Regional Arts NSW > News > RAF Grants for 2004

Regional Arts Fund grants 16 new projects the go-ahead for 2004

29 October 2003

The Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator Rod Kemp has today announced sixteen new NSW regional arts projects to receive funding under the Australian Government's Regional Arts Fund for 2004.

Nearly forty communities across the state will benefit from funding of $165,052 for an impressive and diverse range of projects.

Major initiatives include:

Koori Learning Place - large Indigenous art works will be created for permanent display in the Great Lakes Library on the Mid North Coast. Images from the artworks will be used in promotional materials for library reading sessions for Aboriginal children.
Cultural Precinct Collaborative Project - a series of public arts and cultural programs in the newly established Albury Cultural Precinct. A number of new initiatives will create new works through workshops and artists' commissions.
Writing the Waves - a multimedia project with children's author Paul Stafford as resident writer in twelve remote schools in the Far West. Works will be illustrated, posted on websites, published in print and adapted for radio drama.
FLING Residency Program - to create two performances that will establish FLING as a regional youth physical theatre company in the South East. Artists involved in the project will also engage in a workshop program and performances for the wider community.

The Regional Arts Fund is an Australian Government initiative that aims to support the arts in regional and remote Australia. Regional Arts NSW manages the fund in New South Wales.

Assistance is available across all art forms for projects that promote excellent in regional arts development.

This year Regional Arts NSW received forty applications for funding under the program, requesting a total $504,802 under the three categories of Mentorships, Partnerships and Residencies.

With a diverse field of high quality applications including all art forms from every corner of the state, the Fund's Assessment Panel faced the difficulty of selecting projects from a field where every project was considered worthwhile.

The range of successful applications reflects the versatility of the Fund in promoting community development through the arts in regional NSW.

Some observations by Regional Arts NSW about this round's successful applications are:

Seven projects directly target or involve young people, with an additional three including workshops and information
sessions at local schools. These projects cover a wide spectrum of different artforms — circus, dance, visual arts, theatre, video, public art, literature and multi-arts and three involve Indigenous
young people.
Five projects involve Indigenous communities and/or contain significant Indigenous involvement. As well as covering a range of artforms, each project is significant in its capacity to develop an
awareness of and to preserve Aboriginal cultural heritage.
Cultural and community development is the major focus of at least nine projects which facilitate the telling of stories relating to community and cultural identity as well as addressing community
issues.
There is a balance of projects that 'outreach' to a number of communities and extend beyond regional boundaries,
and those contained within a local community.
There is a similar number of projects that develop the skills of individual artsworkers and those that are available to and benefit whole communities.
Three of the sixteen successful projects combine a multitude of artforms within the one project.

The full list of funded projects is as follows:

Partnerships

Koori Learning Place — Great Lakes Community Resources and Great Lakes Library (Mid North Coast) — $16,010
A series of large contemporary Indigenous artworks will be created for permanent display in the Great Lakes Library. The works will be created by six Aboriginal artists in consultation with local elders and schools. Images will be used in materials for schools and learning groups, promoting the “Learning Place” library reading sessions for Aboriginal children.

Winter School of the Arts — Port Macquarie Community College and Hastings Council (Mid North Coast)— $5,000
Visiting and local artists will run skills development workshops for artists and the community at an inaugural Arts Festival.
A range of artforms will be covered including writing, sculptural development, printmaking, photography, weaving, drama, art appreciation, digital art and film.

Gunnedah Circus School — Gunnedah Shire Council and Two Rivers Arts Council (North West) — $20,000
Stage 2 of a successful Train-the-Trainer workshop program commenced last year. In 2004, Circus Skills will become part of the Curriculum at two local primary schools and the high school as well as a weekly program for children at risk.

Cultural Precinct Collaborative Project — Albury City and Murray Conservatorium (Albury/Wodonga) — $12,000
A series of public arts and cultural programs in April and September, to be collaboratively marketed by the newly established Albury Cultural Precinct members around the themes, ‘The Year of the Built Environment’ and ‘New from Old / Phoenix Rising’.

Mentorships

Graduate Traineeships — The Flying Fruit Fly Circus (Albury/Wodonga) — $7,798
An extension of the 2003 program with James Poole being mentored as Assistant Stage Manager on The Flying Fruit Fly's new production Skipping on Stars.

