Extra Funds Allow For $860,000 In Aus Council Grants

Eleven artists across the fields of dance, visual art, performance and composing have been granted as much as $100,000 as part of the Australia Council's Creative Australia Fellowships $860,000 hand-out.

Announced today by the Aus Council Chair Rupert Myer at the Melbourne Recital Centre, the original funding allowed for five fellowships across the categories of early career and established artists, but the Council found funding for an additional six grants.

A representative from the Council told theMusic.com.au today that the extra grants came from a “repurposing of unexpended funds from different areas and we approach the end of the financial year.”

Established artists such computer-music composer Robin Fox and animator/director Dave Jones will receive $100,000 for one year while early career artists such as instrumental and electronic composer Amanda Cole and media practitioner Nicola Gunn will receive $60,000 over two years.

“The Fellowships are an investment in the long term sustainability of each artists' career,” Myer said today. “So from the perspective of the Australia Council, this is an investment in the future of art.”

The full list of Fellowship recipients:

EARLY CAREER ($60,000 over two years)

Tega Brain – Experimental installations, situations and objects, exploring relationship of humans and the environment.
Amanda Cole – Instrumental and electronic new music composer.
Keg de Souza – Inflatable architecture, video, installation, performance and artist's books.
Ashley Dyer – Inter-disciplinary performance maker.
Nicola Gunn – Practitioner using multi-media to create contemporary performance.
Eugene Ughetti – Percussionist, composer, conductor and artistic director of Speak Percussion.

ESTABLISHED ARTISTS ($100,000 for one year)

Richard Bell – Previous winner of the National Telstra Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award.
Robin Fox – 15 year career ranging from music compositions for Cochlear implant wearers to photography exhibitions, to laser performances.
Sue Healey - Dance, film and installation artist with a 25 year history of work
Dave Jones – Animator, director and technologist with a community arts and animation in live theatre focus.
Gideon Obarzanek – Dancer and choreographer who's created stage productions, new media, broadcast and installation works.