Visual Art, Craft and Design International Market Development Program

A grant of up to A$20,000
Applications for this grant close 19 January 2012
Decisions will be advised in February 2012
Funded projects can start from the specified project commencement date

About the initiative

Background

The Australia Council for the Arts has supported the international market development activities of galleries and industry associations since the International Visual Arts and Craft Funding Program began in 2005.

In 2010 the Australia Council launched Art Fare: Australian Art Export – an international fund to enhance artist representation at international art fairs. Art Fare aims to extend the market reputation, position and income diversification of Australian contemporary visual artists and galleries.

Purpose

Art Fare: Australian Art Export provides funds to support Australian contemporary visual arts, public and private galleries to attend international visual art, design and craft fairs. This ensures Australian contemporary artists are able to develop new markets and audiences, internationally.

Art Fare provides a contribution to the overall project costs and includes travel, accommodation and other art and craft fair related expenses to assist public and private art galleries to achieve the following goals:

Income diversification

• promote and sell the original work of contemporary living Australian visual artists and craftspeople
• increase artists’ income levels and diversify their income streams
• extend the life of Australian contemporary works
• provide opportunities to increase overseas collections of Australian artists
• build and maintain a solid international sales base for Australian visual art and craft

Enhanced market reputation and demand

• consolidate existing and build new networks and relationships internationally
• maximise international visibility, knowledge of, and demand for, Australian contemporary art and craft
• maximise visibility, audience knowledge and appreciation of Australian contemporary visual arts worldwide.

Funding

Up to A$20,000 (excluding GST) if you have received an invitation from a visual art or craft fair that demonstrates an excellent market development opportunity for the selected Australian contemporary artist(s).

Scope

This fund is designed to support Australian contemporary artists to be represented at key art fairs. The aim is to consolidate and increase international market development outcomes for artists and their representatives.
The Australia Council invites applications that clearly articulate why the art fair will deliver on the market development plans for the artist/s represented.
This fund is solely focused on artist representation at art fairs internationally and not on international cultural exchanges, residencies or exhibitions.

Previous Years

In 2010/2011 the Art Fare program supported 11 successful applications to a total of $174,000 for galleries to attend international art fairs. Fairs visited through the program last year included: NADA Miami 2010, Art Hong Kong 2011, Art Dubai 2011, Art Forum Berlin, India Art Summit 2011, and Volta NY 2011.

Contact

Potential applicants are encouraged to discuss their application with the relevant Australia Council team member. For further information, or to discuss your proposal, please contact:

Katie Harford
Program Officer, Market Development
Tel.: (02) 9215 9041 or Toll free: 1800 226 912
Email: k.harford@australiacouncil.gov.au

Visual Art, Craft and Design International Market Development Program

A grant of up to A$20,000
Applications for this grant close 19 January 2012
Decisions will be advised in February 2012
Funded projects can start from the specified project commencement date

Eligibility

Private and public art galleries/artist representative organisations eligible for support must:

Established art fairs such as Art Basel The Armory Show, Frieze Art Fair and Hong Kong Art Fair will be highly regarded. If you are applying for a new or less established fair you must provide strong evidence of how this opportunity will build international business and generate outcomes in regard to income diversification and enhanced reputation.

Restrictions

Proposals for activities that have already taken place will not be considered.

Individuals or organisations in default of existing contractual obligations to the Australia Council are not eligible.

Applicants may only apply twice in one financial year (July 2011 – June 2012).

Ineligible expenses:

• Business class airfares
• Business overheads.
• Equipment purchases and other capital infrastructure expenses.

Selection criteria

You will be required to make a statement of claims against each of the three (3) assessment criteria below.

1.    A clear international market development strategy

What are the art gallery/artist representatives long term goals in market development? How is the proposed art, craft or design fair consistent with the art gallery’s/artist representative international goals? What connections and contacts does the art gallery/artist representative have with international markets?  What international art, craft or design fairs has the art gallery participated in (if any)? Please provide a list of all the artists the art gallery/artist representative represents, both nationally and internationally.

