food in the South West. The videos will showcase cultural knowledge and will be an opportunity to pass on the knowledge of the Noongar people to future generations of Australians. 

Interwoven – Rethreading our social fabric in a time of pandemic | South West | Funding Allocated: $15,000 

Southern Forest Arts will engage 50+ artists and arts workers to work with local residents in a dynamic series of activities over nine months, which rethread the social fabric of the region in response to the isolating and fragmentary experience of COVID-19. Across five towns, and a range of gathering sizes from intimate to large, Interwoven will support individual and collective exploration of local identity, shared heritage and future dreaming. Through this project, Southern Forest Arts will deliver eight exhibitions, seven performances, three film screenings, ten public artworks and one residency.  

Life – A collaborative music for resilience project by The Nomadics | South West | Funding Allocated: $14,880 

Rebecca Schofield will engage several key regional artists and her band The Nomadics in a collaborative music project to produce and record a new album titled Life. The project will also consist of producing film clips for online audiences and will engage with mentors to enhance their marketing strategy and social media management plan for the launch of the album. 

Nugget – Creative Development 2020/2021 – Design | South West | Funding Allocated: $14,700 

Anthony Coxeter will develop a stage work Nugget in collaboration with the grand-daughter of H.C. ‘Nugget’ Coombs, Susan-Moylan Coombs. Susan is a Gurindji-Woolwonga woman raised on Gaimaragal land as a member of the Stolen Generations. This project will connect the history of the South West to the national conversation of Treaty through the life of Nugget Coombs, whose formative years were spent in Bridgetown and surrounds. Nuggets’ early experiences as a teacher in the rural South West with its majority of Indigenous students, were often cited as crucial touchstones for his tireless work in Indigenous affairs that would also influence Susan’s life profoundly. 

Southwest Filipino Community Arts Festival 2020 | South West | Funding Allocated: $15,000

The South West Filipino Community Arts Festival will be a culmination of performances, outdoor exhibition, and Philippine cultural arts from artists from the South West region. The festival will encourage community groups from diverse backgrounds to participate in arts and culture activities that will provide opportunities for social, cultural & economic development.

The Beauty Index | Peel | Funding Allocated: $15,000

The Mandurah Performing Arts Centre will engage Annette Carmichael and soloist/footballer Carl Heslop with the delivery of the Beauty Index working with men in the community to run a series of taster workshops. Participants in the workshops will experience the style of dance and discuss the themes of the project. Annette and Carl will also meet with community groups to talk about the health and social benefits of men dancing. The outcome will be a performance piece to the wider community.

This is Where | South West | Funding Allocated: $15,000 

Siobhan Maiden will research and write a script for a site-specific theatrical production about Bunbury. This is Where will celebrate people’s relationships to specific places in town. The play will be a verbatim theatre production, where actors will perform the stories shared by locals. 

The project will interview 50 people about ‘a place’ in Bunbury that holds special significance to them. Siobhan will engage a dramaturg and script editor to adapt interviews into a script of vignettes for actors to perform at the various locations in Bunbury. 

Wuyurpa (working title), a multi-sensory exhibition about cultural significance of languages | South West | Funding Allocated: $14,991 

The project will support Martine Perret with the creative development of a multi-sensory exhibition titled Wuyurpa (meaning ‘feelings’ in Pitjantjatjarra language. The exhibition will highlight and bring attention to the cultural significance of Australia’s Indigenous languages with the upcoming focus on UNESCO’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages in 2022. 

Martine will collaborate with Indigenous Elder Women (who speak endangered languages in regional and remote communities of Western Australia and Northern Territory), and with respected artists Dalisa Pigram (choreographer) and Jonathan Mustard (composer). 

Refugium: exhibition and workshops investigating environmental and human fragility, vulnerability and hope | Great Southern | Funding Allocated: $10,645 

20 contemporary visual artists will present new work in Refugium at the WA Museum of the Great Southern, Albany. Refugium will investigate themes related to home, including the recent ‘refugee-like’ COVID experience. Workshop sessions will provide creative and professional development to support artists through interactive experiences with each other, and through public talks with guest speakers. The project will link artists with scientists, and the natural environment, via exploration of the nexus between environmental and human health. 

