Funding outcomes grow Queensland arts touring and creative employment

• Palaszczuk Government investment of almost $1.6 million will support 13 art tours that will engage regional communities across Queensland through the Touring Queensland Fund.
• These outcomes include support for five new touring-focussed industry placements, with $264,640 growing employment and skills development for Queensland artists and arts workers.
• For the first time, strategic multi-year touring funding was offered to support audience development and growing sector sustainability.

The Palaszczuk Government has announced it will invest almost $1.6 million to support 13 touring arts and cultural experiences that will engage communities across Queensland, including five full-time industry placements in the latest outcomes of the Touring Queensland Fund.

These funding outcomes are supporting the touring of a broad range of high-quality arts experiences, from tours of music, theatre, circus, and visual arts into communities across state.

Five arts organisations are sharing in nearly $265,000 to support industry placements, growing employment and capacity-building opportunities for emerging artists and artworkers to hone their skills on the job.

For the first time, strategic multi-year tour funding through the Touring Queensland Fund is enabling arts companies to develop new touring circuits, grow new audiences, build relationships with venues, and engage communities throughout Queensland. 

Quotes attributable to Minister for the Arts, Leeanne Enoch MP:

“Through the Touring Queensland Fund, the Palaszczuk Government is investing almost $1.6 million to support 13 tours of performances, exhibitions, workshops, to deliver engaging arts experiences in Queensland communities across the state from Thargomindah to Toowoomba, and from Cairns to Cunnamulla.

“This investment in arts touring is fostering a love of reading and connecting kids to interactive theatre, supporting storytelling workshops with remote First Nations youth, enabling communities to enjoy performances by Queensland’s talented musicians, and supporting large-scale productions to tour to regional venues.

“Striking visual arts experiences and touring exhibitions will also showcase our artists, a cabaret tour will explore experiences of mental illness and neurodiversity, and stories of important First Nations leaders from across Australia will be shared through song.

“Organisations including shake and stir theatre company, Woodfordia and Cluster Arts will receive strategic multiyear touring funding, enabling them to build partnerships and engage communities through multi-year touring in halls, libraries, galleries, performing arts venues, schools and non-traditional spaces across Queensland.

“Additional investment of nearly $265,000 is supporting five full-time industry placements, boosting touring and production employment and skills development, and further backing the Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to growing creative employment, and the skills and scale of the sector ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Quote attributable to Catarina Hebbard, Co-Artistic Director, Indel-ABILITY Arts:

“The funding will allow Indel-ABILITY Arts to share work with regional communities that entertains as well as gently educates,” Ms Hebbard said. 

“We hope that the performances and post-show question and answer sessions will start conversations and challenge the audience’s perception of autism and mental illness. We are looking forward to sharing our work with regional communities who may not have access to works created by and employing disabled artists.”

Round 2 of the Touring Queensland Fund is now open for single and multi-year applications, with the fund closing on 26 June 2023. For more information, go to: https://www.arts.qld.gov.au/aq-funding/aq-touring-queensland-fund 

Further information:

• The touring outcomes are supported through Grow 2022–2026 the second action plan of Creative Together 2020-2030: A 10-Year Roadmap for arts, culture and creativity in Queensland and builds on the work achieved through the first action plan, Sustain 2020-2022.
• A key program of Grow 2022-2026 is the renewed Touring Queensland Fund which is key to providing Queensland communities with access to high-quality arts, and cultural products.
• Round 1(a) of the Touring Queensland Fund, announced in January 2023, invested $891,806 to deliver 11 tours and $273,203 to fund five industry placements.

ENDS

 Touring Queensland Fund – Round 1b

• Nadia Licence - $36,224 to tour Twinkle and The Moon which is an interactive, theatre and literacy experience for children aged 2 – 7 years and their families. The production will tour to 17 regional and remote Queensland communities and present performances, community engagement and professional development activities.
• *shake and stir theatre co - $300,000 (plus $60,000 for an industry placement) to tour an annual production each year for three years to Queensland's major performing arts centres. This will ensure regional venues can present high-quality, large-scale productions in their annual subscription and school seasons and grow regional audiences.
• shake and stir theatre co - $76,390 to visit 61 regional primary and secondary schools across 22 regions and present 8 productions across 107 performances and workshops. It is anticipated that they will perform for more than 11,150 students.
• Joseph Geia - $56,297 to tour First Nations singer-songwriter, Uncle Joe Geia and his band.  They will combine his songs, video, and storytelling to introduce audiences to the lives of some of Australia’s most important and influential Indigenous leaders.
• The Crackup Sisters - $68,080 to deliver a tour that will visit 10 regional and remote Queensland communities and include engagement activities for children and families.
• The Trustee for the Huglin Family Trust - $49,974 to deliver acting and digital storytelling workshops to remote, disadvantaged, and Indigenous young people across 63 schools in 41 locations.
• Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts - $100,000 to deliver the visual arts exhibition POSTWORLD.  POSTWORLD is produced by professional Australian visual artists and collectives who create diverse parallel universes.  Audiences will engage with playful, sublime, poetic and cautionary works which will reflect and amplify contemporary and impending societal issues.
• *Indel-ABILITY arts - $46,400 (plus $60,000 for an industry placement) to tour Chameleon and The No Bang Theory production which is a double-bill cabaret tour of original works exploring the highs and lows of mental illness and the search for love through autistic eyes.
• Dylan Cattanach - $19,615 to support a regional tour of emerging musician Dylan Cattanach (AKA Katanak), his band, and support acts to engage with regionally based young audiences.
• *Museum and Gallery Services Queensland - $44, 565 (plus $24,600 for an industry placement) to tour 'Lost in Palm Springs'.  This sophisticated interdisciplinary exhibition, curated by Dr Greer Honeywill, explores the strong architectural and aesthetic sensibilities that exist between California and Australia. The exhibition brings together fourteen acclaimed artists and thinkers who will respond to, capture, or reimagine mid-century modern architecture.
• Bundaberg Regional Galleries - $63,871 to deliver a multi-media exhibition that showcases key artworks by two highly acclaimed contemporary artists, Tim, and Mic Gruchy.  The exhibition will feature large-scale projections, reflective elements, and interactive displays.
• *Woodfordia Inc - $259,510 (plus $60,000 for an industry placement) to host four small hall music tours to 40 communities across rural and regional Queensland over a two-year period.  Eight Queensland artists will perform in front of approximately 8,900 Queenslanders who are physically, socially, culturally or digitally isolated.
• *Cluster Arts - $173,755 (plus $60,000 for an industry placement) to deliver a curated two-year touring calendar of shows in conjunction with key venues and communities. As part of the project, they will develop local venue Champions, a database of theatre audiences and grows audiences.

* Denotes artists and arts organisations who received both Touring Queensland Fund and Industry Placements funding. 

Media Contact: Pema Bastin - 0422 655 582