Funding boost to help scout local artists for GC2018

The Queensland Government will deliver $180,000 to fund a program with the City of Gold Coast to find the best and brightest artistic and creative talent for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018).

The $360,000 Generate program aims to discover local artists who can deliver world-class performances and events and that showcase our home-grown talent in the lead up to the Games.

Commonwealth Games Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the program would help shape a strong arts and cultural program to enhance the Games experiences for athletes, officials and visitors from around the world.

“The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games will be the biggest sporting event in Australia this decade and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase the best of Queensland’s culture and lifestyle to the world,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

“By partnering with the City of Gold Coast’s Generate program we can help the Gold Coast deliver on its potential as an arts and cultural hub and ensure Queensland shines on the world stage come Games time.

“This program will foster home-grown talent and encourage local artists to step up and take a leading role profiling our unique and vibrant way of life to a global audience.”

City of Gold Coast will also contribute $180,000 to the Generate program, with Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate saying GC2018 was much more than a spectacular sporting event.

“It’s a chance to show off the best our city has to offer in the arts, and culturally, to a global audience of 1.5 billion,’’ he said.

“Creating opportunities grows our own talent to deliver a world-class artistic and cultural offering. We’re making sure they are front and centre on the world stage.” 

Creative Lead for GC2018, Yaron Lifschitz, said Generate was for artists and cultural practitioners who are creative, ambitious and bold.

“It’s for artists who define their practice as contemporary - it could be an individual or a group - anyone from installation artists to dramaturgs,” he said.

“We’re interested in working with artists who want to create site-specific and interactive performances and artworks for audiences who aren’t expecting it. The Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games provides a great site for pop-up art throughout the city.”

In the first round, successful applicants have five days, spread over a few weeks, to develop their ideas. The second stage includes funding for creative development and possible inclusion in the Bleach Festival 2017, an annual multi-arts festival on the Gold Coast. At the third and final stage, the project is included in the arts and cultural program in 2018.

“While the process will evolve and will be shaped by the artists involved, at its core will be a focus on ideas generation, testing and developing ideas, and realising them in the lead up to and during the Games,” Mr Lifschitz said.

The $180,000 in Queensland Government funding allocated from the arts and cultural program is in addition to the $100,000 provided to the City of Gold Coast this financial year from the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) and the City’s RADF contribution of $150,000.

The Queensland Government allocated $2.08 million in 2015-16 for the Regional Arts Development Fund, a state and local government partnership with 59 local councils across Queensland that supports the development of arts and cultural projects around the State.

Local artists are encouraged to apply for round two in the Regional Arts Development Fund. Generate program submissions close 14 March 2016.

For more information about the Generate program visit cityofgoldcoast.com.au/culture.

Media contact: Jessica Hill 0475 950 772 (Hinchliffe)