Wonders of the Worlds Project – Research and Development | South West | Funding Allocated: $14,033  

Tony Windberg will research and develop a new body of artwork titled ‘Wonders of the Worlds’ giving valuable time to explore new approaches, alternative materials and techniques. This will allow Tony to develop a deeper connection to themes of colonisation and decay, beauty and wonder, linking the past to future concerns.  

Opal Lane Street Art Project | South West | Funding Allocated: $15,000  

This project will invite community members to share what Busselton means to them. This feedback will then be interpreted by six local artists on a 42m x 5m high wall in Opal Lane, creating a landmark in the town centre. Funds will contribute to artists fees, materials and equipment hire.  

The Aristocratic Paper Cut | South West | Funding Allocated: $15,000  

Elisa Markes-Young will undertake research and develop new skills based on lost Polish folk art techniques of Aristocratic Paper Cuts. Elisa will collaborate with Lee Kinsella (University of WA, Cruther’s Collection Curator) and Christopher Young (artist/designer), which will form the basis of a new body of work with a unique and robust conceptual approach, supported by the development of a micro-website.  

Country Music Club of Boyup Brook Strategic Plan 2021-2024 | South West | Funding Allocated: $14,980  

The Country Music Club of Boyup Brook will review their Strategic Plan, bringing forward an inclusive and ambitious vision for 2021-2024. The Plan will support the development of a stronger and vibrant club that links the community’s aspirations with shared values and priorities. The review process will include community engagement to guide re-development through stages of design, delivery and documentation, with the aim to demonstrate the club’s commitment to supporting and promoting WA artists and country music. 

Mabu Jila platform: Minimum Viable Prototype testing | Kimberley | Funding Allocated: $15,000 

Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre (KALACC) will extend the capacity and reach of cultural artists from the 30 Aboriginal language groups of the Kimberley through the creation of a digital platform, Mabu Jila. The platform aims to decolonise how Aboriginal knowledge is captured, stored and secured in the Kimberley and will be Australia’s first fully Aboriginal-owned and controlled digital space for the stewardship and transmission of Traditional Culture Knowledge. Mabu Jila will be created in response to challenges presented by COVID-19 as well as ongoing challenges, creating sustainable creative practices and economic growth across the region. 

Everlasting Culture | Mid West | Funding Allocated: $9,142 

The Mullewa Community Resource Centre will host a series of three workshops, led by mosaic artist Nathan Hopkins, and will include local arts groups and the wider community. The participants will develop skills and techniques in mosaic making while providing an opportunity to reflect creatively on Mullewa, its culture and history. Through these workshops, participants will produce a community work that will mark the 125th Anniversary of the town of Mullewa.  

Being Here | South West | Funding Allocated: $7,947 

The Hive Margaret River Arts Collective will deliver a collaborative artwork project between resident artists of The Hive, while also supporting the delivery of mentoring by public artists Bridget and John Norton of N2Art. Funds will support the design and installation of a mural at the front of the Arts Hub building.  

Making to Remember | Kimberley | Funding Allocated: $11,050  

Jacky will explore the theme of isolation, connecting her personal migrant journey from Malaysia to the rich and diverse Broome Asiatic community through the recreation of her grandmother’s mooncake moulds. The artist will share stories and collaborate with members of the Broome Asian community, to promote connectiveness within the area. This work will create a new series of contemporary sculptures that articulate the stories of homeland. 

People of Broome | Kimberley | Funding Allocated: $14,500  

Amelia will create a series of oil paint portraits of people in Broome, which will result in an exhibition to commemorate and celebrate how the community looks post COVID-19. Broome is a very diverse and multicultural town with many micro communities that come together to form the broader community. The artist will reach out and identify the living treasures of Broome and will endeavour to learn their stories to create a narrative via oil to demonstrate how stories come together and entwine. 

Engaging in the Arts for Mental Health | South West | Funding Allocated: $15,000

This funding will provide local activities for the community to re-connect post COVID-19. This will be achieved through the delivery of several creative workshops with participants engaging in the arts, while also being supported with mental health and wellbeing. The project workshops will include Aboriginal basket weaving and African drumming for local youth and the wider community.  

