Grants, residencies, fellowships and funding for dancers, choreographers and arts workers.
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Fellowships & scholarships
- Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships for artists in their early mid-career and in the first seven to fifteen years of their creative practice.
- Australia Council Fellowships support outstanding, established artists’ creative activity for a period of up to two years.
- Ausdance Peggy van Praagh Choreographic Fellowship support choreographic development for mid-career choreographers over 35 years of age with a minimum of 10 years professional experience. Applications have been deferred until 2021 because of Covid-19 travel restrictions.
- Keith Bain Choreographic Travel Fellowship supports an emerging choreographer to travel internationally with the sole purpose of developing and extending their choreographic practice. Applications will be deferred until 2021 because of Covid-19 international travel restrictions.
- Ian Potter Cultural Trust assists early career artists of exceptional talent to undertake professional development, usually overseas. The Cultural Trust operates three funding rounds each year.
- Tanja Liedtke Fellowship for Australian dancers/choreographers between the ages of 20 and 35.
- Winston Churchill Memorial Trust fellowships for Australians to travel overseas to conduct research in their chosen field.
- Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships assist Australians to undertake study, research and professional development abroad
- National Library of Australia Creative Arts Fellowship supports established and emerging practising artists to develop new work using or inspired by the Library’s collections. The National Folk Fellowship is offered jointly by the National Library of Australia and the National Folk Festival
- Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships help talented young (aged 21–35 & 17–35 for ballet) Australians explore and develop their artistic gifts either abroad and/or interstate.
- Lady Mollie Isabelle Askin Ballet Scholarship for Australian ballet artists aged 17–29. Scholarship funds can be used to assist with study programs, professional training courses or mentor programs.
Residencies
- Australia Council for the Arts international residencies
- Asialink Arts Residency Program creates opportunities for in-depth research, stimulating cultural exchanges, international collaboration and uninterrupted time for creativity.
- Bundanon Trust Artist in Residence Program—supports new work, research and collaborations by making the Bundanon properties available to creative thinkers and professional artists.
- Critical Path offers space grants and non-financial Research Room residencies for experimentation, exploration, investigation, analysis and play.
- Dancehouse Housemate Research & Residency program
- Dancehouse Summer Space Grants & Quick Response Space Grants
- Dancenorth Artist Residency in the Tropics Program
- Exchange Residency 2018 for an Australian artist working in experimental performance to expand their practice and networks in the Asia Pacific. The selected artist will travel to Hong Kong for a four-week exchange program where they’ll work alongside international artists and undertake a series of development activities.
- Lucy Guerin Inc Studio Residencies for artists making new contemporary dance.
- International Young Choreographers Project, a World Dance Alliance Taiwan project held in Taiwan during July/August every 2nd year, choreographers are required to create a work with local dancers to create a work. Accommodation, local transport, dancers, studios, publicity, production and office assistance are all provided, as well as an honorarium of US$800.
- Phillip Adams Ballet Lab Resident Artist at Temperance Hall: open to choreographers and artists working in performance and interdisciplinary fields of practice.
- QL2 Dance Curated Residencies for young people (up to 26) and older artists. Curated Residencies provide theatre or studio space and may include other support.
- STRUT Choreographic SEED Residencies
- Tasdance Residency Program is open to professional Tasmanian, Australian and International contemporary dance artists and choreographers.
- Time_Place_Space: Nomad—a research-based travelling laboratory with an emphasis on collaborative trans and cross disciplinary art making, site-specificity and artistic resilience.
Support
(space, production support and choreographic development programs)
- Chunky Move: Next Move commissioning program, Artistic Associate residency and salaried mentorship, and choreographic and dance secondment programs.
- Dancenorth secondment program
- ESCALATE: Ausdance Act's mentoring program for emerging dancers and choreographers aged 16–26 years from all genres. Successful applicants will work alongside industry professionals, supported and guided through a three month development process resulting in a performance season.
Awards & prizes
- Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards recognise outstanding achievements in dance, drama, comedy, music, opera, circus and puppetry.
