Federal Government backs regional arts projects and touring exhibitions

The Federal Government is backing a series of arts projects and touring exhibitions in regional Australia.

$338,535 will support two strategic arts projects in regional South Australia and Victoria over four years through the Regional Arts Fund strategic projects stream.

The Regional Arts Fund provides support to artists and organisations to create new works, develop skills and make connections across communities regardless of where they are based.

Regional Arts Victoria will receive $184,725 to expand its Regional Cultural Network to deliver 24 professional development workshops over four years.

Each event will be targeted to a specific professional development need identified by regional Victorians, such as engaging youth and connecting artists with community cultural organisations.

Country Arts SA will receive $153,810 to deliver a four year program focused on regional youth engagement. The program will give young people the opportunity to attend intensive artist retreats, residences and youth-led projects to gain essential skills to help them launch their career.

$1 million will also support 17 exhibitions through the National Collecting Institutions Touring and Outreach (NCITO) program in 2017/18.

The funding will assist nine national collecting institutions to tour major exhibitions so that all Australians, particularly in regional and remote areas, can experience high quality art and cultural collections.

Projects to be delivered in 2017 and 2018 include:

• The Australian National Maritime Museum’s exhibition The Art of Science: Baudin’s voyagers 1800–1804.
• The National Museum of Australia’s Happy Birthday Play School: Celebrating 50 Years exhibition.
• Two National Gallery of Australia’s exhibitions, Abstract Woman: Australian women abstraction artists and Defying Empire: 3rd National Indigenous Triennial.
• A collaboration between the National Portrait Gallery and the National Film and Sound Archive called Starstruck, an exhibition exploring Australia’s feature-film industry through portraiture.

Funding will also support the development of four new exhibitions for future touring:

• The National Museum of Australia’s Midawarr – Harvest: wild food and art in an Arnhem Land flood plain (working title).
• The National Library of Australia’s Cook 2018 (working title).
• The National Gallery of Australia’s The National Picture.
• The Bundanon Trust’s Arthur Boyd: The Shoalhaven Years.

The NCITO program provides up to $1 million each year to assist national collecting institutions to develop and tour exhibitions across Australia.

Images: Abstract Woman Australian women abstraction artists at the Geelong Museum (top) and artwork from the 2nd National Indigenous Triennial (below).

23rd November 2016 - ARCHITECT ANNOUNCED TO DELIVER BUNDANON TRUST MASTERPLAN FOR ARTHUR BOYD PROPERTY 

27th June 2016 - ADELAIDE TO HOST NEW NATIONAL PERFORMING ARTS MARKET

31st May 2016 - ARTS FUNDING TO CREATIVELY TRANSFORM SMALL TOWNS IN VICTORIA 

16th February 2015 - AUSTRALIA COUNCIL FUNDS CONTEMPORARY DANCE IN REGIONAL AREAS