Ten artists and organisations receive Australian Government funding

Regional Arts WA

Ten regional arts and culture projects, with six projects by First Nations artists and organisations, will receive an investment of over $190,000 through the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund; a funding program managed in Western Australia by Regional Arts WA.

Image: A digital presentation of Gudirr Gudirr at Sail Makers Shed, Broome Historical Museum. Photo by Philip Thompson, courtesy of Marrugeku.

Examples of the funded First Nations projects include;

Marrugeku Inc. will receive $30,000 towards Burrbgaja Yalirra, a multi-year research and development program that builds capacity in the next generation of remote and regional independent dance artists.
Victoria Coyne will receive $5,000 to record a song in the South West dialect of the Noongar language, to accompany her previously published book Djerap Wardandi Boodja-k (Birds on Wardandi Country).
Kaata-Koorliny Employment and Enterprise Development Aboriginal Corporation will receive $30,000 to deliver a structured and interactive training program with Noongar artist Peter Farmer. The program aims to increase First Nations creative culture while improving mental health outcomes of young First Nations people aged 18-35 years in Narrogin.
Gwendolyn Knox will receive $25,000 for the creative development of her new play Scones with Nanna, a site-specific, multi-artform performance work that tells the story of how ‘Nanna’ was taught to deny that she was a Ballardong Noongar woman.

Regional Arts WA CEO Paul MacPhail says the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund investment into regional arts is crucial and will continue to encourage and support social, cultural and economic development.

“Regional Arts Fund Project Grants are essential in supporting and promoting increased access to arts and culture for regional communities. We are proud to support these projects which will make our communities better places to live, contribute to economic growth and improve individual wellbeing,” said MacPhail.

Since 2020, the demand for the Regional Arts Fund in WA continues to rise, with a 34% increase in applications. The Investment Sub-Committee’s Chair Julian Canny says that the increase has made the grant assessments more difficult by the quality of applications received.

“It is not surprising that there were a high number of outstanding applications. Regionally led arts initiatives are poised to be some of the best investments for the future of WA’s communities. The Investment Sub-Committee would like to extend our congratulations to all applicants for the high calibre of work submitted.” says Canny.

For the full list of funded applicants, please visit https://regionalartswa.org.au/funding/raf-project-grants/raf-project-grants-recipients/

For more information on our current funding programs, please visit https://regionalartswa.org.au/funding/