- Keir Choreographic Award—This biennial Australian choreographic award is dedicated to commissioning new work and promoting innovation in contemporary dance. The Award invites Australian professional artists with an established practice to propose a choreographic idea for an original live performance of 20 minutes maximum in length.
- CHASS Australia Prizes honour distinguished achievements by Australians working, studying or training in the humanities, arts and social sciences, including academics, practitioners, philanthropists, policy makers and students.
Online arts fundraising
- The Australian Cultural Fund is a fundraising platform for Australian artists. It is managed by Creative Partnerships Australia and was established by the Australian Government in 2003 to encourage donations to the arts.
- Pozible—driving your fundraising, finding support for great creative projects and transforming them from ideas into realities.
Grants programs
Regional Artist Fund
Apply directly to:
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Australian Cultural Diplomacy Grants Program focuses on specific cultural relations objectives that contribute to advancing Australia’s foreign, economic and trade policy priorities and enhance understanding of Australia overseas.
- Australia-Korea Foundation Grants Program has a policy of supporting innovative proposals in a broad range of areas.
- Australia-China Council Grants Program supports projects across China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Australia that broaden and strengthen Australia–China relations in education, business, culture and the arts. The program funds residencies, tours, exhibitions (in-bound and outbound); projects showcasings Australian creativity and artistic capabilities to Chinese audiences; programs which develop capabilities of Australian cultural institutions and artists to enter and succeed in China’s cultural sectors; practical initiatives developing and investigating new areas of cultural exchange, and opportunities for Australia in emerging cultural sectors and regions (e.g. second and third-tier cities in China).
- Australia-India Council Grant Program—for projects which aim to promote long-term contact and cooperation between Australia and India.
- Australia-Indonesia Institute grants—for projects aimed at promoting greater mutual understanding, contact and exchange between the people of Australia and Indonesia.
State & territory funding organisations
Australian Capital Territory
- Arts ACT—managing, supporting and advocating for the arts in the ACT.
- ACT Health Promotion Grants—providing funds to community organisations to run projects to promote healthy living and healthy environments
New South Wales
- Arts NSW—supporting NSW to be a vibrant, dynamic and creative place which values artists and cultural heritage, and enriches communities.
- Regional Arts NSW—building positive futures through enriching the arts and cultural lives of those living in regional, rural and remote areas.
- City of Sydney— invigorating and supporting the City of Sydney's local community through its grants and sponsorships programs.
Northern Territory
- Arts NT—supporting, developing and promoting growth of the creative arts sector in the NT.
Queensland
- Arts Queensland—supporting professional development activities and opportunities that will significantly develop and advance artists’ careers.
- Brisbane City Council—supporting young and emerging Brisbane artists and arts workers aged between 17 and 30 through its Lord Mayor’s Young and Emerging Artists Fellowships.
South Australia
- Arts SA—recognising and promoting the strengths and needs of our SA’s makers, presenters and collectors of art and cultural heritage.
- Carclew funding, scholarships and awards support the professional development of young South Australian artists (26 years of age or under) who demonstrate outstanding motivation, talent and potential in their artform or practice. The Dame Ruby Litchfield Scholarship for performing arts offers $12,500
- Helpmann Academy—providing valuable and practical assistance to emerging artists across all creative disciplines.
- Richard Llewellyn Arts and Disability Trust—helping professional artists with a disability and organisations working with disabled artists.
Tasmania
- Arts Tasmania—providing financial assistance to individuals and organisations for a defined project or program of activities.
Victoria
- VicHealth Grants—assisting creative community interventions which increase physical activity and social connection.
- Besen Family Foundation—arts and culture grants for not-for-profit organisations based in Victoria.
- ArtPlay's New Ideas Lab—providing opportunities for artists to propose new projects to creat and develop at ArtPlay.
Western Australia
- Department of Culture & the Arts—enriching the lives of all Western Australians by supporting the arts and cultural sectors to provide unique and transforming experiences.
Residency databases
- artsHub grants listing and advice (subscription required).
- Res Artis: a worldwide network of artist residencies—over 600 centers, organisations, and individuals in over 70 countries.
- AIR-J & J-AIR—an online database of artist-in-residence programs in Japan.
- China residencies—an online database of artist-in-residence programs in China.