Australia Council Announces New Grants Model, Strategic Plan

The Australia Council For The Arts has unveiled the biggest shake-up to its grants model in more than 40 years of operation, with the revelation of the January rollout of a new system for such applications, as well as a fresh five-year strategic plan.

Announced by Australia Council chief executive Tony Grybowski today, the new grants model is designed to expand the ease and opportunities for artists and creative organisations to apply for funding through the establishment of five separate grant programs, more streamlined criteria, and more flexibile applications.

“We want to encourage ambitious projects and see more audiences captivated by work that inspires and challenges,” Mr Grybowski said in a statement.

“This is an artist-centric grants model, which positively reflects extensive input from the sector, particularly through the Australia Council Review. The review identified that while our grand programs had served the arts well in the past, it needed to evolve with the sector and be more responsive to the new ways art is being made and presented.”

the new grant programs

• Development grants for individuals and groups valued at between $5,000 and $25,000.
• Arts project grants for individuals and groups valued at between $10,000 and $50,000.
• Arts project grants for organisations valued at between $10,000 and $150,000.
• Fellowships valued at $100,000.
• Six-year funding for arts organisations.

The new grants model remains heavily reliant upon peer assessment, and as such one of the key features of the new programs is that they will continue to be deeply informed by the diverse expertise found among the industry, as well as keeping transparency, flexibility and efficiency at acceptable levels in order to facilitate swift responses from the Australia Council in the face of shifting practices and standards.

key facts

• All grant programs are open to artists in all areas of practice, including across multiple art forms.
• Applicants can choose which area of practice peer panel they want to assess their application.
• Four funding rounds each year enable artists to apply when it aligns best with project needs.
• Development grants are available for activities that run for up to two years.
• Arts projects grants enable artists and organisations to apply for a wide range of activities that run for up to three years.

In addition, the new model removes the added pressure of competition from arts organisations for individuals and artist groups, as well as opening up the field for five different types of government grant application, meaning that all sides of that equation stand to gain through the boost to stability and development capacity afforded by the deepening of application options.

All current 2014 Australia Council grant programs will remain in effect until year's end.

government grant programs

• Contemporary Music Touring Program
• Festivals Australia – regional festivals fund
• Visions of Australia – regional exhibition touring fund
• Playing Australia – regional performing arts touring fund
• Artstart

The new grants model was not the only announcement to come from the Australia Council camp this morning, however, with the concurrent revelation of a new Strategic Plan to see the sector through the next five years.

Australia Council chair Rupert Myer AM said that the plan highlights the organisation's desire to realise the nation's cultural ambition, an undertaking only possible through the collaborative assistance of artists, government, industry and the communities in which those parties operate.

“This plan reflects our ambition to make more visible the vitality of our arts and culture, and to recognise the evolving way that Australians make and experience art, from galleries, theatres and studios to dry river beds, beaches and virtual spaces,” Mr Myer said in a statement.

new strategic plan priority areas

• Australian arts are without borders
• Australia is known for its great art and artists
• The arts enrich daily life for all
• Australians cherish Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts and cultures

The first such initiative that will assist in the realising of the Council's vision was unveiled by Mr Grybowski today, and will entail a worldwide network of arts managers and partners openly accessible to local artists and industry bodies, in keeping with the philosophy that 'art is for everybody'.

In addition, a "Cultural Places" program will put a spotlight on regional community engagement and the creation and presentation of new works, while the "Significant Works" initiative seeks to further highlight the indelible importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and organisations for the national arts world.

For more information about either the revised grants program or the new five-year Strategic Plan, see the Australia Council website.