Rise and Recover | South West | Funding Allocated: $15,000  

Rise and Recover is Radio Margaret Rivers’ (RMR) reach out to the local, South West and wider community to grow a database of local musical talent and subscribers. It is an invitation to the local community to celebrate the wealth of musical and technical talent in Margaret River and aid in the re-boot of the live and recorded music industry in the South West post COVID-19. Rise and Recover engaged sponsors and supporters, performers and subscribers in a day of awareness raising, promotion and activation of the plans and programs that RMR has in place. 

Dancing To The Sound Of My Grandfather’s Bones | Goldfields-Esperance | Funding Allocated: $14,931  

A collection of new works derived from personal stories in remote WA that will be transported and exhibited in Fremantle. Sprigg will pull from the study of epigenetics to create a multi-disciplinary investigation into biological memory. Using video, drawing, sound, installation and participatory means, he will demonstrate the inherited effects of success and trauma and the flow-on from generation to generation. 

Reimagining Albany’s ‘forgotten’ arcades | Great Southern | Funding Allocated: $15,000  

Make a Scene Artists will focus on Albany’s three original arcades; Shoppers Arcade, Mews Arcade and Pettersson’s Arcade. The project will explore the ‘pop-up store’ model and include artisan markets and community workshops. A semi-permanent art installation and/or mural will incorporate the character of each space to reimagine the arcades with the aim to put them back onto the shoppers’ map. The project will be implemented in three phases throughout November 2020, January and April 2021.  

Mycelium – Stage 2: Connection | South West | $15,000 

Mycelium is the second initiative of The Creative Grid and it has been co-designed to respond to the challenges and opportunities of COVID-19. Mycelium will nurture sector-wide resilience, sustainability and vibrancy through networks of exchange and support between regional arts groups and independent practitioners within the diverse communities and contexts in which they operate. Stage 2 will operate over 24 weeks and will include Zoom forums, podcasts, videos, network gatherings, intensive learning conversations and Creative Co-Labs. 

Dalyellup Beach Art Mural Project | South West | Funding Allocated: $12,000  

This project is an opportunity for 24 local students, aged 10-16 years old, to access a series of workshops with local artist Andrew Frazer to transform the Dalyellup Beach Surf Life Saving Club. Delivered in November 2020, the workshops guided the young artists into creative ideas to transform a local public building into a seaside art mural for all to enjoy. Andrew used the students’ ideas to create several mural concept designs which were presented to the community for feedback and the students will then participate in painting the building.  

Develop and produce a new body of work for exhibition at Short St Gallery, Broome | Kimberley | Funding Allocated: $9,000  

Anna will create a new body of work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The series will comprise of numerous ceramic vessels and objects that are based on functional objects, asking the audience to re-think the hierarchy of technology. The funding will cover artist fees, materials, production costs and documentation of the work to support ongoing opportunities. 

Creative Economy Mentoring | Goldfields-Esperance | Funding Allocated: $15,000 

Engaging the services of Helene George (Creative Economy), Kuberan Muir will be mentored over a period of seven months on curation and the arts economy. Helene’s clients have included Tjanpi Desert Weavers, Waringarri Aboriginal Arts, Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Cultural Centre and Mangkatja Arts. Recognising a lack of Aboriginal representation in high-level curatorial roles around Australia, Kuberan seeks to explore the possibility of pursuing a career in that field, and to develop his arts practice into a self-sufficient business.  

Esperance Indoor Sports Stadium Mural Project | Goldfields-Esperance | Funding Allocated: $15,000 

This large-scale mural project will be a collaborative project including partnerships with local arts organisations and the wider community. A young talented and experienced, regional mural artist will be engaged to facilitate and deliver community engagement through implementing community development exercises which will create and develop a concept design for the new all-purpose built Indoor Sports Stadium. 

SHEAR | Wheatbelt | Funding Allocated: $15,000

Knowing the challenges presented through COVID-19 and the need for new ideas within WA, Narrogin-based artist Leith Alexander will photograph shearers and roustabouts from across WA to celebrate the wool industry and shearing as a career. Leith will be mentored by fellow photographer Margaret Ellen Burns and the project will culminate with an exhibition at Narrogin Arts.  

