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The best little grants program in NSW

CASP grants 136 arts and cultural projects the go ahead

7 May 2002

Regional Arts NSW (RANSW) has done it again: $150,000 from the Country Arts Support Program (CASP), including a one-off $50,000 allocation from the Year of the Outback, has been distributed to 136 projects across regional and rural New South Wales for 2002. Demonstrating yet again just how much can be done with so little, CASP will directly benefit thousands of people across the state.

CASP provides small grants of up to $1,500 for artists' fees to assist with projects like workshops, festivals, artists-in-residence, public art and design projects, professional performances, arts and cultural directories, community seminars and forums, arts camps, curators for exhibitions and other local initiatives. Priority is given to projects in small, isolated communities, which develop skills and have on-going benefits for the community. Proposals that feature partnerships between community sectors such as youth, Indigenous communities and NESB groups are especially sought after, and importance is given to work that offers innovative approaches to community cultural development.

This year, in a one-off, joint initiative between Regional Arts NSW and the Year of the Outback (YOTO), CASP included a joint program for areas in the western division of the State under which grants of up to $3,000 were made available to support festivals, performances and community cultural development projects in outback areas.

The total amount requested under CASP 2002 across NSW was $224,307, which gives the program a success rate of around 67% for 2002. Funding is distributed in equal proportions across the eleven regions serviced by the NSW Regional Arts Boards, with a separate allocation for 'unserviced' areas.

Amongst the recipients this year were 41 visual arts and craft projects; 26 music projects, 17 public art projects, 17 events within festivals, 16 writing projects; 16 theatre/performance/circus projects; 9 guarantees against loss for touring shows; 7 film/photography projects; 4 dance projects and 4 community cultural development workshops. A total of 53 funded projects focus on youth. There were 10 proposals received for projects in Indigenous communities, all of which were funded; and there were two projects specifically targetting older people.

The full list of CASP grant recipients is available here.

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CASP is a State Government initiative funded by the NSW Ministry for the Arts and administered by Regional Arts NSW.