New funding grows arts and cultural experiences and employment

• Palaszczuk Government investment of over $2 million will support 28 projects to showcase new arts and cultural works and create jobs through the First Nations Commissioning Fund and Queensland Arts Showcase Program.
• These outcomes include support for nine industry placements and six projects received additional funding to commission new music.
• This funding will boost creative employment and skills, grow First Nations arts and deliver accessible arts and cultural experiences to audiences.

The Palaszczuk Government continues to champion the growth of the arts and cultural sector in Queensland with investment of more than $2 million supporting 28 projects to develop and showcase new arts and cultural works and create jobs.

These new outcomes through the streamlined First Nations Commissioning Fund and Queensland Arts Showcase Program also support nine industry placements, and six projects received funding for the commissioning of new live or recorded music by local composers and musicians.

Wulgurukaba Walkabouts will create a new performance work with Dancenorth celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music, song, and dance, and featuring a composition by renowned Queensland musician William Barton.

Jessie Lloyd will continue her important work researching and composing cultural song traditions in contemporary music, creating new songs in the Kala Lagaw Ya language of the Western Torres Strait.

The 2023 Cairns Indigenous Art Fair received support for two projects: family friendly event Urban BLAKtivation will activate Cairns, while the Coconut Leaf Project will celebrate Torres Strait Islander craft and weaving.

The funding is also supporting a range of new theatre works including shake & stir’s world premiere of Tae Tae in the Land of Yaaas! at QPAC based on a true story of living with disability; Musical Theatre Australia’s new musical, A Girl’s Guide to World War, to be presented by a regionally-based creative team working with leading industry professionals; and Angela Murphy’s verbatim theatre production based on interviews with women in Far North Queensland.

Visual arts organisation Outer Space will continue its innovative programming in 2023 at the Judith Wright Arts Centre, showcasing Queensland-based artists in a series of ten exhibitions.

A musical commission will be a feature of new play Capricorn, which tells a contemporary First Nations story, while Musical Broadcasting Society of Queensland Ltd will showcase new music as part of the 4MBS Festival of Classics.

Quotes attributable to Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch:

“Funding outcomes will help to realise Grow 2022 – 2026, the latest action plan from Creative Together 2020-2030, the Queensland Government’s 10-Year roadmap for arts, culture and creativity, which is being supported with an additional $50 million over four years.”

“Support for industry placements, a new feature integrated across these funding programs, will address skills gaps and expand the scale and capacity of the state’s creative workforce supporting diverse positions including producers, curators, exhibitions assistants and digital content producers.”

“The further opportunity to access additional funding for the commissioning of new live or recorded music by local composers and musicians as part of a project has resulted in six funded projects celebrating and amplifying new Queensland music, with First Nations composers creating music for three of these projects.”

Quotes attributable to Co artistic Director Karul Projects Thomas E.S Kelly

“Karul Projects envisions important stories of our past, present and future to amplify more First Nations voices.

“The funding for Kuramanunya supports an untold story, a ceremony for those who aren’t with us and are waiting for their send off.

“This story is one of many in the long line of truth tellings still waiting to surface and permeate Australian audiences and abroad.  

Quotes attributable to President of Musical Theatre Ms Kathy Forde

“QASP opens up an exciting future for our award-winning Queensland musical, A Girl's Guide to World War.    

“I wrote this show with my partner. We're regional theatre makers, and we produced the show on a next-to-nothing budget.

“Now, with this funding, we can work with top Brisbane designers so the show will look stunning when we take it on its first major tour next year.”  

Explainer/fast fact and or further information:

• Further single year funding of up to $70,000 and two-year funding of up to $150,000 opportunities are now available with the latest rounds of First Nations Commissioning Fund and Queensland Arts Showcase Program open until 13 March 2023
• Funding rounds also include the ability for applicants to access additional funding for a project of up to $60,000 for 12-month industry placements with a focus on arts management and/or arts production, and up to a further $10,000 to support the commissioning of new music as part of a project.
• For more information, go to: https://www.arts.qld.gov.au/news/queensland-arts-showcase-program-and-first-nations-commissioning-fund-round-1-recipients

ENDS

Media contact – Martin Philip 0437 859 987