Framing and Life Drawing Live Workshops | Gascoyne | Funding Allocated: $7,025 

Gascoyne Arts Society Inc will deliver two workshops. The first will provide instruction on how to draw/paint/sketch the human body (presented by Markham Boston). The second workshop will be presented by Warren Malpas and will focus on picture framing. The skills obtained in the framing workshop will enable members and local artists to frame their own work and the work of others in the community, as at the time of application, there is no framer in the area. 

Chaos Fairy and the Wizard remount, plus book and podcast creation | Wheatbelt | Funding Allocated: $15,000 

Chaos Fairy and the Wizard is a children’s musical written and composed by Nicholas Flanagan. In 2011 it was presented to capacity audiences in NSW’s Riverside and Zenith Theatres, and subsequently impressed by its quality, the internationally renowned children’s company, Monkey Baa, presented it at Darling Harbour. Nicholas will write a pilot audio book, and a hardcopy children’s book based on the story world and characters from this musical. These resources will be utilised to attract sponsorship and funds to build a regional tour for the live show, which will premiere at the 2021 York Festival. 

Adele Oliver Debut EP | Kimberley | Funding Allocated: $9,850 

This project will allow emerging musician Adele Oliver to workshop, record and release her debut Extended Play (EP) record. The EP will be recorded in Broome with local sound engineer and producer Pete Grandison, utilising local session musicians in both the pre-production and recording phases of the project. This professional development opportunity will allow Adele to further her career in music through skills sharing and increase her audience reach through the creation of a tangible product.  

Culture Night Karijini Experience | Pilbara | Funding Allocated: $15,000 

The Karijini Experience is a five-day festival comprising a diverse and inclusive program of authentic, high-quality arts and cultural experiences designed to connect people to the awe-inspiring landscape of Karijini National Park. At the heart of this event is the Corroboree/Culture Night, where a group of dancers from local language groups will welcome the attendees through singing, dancing, costume, and expression of Culture.  

3 Women 3 Works 3 Weeks | South West | Funding Allocated: $15,000 

Chrissie Parrott and a multigenerational team of artists will undertake a three-week studio exploration and development of three dance solos and a short film. This project will cover artist fees, travel, accommodation and venue hire while drawing inspiration from themes of isolation, responding directly to experiences of COVID-19. The works in progress will be shared via workshops and performances to communities and audiences in Nannup and Manjimup, with the intent to provide exposure to a less familiar performance aesthetic. 

Genestreams Sculpture Workshops | Great Southern | Funding Allocated: $14,900 

Headed by Noongar elder Aunty Carol Peterson, workshops at Twin Creeks and Denmark invite local Indigenous artists to create artworks about 15 culturally and ecologically significant plant and wildlife species occurring at each location, which are connected by a song line. This project speaks to the ecological, cultural and spiritual identity of the communities whilst scientifically connecting the deep time ancestry of the species with artworks about the species. The artworks will be printed on aluminium strips and exhibited as part of the Genestreams sculptures to be installed in the landscapes. 

Colour Me, Beautiful | South West | Funding Allocated: $14,650 

Colour Me, Beautiful is performance artwork made for Bunbury Regional Art Gallery’s first themed Biennale, he|she|they, which will open important conversations about gender identity within a fun experience. Artist and visitor share stories about the ‘colour’ of their gender while mixing it in acrylic paint. Visual traces of these engagements accumulate in a wall mural over the course of the exhibition. As the space fills, choices made by earlier visitors impact the appearance of choices made by later visitors. The work reflects the freedom we have to colour our shape as we please, as we are shaped and limited by how we appear. 

Beginner Artist Blacksmith Workshops | Goldfields-Esperance | Funding Allocated: $8,803

Due to a rising interest in metal sculpture in the community, Kalgoorlie-Boulder Artisan Blacksmiths will run beginner blacksmith workshops. Participants will learn how to sculpt and move metal using hand tools, giving them the opportunity to learn the trade from scratch or upskill. 