2.    The impact of attending the art fair on developing international opportunities for the art gallery/artist representative and their selected artists

Which artist/s will be represented at the proposed art, craft or design fair? Please provide brief CVs for all artist/s to be represented and a brief statement identifying why this artist will work in this market. How will the art gallery’s/artist representative’s  attendance at the proposed art, craft or design fair build its international business and generate outcomes in regard to income diversification and enhanced reputation and demand for artists they will feature at the proposed fair?

3.    A clear financial commitment from the gallery/artist representative

A budget for attending the proposed art, craft or design fair, including the art gallery’s own financial commitment, other government funding and / or sponsorship.

Your answers should be no more than 3 pages.

Selection process

An external panel made up of independent industry representatives will assess the proposals according to the selection criteria above. The panel may also choose to discuss projects with some applicants during the assessment process. The outcomes will be published as a Grant Assessment Report.

Please note, you are not guaranteed funding even if your application meets the assessment criteria. Support ultimately rests on the merits of your proposal against the assessment criteria in competition with other applicants and available resources.

Visual Art, Craft and Design International Market Development Program

A grant of up to A$20,000
Applications for this grant close 19 January 2012
Decisions will be advised in February 2012
Funded projects can start from the specified project commencement date

How to apply

To apply for up to A$20,000 (excluding gst) you will need to complete an online application form - click on 'apply online' tab.

You will be required to submit:

• A statement of claims against each of the three (3) assessment criteria listed on the Eligibility and Selection tab
• A copy of your written invitation
• Artist biographies

Complete applications must be received at least six (6) weeks prior to the project start date to ensure confirmation of support prior to departure. However, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their application at least twelve (12) weeks before the project start date to allow for alternate arrangements to be made should your application not be successful.

Applications will not be returned to the applicant. 

Applications that are incomplete or do not contain all of the required materials will not be considered. Applicants will not be contacted if applications are incomplete.

Application checklist

We encourage you to use this handy checklist to help them prepare and submit their application. You should:

1. read the Funding Guide for 2012, in particular the general eligibility requirements, the information on making an application and the information on how your application will be assessed;
2. read all of the information provided for this grant (across all the tabs above);
3. get in contact with the grant contact person to discuss your application;
4. prepare you application, being mindful that you address all of the eligibility and selection criteria for this grant; and
5. submit your application form online using the 'Apply online' button in the right-hand column.

Visual Art, Craft and Design International Market Development Program

A grant of up to $20,000
Applications for this grant close 19 January 2012
Decisions will be advised in February 2012
Funded projects can start from the specified project commencement date

General FAQs

Specific frequently asked questions (FAQs) relating to this grant are listed below. Please regularly check for updates as new questions may be published during the grant round. We recommend you also read the general FAQs for all grants and the FAQs for supporting materials submitted with your application.

I forgot my user id, how do I find it again?
You can retrieve your user id from the forgotten my login details and have it emailed to you.

I cannot find Art Fare when I choose Visual Arts.
Select Arts Development as the section to select the initiative you are applying to. Arts Development works across art forms (literature, music, theatre, dance, inter-arts and visual arts.

How many times can I apply in one year to Arts Development Initiatives?
You can only apply to Art Fare twice in one year.

Formatting is difficult online is there a trick to this?
It is recommended to work on your material in a ‘Word’ document to make it easier to edit and review, remember there is no formatting online so don’t fuss with formatting. When you are happy with the content you can then copy and paste into the online application form.

Do I need to complete the Admin Body section?
You do not need to complete this section unless the administration organisation is different from the applicant.

We do not have artist fees, what do I put for this in the budget?
Sometimes artist fees are not relevant for Arts Development Initiatives, if this is the case you can select NO to this option.

What do I put as income if there isnt any?
Income can be made up of other grants and your own contribution, there may not always be income from sales or tickets etc.

If you get stuck contact the project officer for the grant initiative you are applying to call 1800 226 912. 

Grant FAQs

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