Recovery Grants have been awarded in Victoria to 13 applicants, receiving $302,850 in funding through the Australian Government’s highly competitive Regional Arts Fund Boost Program, delivered in Victoria by Regional Arts Victoria.
Director of Partnerships at Regional Arts Victoria, Liz Zito, said that the projects in this round were of a high quality and offered a wide range of diverse activities.
“These Recovery projects reach from Portland to Wodonga, Natimuk to Lake Tyers Beach and places in between,” Ms Zito said. “It is thrilling to see the depth of work that will be delivered in regional Victoria in 2021, across digital platforms, festivals, venues, collectives, First Nations-led and multicultural communities.”
Successful applicants include:
- Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation – Heywood
Brambuk: Renewing our Arts Program
Brambuk, The National Park and Cultural Centre in Halls Gap, celebrates and interprets the cultures of the Jadawadjali and Djab Wurrung Peoples of Gariwerd (Grampians). This project involves Traditional Owner artists trialling a series of musical performances and arts workshops at Brambuk, which could then be included in Brambuk’s ongoing cultural program. Due to COVID-19, Brambuk will have to pivot its visitor offering to focus on domestic markets as international markets are unlikely to fully recover before 2023. The cultural activities will involve contemporary interpretations of cultural traditions, with artists telling their own stories through music and visual arts.
- The Village Festival of New Performance Inc – Fryerstown
Our Village
In partnership with the Castlemaine State Festival and Murnong Mamas, The Village Festival will premiere its community art project Our Village under the newly established Village Production House. The Production House is a response to the challenging realities of COVID‑19 and sees a pivot to produce COVID-safe community art in partnership with third party regional festivals. Our Village, the first project within this new model, has been programmed in the 2021 Castlemaine State Festival. It is a collaborative arts project where child participants construct a utopian cardboard city which is flooded, and from the debris a native garden grows.
- Tom Richardson – Warrnambool
Music Mentorship; Developing young people & community
This project is a mentorship program that will support medium-to-long term arts practice and employment for two regional artists in direct response to COVID-19. The mentorship will develop new skills, offer unique workshops and connect regional communities. It will involve experienced local musician, Tom Richardson, and young, upcoming musician, Lewis Stone, who identifies with a disability. The project will develop an engaging and accessible drumming program and promote social cohesion across the entire southwest region.
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Please see Media Release PDF for a full list of all recipients and project descriptions.
The Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund Recovery Boost is a $10 million targeted measure announced by the Australian Government in 2020 as part of the Relief and Recovery Fund. It responds to the difficulties experienced by regional artists, arts organisations and communities who have been heavily impacted by COVID-19. The Regional Arts Fund meets the strategic priorities of supporting participation in and access to the arts and encouraging greater private sector support for the arts. The Fund is provided through Regional Arts Australia, and in Victoria it is administered by Regional Arts Victoria according to the objectives and general eligibility determined by the Australian Government.
Information regarding upcoming rounds will be made available via rav.net.au.
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For more information on Recovery funded projects, please contact:
Rhiannon Poley
Partnerships Communications Coordinator
Regional Arts Victoria
rpoley@rav.net.au
Image: 2019, Otherworldly Ancient Forest, Mudhouse Residency, by Hilary Finch. A RAF Quick Response Grant recipient.