Media Release
Seven Project Grants have been awarded more than $140,000 in Victoria through the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund.
Australian Government Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, congratulated the recipients and their contributions to regional Australia’s arts scene.
“The government is making this investment because we believe that no matter where you live, the best of the Australian arts should be within reach”
Susie Lyons, Director of Partnerships and Programming at Regional Arts Victoria, acknowledged the strength of this funding round, saying:
“We’re proud to continue partnering with the Federal Government to deliver the Regional Arts Fund in Victoria. This funding supports regional artists and organisations to share diverse stories and creative voices, ensuring regional communities play a vital role in Australia’s national arts landscape.”
She also extended her gratitude to the independent assessment panel:
“We thank the panel for their time and dedication in supporting our artistic communities, and we look forward to seeing these projects come to life.”
The Regional Arts Fund is an Australian Government program that supports sustainable cultural development in regional and remote communities in Australia. The program is managed by Regional Arts Australia and administered in Victoria by Regional Arts Victoria.
2025 SUCCESSFUL PROJECT GRANT APPLICANTS
Upper Murray Performing Arts Inc.
Tintaldra, Towong Shire
$7,500
The Snowy Mountain Tango Festival, a means to reach new heights
The funding will support the Upper Murray performing arts association to deliver the Snowy Mountain Tango Festival—an emerging cultural event within the region. As the festival continues to grow in scale and audience reach, it is becoming a key fixture in the local cultural calendar. Strengthening the festival’s sustainability will not only secure its future but will also enable the association to reinvest in a broader range of performing arts initiatives, supporting year-round cultural activity and community engagement.
Indigo Shire
Beechworth, Indigo Shire
$30,000
Bulegeaba – Creating on Country
The Bulegeaba – Creating on Country project is a First Nations artist-led initiative focused on cultural reclamation, self-determination, and the vital role of creative and cultural expression in reconciliation. Led by artist Glennys Briggs (Taungurung, Yorta Yorta, Wiradjuri, and Palawa), this residency and program offers First Nations artists the opportunity to engage with and create on Country at Bulegeaba (Lake Moodemere), located in Wahgunyah, Victoria
Tara Gilbee
Fryerstown, Mount Alexander Shire Council
$19,000
Professional development, collaborative research and knowledge exchange in relation to ecological and sustainable creative practices.
Tara Gilbee will undertake professional development in Europe, focussing on ecological creative process in relation to photography and site-specific practices. Including conferences, residencies, workshops and a mentorship. Returning to Central Victoria, Gilbee will deliver workshops for Red Shed in Newstead utilising the skills acquired through this professional opportunity.
Things of Foam and Wood
Kyneton, Macedon Ranges Shire
$24,722
Blowies
The Blowies are large-scale puppet replicas of Central Victorian flies, created in the tradition of street theatre. Suspended from long poles, these animated characters swoop through public spaces, stopping to share a meat pie and their irreverent worldview with unsuspecting passers-by. This project aims to further develop The Blowies in collaboration with the local community, specifically engaging the Kyneton Football Club as a live test audience. By presenting the work in this dynamic setting—where art, sport, and flies intersect—the artists will assess its creative rigour, humour, and capacity to connect with a broad regional audience.
Castlemaine State Festival
Castlemaine, Mount Alexander Shire
$25,000
Castlemaine – the Musical
Castlemaine – The Musical is an all singing, all dancing celebration of the beloved town – an original musical designed to tease out and take a light-hearted look at the things that make us tick. This work is a celebration of the work of volunteers in the arts, land care, the emergency services, and the various advocacy groups that might come from different backgrounds but who all make up a community.
Nicholas Carver
Inverloch, Bass Coast Shire
$7,500
Arockalypse Now Festival
Entering its fourth year, Arockalypse Now will continue raising the profile of Bass Coast artists through the running of its landmark festival held at The Westernport Hotel, San Remo
Rebecca Russell
Clunes, Hepburn Shire
$30,000
TRIGGERED Creative Development
TRIGGERED intricately explores the nuances of trauma and its impact on the human mind and body. With black theatre illusion, puppetry, projection, sound technologies, movement that fuses, physical theatre and clowning, informed by somatic practices. Bodies become puppets and reality is twisted.
About Regional Arts Victoria:
Regional Arts Victoria backs artists and communities across regional Victoria to make, participate in, and experience creative work.
Regional Arts Victoria is an independent, not-for-profit, membership-based organisation working in long-term partnerships with every level of government, fostering contemporary and innovative regional cultural practice. We advise and impact on decision-making across multiple portfolios and levels of government.
Regional Arts Victoria is the peak body for regional artists and arts organisations, and the leading organisation for regional creative practice in Victoria.
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Media Contact:
Kate Gerritsen | Director, Communications and Engagement | [email protected]
Image: Poster artwork by Ned Middleton (detail) for Castlemaine Fringe Festival, a 2024 RAF Project Grant recipient.
Posted: 18 June 2025