Supports skills development for professional artists and artsworkers

A grant of up to $10,000 (for Artist Development)
Applications for this grant close 4 September 2012
Decisions will be advised in November 2012
Funded projects can start from 7 December 2012

About the grant

Skills and Arts Development (Artist Development) grants support skills development for professional artists and artsworkers. 

Activities may include:

• Mentorship programs between an emerging artist/group and an established artist/group
• Attendance at master classes, forums or conferences
• Exchanges between regional and metropolitan-based artists and artsworkers
• Professional development opportunities for instrument makers, musicians or artsworkers in Australia or overseas
• Artist-initiated residencies or attendance at other professional artist residencies
• Music projects that create opportunities for professional musicians to engage in specialised study or advanced skills development
• Other projects that foster skills development for the applicant and/or other participants

We encourage applications from mid-career artists.

Study and training

Applications for initial training and undergraduate degrees are not eligible for consideration.

Postgraduate – in exceptional circumstances you may apply for costs relating to overseas postgraduate study in an educational institution. A contribution of up to $5000 will be considered for travel costs, living expenses and accommodation. Course costs will not be covered in a grant. Applicants must clearly demonstrate that such avenues for study are not available in Australia and are vital to the artist’s continuing professional development.

Individual applicants must provide evidence of professional experience.

Other overseas study – applicants should demonstrate how this study is vital to the artist’s artistic development and demonstrate that it is not available in Australia.

Costs

This grant will not fund a salary/fee for you to attend or participate in your proposed skills development activity. However, you can request funding to cover the costs associated with attendance (e.g. mentor fees, travel costs, accommodation, per diems, registration etc).If you wish to claim administrative costs, you should provide a detailed breakdown of these costs in your project budget.

The Australia Council will not fund 100% of project costs, so you are encouraged to seek additional support from other sources and/or include your own contribution (cash or inkind support) towards the project.

Recording projects are not eligible in this category.

The funding cap reflects the maximum amount available through this category. The amount requested in any application must be supported by a clear, well argued budget. The average amount funded in this category in 2010-11 was $6,334 for Artist Development. For an indication of grant amounts previously funded in this category, please view Assessment Meeting Reports for previous rounds.

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:

Peter Keogh
Program Officer
Phone 02 9215 9108, Email p.keogh@australiacouncil.gov.au

Supports skills development for professional artists and artsworkers

A grant of up to $10,000 (for Artist Development)
Applications for this grant close 4 September 2012
Decisions will be advised in November 2012
Funded projects can start from 7 December 2012

Eligibility

This sub-category is open to individuals and groups. It provides support to undertake activities relating to the applying individual or group’s own professional development.

To be eligible, you must meet the general eligibility requirements.

Applications for initial training, undergraduate degrees and recording projects are not eligible for funding.

How often can you apply?

You can apply to this category only once in 2012.

The following buffer periods also apply to Artist Development applications:

• If you apply for a Skills and Arts Development grant at either closing date in the 2012 calendar year and are successful, you will not be eligible to reapply for this category in the 2013 calendar year. You will be eligible to reapply at either of the 2014 closing dates
• If you applied for a Skills and Arts Development grant at either closing date in the 2011 calendar year and were successful, you will not be eligible to reapply for this category in the 2012 calendar year. You will be eligible to reapply at either of the 2013 closing dates
• If you apply for a Skills and Arts Development grant at 4 September 2012 closing date, you are not eligible to apply for a Project Fellowship at the same closing date

Selection criteria

Applications will be ranked against the following criteria:

• The quality of key personnel and their suitability to the proposal
• A direct benefit to the artists and/or participants involved
• Good planning and effective use of resources

Applicants are encouraged to read the latest Music Sector Plan before preparing and submitting their application. The sector plan describes the Australia Council’s involvement with the sector, identifies current issues and outlines short and medium term goals and priorities.

Selection process

The Music Board, with advice from peer advisers will assess applications according to the selection criteria above. The otcomes will be published as an Assessment Meeting Report.

For more information on the assessment process, please see the page on Assessment of applications in the Information for applicants section.

Supports skills development for professional artists and artsworkers

A grant of up to $10,000 (for Artist Development)
Applications for this grant close 4 September 2012
Decisions will be advised in November 2012
Funded projects can start from 7 December 2012

How to apply

You are encouraged to apply online for this category. To begin an online application, use the 'Apply online' button in the right-hand column. Please select 'Music Board' when prompted to choose a board for your application.

For other ways to apply, please see the information on making an application in the Funding Guide for 2012.

As part of the online application you will be asked to address the following questions:

• What are you planning to do?
• Why do you want to do it?
• How are you planning to do it?
• Who are the key artists/project partners involved and what are their roles?
• Where do you intend to do it?
• How will your proposal provide direct benefits to the artists and/or participants involved?
• If your project involves mentorship activities, please provide details of your proposed mentorship program.
• Please provide abridged biographies of key artists involved in your project, and highlight their career achievements.

The questions are listed here for your reference only, and you will need to complete them in the online application form to be eligible.

You will have the equivalent of approximately three A4 pages of space in which to provide your responses. This is based on using Arial font in 12-point, single-line spacing.

