Music board
The music board is committed to supporting and promoting a strong arts sector that effectively reflects and celebrates Australia's cultural diversity.
The music board supports work of the highest quality across the broad range of Australian music practice through grant programs and special initiatives. By 'highest quality' the board means work that has demonstrated excellence or has demonstrated potential.
What kind of music does the music board support?
The music board supports music of all kinds. Increasingly, previously defined boundaries between musical genres are being crossed and exciting new genres are being created. A key consideration is the quality of the music, whatever the musical style.
Different music practices are also supported, such as work by professional artists (established or emerging), work by and for young people, community music practice that assists communities to participate in quality musical experiences, instrument-making and sound-building, and experimental and emerging art practices. The board also supports service organisations that provide a direct benefit to artists and the artform from the support and services offered.
What can you apply for?
A range of projects and activities, including songwriting, composition, performances, touring within Australia, workshopping a new work, the opportunity to develop your professional skills, or an activity that supports the development of a particular area of Australian music. The grant categories that follow give more details.
What is the music board looking for when it considers applications?
The board encourages applications that reflect and value the creativity and cultural diversity of Australian music artists. It encourages work that demonstrates imagination and innovation and work that is experimental or features research and development. By 'innovation' the board means an original exploration of ideas, concepts, processes, approaches, interpretations, or new ways of developing audiences. Innovation can apply to traditional, established or heritage music, as well as music that explores the cutting edge.
Applications are assessed against some set measures (the selection criteria) that are published for each grant category. These criteria generally focus on the artistic quality of the music, the merit of the project, and evidence of good planning and management of the project.
Music and media arts
The music board will continue to consider applications for sound art and electronica projects across all grant categories. In addition, the board will accept applications from media artists through a subcategory of new work.
The board recognises that new media arts are a practice that is constantly evolving. They often involve a process where artists use technology to create new modes of artistic expression, which may range from conceptual to virtual, and can include performance. Projects may use new technologies such as computers, information and communications technology, virtual or immersive environments, or sound engineering to create work that engages audiences in a number of ways.
What can new media artists apply for?
Under the new work (media arts) subcategory applicants may apply for projects involving one or more of the following stages: creative development, production or presentation. This subcategory has been created specifically for music-based media or sound art applications that would previously have been submitted to the former new media arts board.
Media arts applications are also accepted across other categories, as appropriate to the activity. For example, the skills and arts development, or presentation and promotion categories support projects that are primarily for touring, electronic distribution of existing works or for marketing and promotion. These applications will be considered alongside all other musical genres.