Community Histories Project | Pilbara | Funding allocated: $14,510

This project will engage key Martu individuals in traditional forms of storytelling in language, with a focus on the undocumented historical events and collective experience of the Martu Homelands movement. Many of these individuals are currently experiencing ill health, making the urgency to record their unique perspectives even more important.  

Dance Inclusion Workshops | Great Southern | Funding allocated: $4,982

MoVo Dance Ensemble will host three movement and dance workshops that will offer people with disabilities the opportunity to participate in a person-centred creative arts experience. Using music, percussion, tactile props and movement, the workshops aim to help participants further develop fitness, self-confidence, fine and gross motor skills and performance skills, with a focus on interpersonal development.  

Development of original music | South West | Funding allocated: $13,591

Codee-Lee Down will embark on creative development of five original release-ready songs in collaboration with regional producer/musician/songwriter James Newhouse, multi-instrumentalist Sam Harris, Nat Marshall, photographer Dixon+Smith as well as PR Rep Nardia Drayton.  

Fitzgerald Regional Writer Workshops Tour | Goldfields-Esperance | Funding allocated: $1,711

A series of writing workshops in Ravensthorpe, Hopetoun and Lake King for primary school and secondary school students. These workshops will be arranged through an invitation from Rave about Arts to give local students an up close and personal meeting with an author with the same regional WA upbringing. 

Kaparliku Tjuma: Grandmother’s Story | Goldfields-Esperance | Funding allocated: $15,000

As a young emerging First Nations artist, Ammbi will explore and build on works previously completed and explore artistic growth through connection to country and culture through her grandmother’s art and stories. Growing up, Ammbi remembers her Nanna taking her out bush and teaching her about country. As a great cultural leader, Ammbi’s grandmother left behind a legacy of arts and stories and this funding will allow Ammbi to learn more about her perspective of culture and place through arts and storytelling. 

Readers and Writers Esperance (RaWE) 2021 Program | Goldfields-Esperance | Funding allocated: $14,790 

Ten regionally based authors (six visiting from the Great Southern, four local) will be engaged to run workshops, participate in panel discussions and give presentations during the RaWE 2021 Program. The program will be commencing in January 2021 and culminating in a three-day event in May 2021.  

Revitalisation of traditional bush practices on Ngarinyin Country for use in artmaking and artefact production | Kimberley | Funding allocated: $14,807

Mowanjum Art and Culture Centre will work with Ngarinyin cultural advisor Phillip Duckhole to revitalise the traditional practice of bark harvest and ochre collection for artmaking; and wood and plant material collection for artefact production including clap-sticks, boomerangs, watercarriers and coolamons. 

The Busso Bunch | South West | Funding allocated: $15,000

The People Place, in collaboration with artists, will run an inclusive weekly art and activity group for people with disabilities. This will culminate an exhibition which will be held at the end of June to showcase artistic works created by the group to friends, family and the wider community.  

The Defenders: A Documentary Photography Mentorship | South West | Funding allocated: $7,488

Bridgetown-based photographers Victoria Baker and Davina Jogi, mentored from photographer Aletheia Casey, will develop a new body of work documenting the everyday life of the volunteers in the Shire of Bridgetown-Greenbushes Bushfire Brigades. The works will explore man’s relationship with nature through the eyes of those who experience the impacts of climate change.  

View from the Magpie’s Nest: QR Code Trail | Great Southern | Funding allocated: $15,000

An interactive, scavenger hunt-like trail linking art, performance, business and audiences together in a novel, innovative and COVID-safe manner. Thematically, it explores how identity and sense of home can be built through creative engagement. It is programmed across eight sites for the April school holidays as part of the opening festivities of the refurbished Albany Town Hall. 

WA Regional Curator Symposium | Peel | Funding allocated: $15,000

The WA Regional Curator Symposium (RCS) builds on the Alternative Archive project which saw fledgling regional curators deliver 12 exhibitions across WA involving more than 200 regional artists during 2018/2019. Initially planned for May 2020, but postponed to 2021 due to COVID, the project culminates in a survey exhibition at John Curtin Gallery. The RCS brings 30 regional curators to see this landmark exhibition and participate in professional development by relevant arts sector professionals in three key state institutions.