The Seed Fund's Management Workshop Returns In 2026

The Seed Fund, a vital fundraiser and advocate for the artist community, has today announced that its flagship Management Workshop Program will once again return for another outing in 2026.

While The Seed Fund was first launched in 2005 and spearheaded by directors John Butler and Danielle Caruana and managing director Stacia Goninon, its Management Workshop Program began in 2006 as a way to bring emerging artist managers and self-managed artists together with industry leaders to share resources and impart wisdom, creating new national networks. 

Based in New South Wales, it's a national professional development training program for 35 emerging managers and self-managed artists, beginning with a five-day immersive workshop, and later followed by 12 months of mentoring.

The goal is for those involved to develop interstate and territory networks with alumni, peers and industry leaders and practical skills to propel their careers

Across its 19-year history, The Seed Fund has delivered 12 of these management workshop programs, setting itself apart as the only national management program catering to self-managed artists.

Now, organisers have revealed applications for its latest round will officially open on Friday, September 19th and will close on Friday, October 31st.

“It was amazing to be back in 2025,” Goninon says in a statement. “From the applications opening to the workshop we felt the surge of what was out there waiting for us. It was nice to be able to feel that even after a break we could just pick up where we left off.”

Since its inception, the Management Workshop Program has worked with some of the biggest names in the Australian music industry, with its alumni including Katy Steele, Jen Cloher, Maggie Collins, Fred Leone, Melody Forghani, and many more.

“The workshop really is an intensive, there’s no doubt about that, the fact that we get to take people away from their everyday lives and put them in a room with others who are on similar but distinct paths really reminds them that they are not alone... they get to build an instant community,” adds Goninon.

“It is an example of who we can be as a community, shown in real time," she adds. "It is model making of how we are better as a collective than a bunch of competing individuals. It capitalises on our most important assets - the energy of our shared passion for music and the innate generosity of us as a collective of professionals."

Full details of The Seed Fund's 2026 Management Workshop Program and its application process are available via the official website.