Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts
australiacouncil.gov.au/grants/atsia
02 9215 9067 or 1800 226 912
atsia@australiacouncil.gov.au
The Australia Council supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts (ATSIA) through all its divisions, but primarily the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board. In 2010 –11, the Australia Council provided $7.9m for Indigenous arts overall, with $3.2m provided directly through the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board. This support takes the form of grants, residencies, awards for individual artists, financial and operational support to arts organisations, market and audience development initiatives and strategic initiatives to build capacity across the sector.
Our Market Development section also offers grants and initiatives that benefit artists, producers and organisations.
Those specific to Indigenous artists are:
– Emerging Indigenous Producers Mentorships
– National Indigenous Touring Consortium.
Others include:
– ART FARE: Australian Art Export
– Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM)
– Australasian World Music Expo (AWME)
– Booked: Travel Fund for Publishers and Literary Agents
– Go See
– Going Global
– Hopscotch Touring Initiative
– IETM - International Network for Contemporary
Performing Arts
– Independent Producers Initiative
– International Pathways
– International Performing Arts Markets Travel Fund
– Korea-Australia Connection Initiative
– Live On Stage: International Market Program for
Music Managers and Artists
– Major Festivals Initiative
– Melbourne Art Foundation: Melbourne Art Fair
– Road Work
– Sounds Australia
– Visiting International Publishers.
For more information on these programs please see the Market Development section in Arts Development.
Artists can also apply for funding through our ArtStart and Creative Australia Artists Grants including Creative Australia Fellowships. Please consult their pages to find information on these programs.
Confirmation of identity
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board gives priority to projects with Indigenous personnel in key positions. The Board requires evidence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander control and participation in decision-making. An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander is defined as someone who is of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent, who identifies as such and is accepted as such in the communities where he or she lives, or comes from.
Formal confirmation of identity is required from an applicant or key personnel involved in a project in the form of a letter or certificate from an organisation registered under the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976 or, since July 2007, registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006, or an Indigenous land council or relevant legislation. This must be on letterhead and signed by an authorised Indigenous person who is either chair, director, CEO or an Elder in the organisation or stamped with a common seal.
Cultural protocols
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board funding recipients must adhere to the Australia Council’s Indigenous cultural protocol guides, which can be downloaded from our website.
Employment
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board funding for staff positions is to be used to employ Indigenous people, unless otherwise negotiated.
Code of conduct
The Indigenous Art Code is an industryled code that guides ethical commerce in the Indigenous visual arts industry. The Code establishes a set of standards for commercial dealings with Indigenous visual artists, provides a benchmark for ethical behaviour and builds greater certainty for consumers that the artworks they buy are produced and sold through ethical processes.
An organisation that may trade in visual arts will be funded on condition that it states support for the Indigenous Art Code and, if eligible, agree to sign the Code within 30 days.
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