Local artists given a lifeline with cash grants

We have awarded over $100,000 in funding to more than 50 local artists and cultural organisations under the quick response Creative Community Support grant program.

Designed to address the immediate needs of the local creative community as they work through the implications of COVID-19 and beyond, the grant program offered individual cash grants of up to $3,000 for eligible artists and small arts organisations to adapt their creative practice, build new partnerships and connect with the wider community through the arts during the current pandemic.

Thanks to a $2,923 grant, local Indigenous artist Billy Bain will be able to continue working towards his first solo sculpture exhibition and develop an online catalogue to share his work.

“The funds will help me take a vital step in my artistic practice - the firing process for my sculptures. I can continue to create ambitious, new work for my first solo show and keep operating and growing as an artist and creative practitioner at a time that threatens to be catastrophic for most young artists’ careers.”

Other highlights from the list of successful projects include a grant for $2,964 awarded to local music teacher Mary Andrew (Let’s Play Music) to produce a series of online children’s music classes and virtual performances for preschool and primary students, and a $3,000 grant for Northern Beaches Symphonic Youth Band to coordinate and broadcast a virtual concert showcasing how local young musicians responded to the COVID-19 lockdown.

The range of applications showed the depth and diversity of the Northern Beaches creative sector, with grants providing much needed support for local artists and arts organisations.

Congratulations to our Creative Community Support grants recipients.

To find out more about other support for Australian-based artists during COVID-19, visit our Supporting Arts and Culture page.