$1 MILLION FOR ARTS AND CULTURAL PROJECTS

The NSW Government will provide over $1 million for 27 innovative arts and cultural projects across NSW, Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant announced today.

Mr Grant said the projects cover a rich diversity of creative activities including performances in an opal field in Lightning Ridge and a multi-media street walk in Western Sydney.

“I’m proud of our Government’s support for these quality projects that will enable communities throughout NSW to enjoy new arts and cultural experiences,” Mr Grant said.

“These projects will engage audiences, give artists opportunities to present their works and generate social and economic benefits to communities through skills development, employment and tourism.

“This support is providing opportunities for more people to experience arts and culture and is in line with our Government’s Create in NSW policy framework that focuses on access, strength and excellence,” Mr Grant said.

The NSW Government is committed to supporting arts organisations and professional artists in creating high quality projects across performing arts, visual arts, literature and collections and cultural heritage.

This is the second round of Arts and Cultural Projects funding for work delivered in 2016 is in addition to 18 projects announced in October 2015.

Projects funded:

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• Narelle Benjamin (auspiced by Australian Dance Council Inc – Ausdance): $24,624 for a new duet dance work Candelabra by choreographer Narelle Benjamin and dance artist Paul White. It will be performed at Bausch Company in Wuppertal, Germany and Ausdance, Sydney.

• Bundanon Trust: $60,000 for Siteworks, Bundanon’s annual spring event which brings together scientists, artists and the community to share ideas arising from the Bundanon sites through a series of discussions, artworks and experiences.‍‍

• Kristina Chan (auspiced by Force Majeure): $20,000 towards the world premiere of A FAINT EXISTENCE, a new solo dance work exploring the fragility of being human and the world we live in. The work will be presented by Force Majeure and Performance Space in 2016.

• Cordite Publishing: $13,725 to support NSW-based contributors to Cordite Poetry Review and the creation of three print collections from NSW writers for the Cordite Books series.

• The Curators’ Department: $60,000 for an artist-in-residence project bringing together local, regional and urban artists to create new work and explore the social, cultural and historical significance of Wellington in North Western NSW.

• Hayden Fowler (auspiced by National Association for the Visual Arts): $45,000 for production of a bio-dome, and interactive public art project at the Museum Of Contemporary Art’s Circular Quay forecourt as part of a major exhibition in September 2016.

• Allan Giddy (auspiced by National Association for the Visual Arts): $19,822 for Sonic Wells for Gallipoli, a sound installation allowing for conversations between people in Australia (Auburn, Western Sydney), New Zealand and Turkey, facilitating an ongoing relationship between nations with a shared First World War experience.

• Greater Hume Shire Council: $32,820 for Diversity, an audience development project using digital media to facilitate storytelling, build capacity for collection access and create connections between communities and collections in the region.

• Inside History Magazine (auspiced by History Council of NSW): $59,702 for the development of an accessible online facility for people to learn how to identify and date historical photos to further their local history and genealogical research.

• Lightning Ridge Opal and Fossil Centre:  $14,635 for Spark, a multi-artform installation exploring the heritage of the opal gemstone. The project will include performances in an opal field at Lightning Ridge and at the Artlands conference in Dubbo.

• Liquid Architecture Sound Inc: $13,000 for a sound art event at Firstdraft Gallery, featuring a diverse range of speakers, experimental performances and music. The program will designed as a platform for Indigenous women, women of colour, queer and trans women.
• Wes Marne (auspiced by Community Junction): $56,000 for a multi-faceted project, ‘NgAl-Lo-Wah Murrytula’ (Together We Share and Enjoy) tracing the journey of a group of urban Western Sydney teenagers as they follow an Aboriginal dreaming track through the Blue Mountains. 

• Mudgee Readers’ Festival: $13,800 to support the 2016 festival, which promotes and shares the joy of reading and literature with people of all ages.

• NAISDA: $59,600 for Circle of Cultures, a series of events encapsulating the past, present and future of contemporary Indigenous dance in Australia.

• Nextwave Festival:  $60,000 for showcasing nine outstanding projects by emerging NSW artists and curators within the 2016 festival. The diverse group of projects will explore a wide range of contemporary issues – from family, feminism, sexuality and culture, to prehistoric worms.

• NSW Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture Survivors: $50,000 for Women of Fairfield, a community arts initiative that will explore the lives of women living in Fairfield and culminate in a series of multi-media performance walks in the Western Sydney suburb.

• Margot Politis (auspiced by Accessible Arts): $45,000 for Neural Pathways, an investigation of mental health and the arts, with and by artists with mental illness and addiction. The project will include a series of community workshops and a cross-disciplinary installation.

• post (auspiced by Intimate Spectacle):  $35,000 for We are the World, a creative development that will take place across regional NSW in residence at several theatres, with content drawn from interviews with local residents. 

• Ahilan Ratnamohan (auspiced by Campbelltown City Council): $40,450 to create a new dance work at Campbelltown Arts Centre through a series of workshops led by Ahilan Ratnamohan and Eko Suprinyanto.

• SafARI Initiatives: $60,000 for the sixth SaFARI in Sydney in March 2016. The arts program will showcase the work of 37 emerging creative practitioners and feature visual art exhibitions, performances and interactive online works.

• South Coast Women’s Health and Welfare Aboriginal Corporation: $60,000 for a multi-faceted arts project celebrating the South Coast’s unique Aboriginal culture, arts and crafts. 

• Sport For Jove Theatre Company: $60,000 for the company’s 2016 indoor theatre season of seven plays exploring traditional classical theatre. The plays will be performed in Sydney and Western Sydney.

• Sydney Non Objective Group: $30,000 for the artist-run initiative to deliver a diverse exhibition and performance project exploring new ideas in contemporary culture. 

• Theatre Kantanka: $15,000 for the creative development of a live performance incorporating 3D sound technology at Bundanon and the Rex Cramphorn studio, Sydney University.

• Tyalgum Music Festival: $16,000 to present the 2016 festival featuring classical and contemporary musicians, interactive activities, street entertainment and a full weekend of concerts.

• Writing and Society Research Centre, Western Sydney University: $33,000 for commissioning a series of 12 literary essays on the geography, culture and social life of NSW, and two day-long events in Western Sydney covering non-fiction and the writing of place.          

• Yarkuwa Indigenous Knowledge Centre:  $65,500 for development and presentation of the Traditional Country-Contemporary Community project involving exhibitions, oral histories and digital art exploring the town of Deniliquin, south-west NSW.