The Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund (RAF) will provide $625,694.90 to support 28 new projects in regional, rural, and remote New South Wales in 2024. Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, congratulated the recipients and their contributions to Australia’s arts scene.
“Supporting the arts isn’t just about the biggest venues in the capital cities.
“It’s about every part of Australia.
“That’s why we nearly doubled support for the Regional Arts Fund and that decision is now reverberating into every corner of Australia.”
RANSW CEO, Dr Tracey Callinan OAM, commented,
“Once again, the calibre of these projects supported by the Regional Arts Fund in NSW showcase the creativity of our regional arts organisations from all sections of the state, from Coonamble to Cobargo. This year, we’ve seen a substantial increase in the number of applications, especially screen-based projects. The continuing success of First Nations applications to this program is to be celebrated.”
Examples of projects funded include:
- MiNi (digital) Concerts – Arts Mid North Coast
Arts Mid North Coast’s MiNi (digital) Concerts showcases some of the very best musicians emerging from the Mid North Coast of NSW, Australia. In partnership with Music NSW and Regional Development Australia Mid North Coast, the project casts a spotlight on the burgeoning musical landscape of the region. The project will provide paid opportunities to regional-based emerging artists, enhance their digital presence, and extend their reach globally. It showcases local music venues, strengthens partnerships, and engages a selection process through Arts Mid North Coast and Music NSW. The production involves producer Brad Collins and musician/producer Josh McGovern, capturing artist interviews and performances, and will feature local live music venues such as Archive MNC. Digital assets produced will be distributed online and in print media as well as through networks, supported by a strategic marketing campaign to broaden audience engagement and awareness of regional artists and the Mid North Coast music scene.
- Legacy – Mudgee Arts Precinct
Legacy investigates 200 years of First Nations’ experience of legacy – what is inherited and what is left behind. Curated by Mudgee-based Wiradjuri woman, Aleshia Lonsdale, the exhibition marks significant events for the Aboriginal people of the Mudgee region. Coinciding with NAIDOC week, it examines 200 years since martial law was declared, and the subsequent massacres in the region. It explores the intergenerational effects of various government policies for another 100 years until Fred Maynard’s launch of Australia’s first united and politically organized Aboriginal activist group, the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association (AAPA) in 1924. The exhibition will contain new works by regionally based Aboriginal artists complemented by art from the National Gallery of Australia’s collection that also examine various stages in Aboriginal history and their subsequent impacts.
- Dead Horse Gap – Community Engagement – Crimson Rosella Creative Adventures
This project will develop community participation, engagement and co-creation activities for Dead Horse Gap, an original contemporary performance work created by Crimson Rosella, a new arts enterprise based in Tathra, NSW. The fictional town of Dead Horse Gap is a southern outpost, five days’ travel from Sydney. The performance work mixes historical (1850s) and invented events to tell of the strange journey and mysterious disappearance of colonial photographer Charlie Chaste. Through a partnership with the Yuin Folk Club, one of the region’s key community arts groups, community members will participate in a series of development workshops and presentations contributing to the characters and narrative of the story. Participants will be immersed in a storytelling experience amplified through its performance environment: an eccentric agricultural building at the Cobargo Showground, surrounded by the ancient landscapes described in the story.
The Regional Arts Fund is an Australian Government program administered by Regional Arts Australia and Regional Arts NSW that supports sustainable, cultural development in regional and remote communities in Australia. The funding is targeted at activities that will have long term cultural, economic, and social benefits for individuals and the community through the development of partnerships and cultural networks, by providing artists with professional development and employment opportunities, and by supporting arts and community development. The Regional Arts Fund plays a key role in the Australian Government’s National Cultural Policy Revive: a place for every story, a story for every place. Revive provides an increase to the Regional Arts Fund of $8.5 million over four years from 2023-24, recognising the importance of the arts in strengthening local communities.
Pictured: Previous RAF recipient OpenField Arts Festival
Full list of receipents below