Regional Digital Editing Workshop — Film Illawarra (Illawarra/Shoalhaven) — $3,975
Six filmmakers selected from the Shires of Eurobodalla, Kiama, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Wingecarribee and Wollongong will attend a two day workshop with editor, Basia Ozerski, undertake a short film project, follow up with another one day workshop, then screen their films.

Drawn from the Land — Orange City Council (Central West) — $3,300
A thematic design development and public art project in Wiradjuri country, Orange. An aboriginal artist will be mentored to design a large scale land drawing of a platypus for installation at a local reserve. Both the platypus and the site are important to the Wiradjuri people.

New England and North West Visual Arts Mentorship Program — Arts North West (North West) — $11,000
A visual arts workshop/mentorship program with high profile visual artists from the area conducting workshops in ceramics, painting and printmaking. The Program will be delivered in eight communities including Tenterfield, Moree, Gunnedah, Glen Innes, Inverell, Armidale / Uralla and Barraba.

Lieder Mentorship — The Ballad of Maryanne Brownlow — Lieder Youth Theatre Company, Goulburn (Southern Tablelands) — $12,000
A direct development from a previous RAF-funded project, 2 Friendly 4 Words. A young member of the Company Bethany James, will be encouraged to pursue a career in the performing arts through
a mentorship, culminating in a performance of a new Australian play, The Ballad of Maryanne Brownlow, based on a true story from Goulburn’s local history.

Residencies

Interface Hill End — Bathurst Regional Art Gallery (Central West)
— $13,700
Two Residencies for the Gallery’s 2004 program, including workshops for community members and local schools in sculpture, installation, dance and performance. Each residency will result in an exhibition or performance with the focus on artwork that expresses contemporary Hill End life.

Empire Lane Youth Mural Project — Goulburn Regional Art Gallery (Southern Tablelands) — $4,872
A series of workshops for local young people to design and make a mural for a major pedestrian thoroughfare. The project is an initiative of Goulburn Youth Council and will include disadvantaged and at risk youth.

Youth Media — North Coast Camera (Northern Rivers) — $18,471
Three youth groups will produce their own video, giving them the opportunity to express their stories as well as develop skills in video production. The videos will be broadcast on local TV and at local cinemas, will link in with other organisations’ work placements and include a project with older people and a mentoring/peer support scheme.

Writing the Waves — Outback Arts (Far West) — $14,486
A multimedia writing project with children’s author Paul Stafford as resident writer in 12 remote schools. The focus will be the social purpose of writing and works will be illustrated, posted on websites, published in hard copy and adapted and produced in radio drama. Online mentoring will also be available to all students.

FLING Residency Program — South East Arts Region
(South East) — $11,080
Assisting FLING establish itself as a regional youth physical theatre company. Two residencies will both culminate in performances, one concerned with the environment and the second with a surf culture theme (aiming to attract boys to the company). Artists involved will also conduct a workshop program and performances for the wider community.

‘You fellas speak up’-— Outback Arts (Far West) — $8,075
A three day visual arts / language residency for fifteen Indigenous artists from the Shires of Bogan, Bourke, Brewarrina, Coonamble, Cobar, Walgett and Warren at Arthur Boyd’s Bundanon property on the Shoalhaven River. The workshops will focus on revitalising and protecting local languages through the arts and will link emerging artists with professional artsworkers. Resources for a presentation in local exhibitions throughout the region will be developed as well as saleable items available through an arts co-operative and research and documentation of local language and cultural heritage.

Convergence: Views of Contemporary Australian Print — Cowra Art Gallery (Central West) — $3,285
Five day consecutive residencies by Canberra-based artist Meg Buchanan and Aboriginal printmaker Treahna Hamm from Wagga Wagga will be a major component of a seven week program consisting of an exhibition, seminars, films and educational kits about contemporary print-based art. Both artists will also conduct information sessions and workshops at local schools.

Regional Arts NSW also receives funding under the Regional Arts Fund for its Communications and Promotions program, which includes its quarterly magazine about the arts in regional NSW, ArtReach, a free e-Bulletin and this web-site.

For more information contact Rachael Vincent, Communications Manager Tel 02 9247 8577 ext 5 Email rachael@regionalartsnsw.com.au.

For more information about the Regional Arts Fund aims and objectives click here.

For some reports on previous Regional Arts Fund projects click here.