Supporting materials

Applicants to this category are required to submit examples of their work and additional written material at the closing date.

The Music Board will review no more than a total of 10 minutes of support material for each application submitted. If more than 10 minutes of material is submitted, staff will select which 10 minutes goes forward to the Board.

1. Examples of work - Required with your application at the closing date

You must submit up to three examples of your work and that of the key artists represented in a format listed below:

• Up to a total of 10 minutes of audio material, to be uploaded with your application, or submitted in hard copy as a single audio CD; or
• Up to a total of 10 minutes of audio visual material. Video files 10mb or smaller should be uploaded with your application. For larger video files please submit three identical DVDs or data discs in hard copy; or
• Up to three URLs linking to audio or visual material, to be uploaded with your application as a single PDF file

You are encouraged to include support material which demonstrates the quality and range of your work. All applicants are encouraged, where possible, to include Australian content in the support material submitted.

Your support material should be your own work and the work of other key artists involved in the project. Support material should be recent and relevant to the project for which you are applying.

You must also include details of the support material included with your application. This should include title, duration, year, composer/songwriter and performer details, and a brief explanation of the material’s relevance to the application. You can include this information in the comments space provided or attach a separate document (Support material details), which you can download below.

2. Additional material to be provided with your application

The following additional material should be submitted with the audio or audio visual material and your application form by the closing date, as relevant to the project.

• Please provide letters of confirmation from all key artists and presenters involved in the project

Applications for some specific activities require additional material to be submitted.

For proposals that involve companies funded by the Major Performing Arts Board, a letter of agreement between the applicant and the MPAB-funded company must be provided to both the MPAB and the Music Board. For further details please contact MPAB staff directly.

In line with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts policy and its underpinning principles, the Australia Council requires that applications for projects containing representations of artistic/cultural practice or intended outcomes relating to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artists or communities must provide letters from relevant communities or artists. Letters must show clear evidence of support and agreement for the activities undertaken. In preparing your application, you may wish to consult the Indigenous protocol guides in song, performance, writing, new media and visual arts.

Letters of support are not required in this category.

Any material supplied in addition to the required support material will not be considered in the assessment of your application.

Updates before the board meeting

For your application to be eligible for consideration for funding, you must submit the above support material with your application at the closing date.

You can submit updates, such as additional confirmations of funding, confirmation from venues, as well as confirmation from the key artists involved in your project. Updates need to be submitted by 30April (for the March closing date) and 9 October (for the September closing date). All other support material needs to be submitted at the closing date.

Support material formats

Support materials can be submitted in the following digital formats:

• Audio files – .mp3 (192.1 kb/s)
• Documents – .pdf
• Video - standard H264 QuickTime .MOV or .mp4 format only
• URL - to be uploaded with your application as a single PDF file

For more information about support material formats please see the FAQ’s here.

The Music Board does not accept notated scores or video cassettes and will not assess them if provided.

Please contact Music Board staff with any questions related to support material requirements.

Please submit any hard copy support material to:

Music Board
PO Box 788
Strawberry Hills NSW 2012

Please ensure the support material is clearly labelled, with the applicant’s name, application ID and the category. All hard copy support material must be postmarked no later than the closing date.  

Application checklist

We encourage you to use this handy checklist to help you prepare and submit your 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 your 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.

Supports skills development for professional artists and artsworkers

A grant of up to $10,000 (for Artist Development)
Applications for this grant close 4 September 2012
Decisions will be advised in November 2012
Funded projects can start 7 December 2012

We encourage you to carefully consider the budget components of your application. The budget information provided is essential in demonstrating the project’s viability, and also its competitiveness under the “good planning and effective use of resources” criterion.

We have compiled some tips to assist you in submitting a strong budget. You are always welcome to contact music staff for assistance and advice.

Key budget notes

• Ensure your income and expenditure are equal when your budget is complete. A balanced budget shows that the project is viable and is able to take place.
• It is unlikely that the Australia Council will be able to fund 100% of your project costs. We encourage you to seek additional support from other sources and/or include your own contribution (cash or in-kind) towards the project.

How to complete a budget

Budget headings

Budget steps

Step 1 – list all expenses that will be incurred in the execution of your project and total these figures (see expenditure table for more information).

Step 2 – List all sources of income and resources that you can dedicate to delivering the project and allocate a value to these items (see income table for more information).

Step 3 – Total the income identified in Step 2 and subtract this figure from the total expenditure calculated in Step 1. The resulting figure should be the amount of the grant that you are applying for.

Total expenses - total income without the grant = grant request

Step 4 – Complete the budget summary section, focusing on the column titled “Amount of expense this grant will cover.” To do this, you will need to identify how much of the grant will be allocated to the items listed in the expenses column.

Step 5 – Ensure that:

• Total income (including Australia Council grant request) equals total expenses
• Total of “Amount of expense this grant will cover” column equals the Australia Council grant request
• You are only requesting funding towards expenses that the grant can cover – see category guidelines for specific details.

Additional budget notes

• Loss of income (from being away from work for the project period) is not an acceptable expenditure item to include in your project budget.
• Australia Council grants can cover per diems (a daily amount to cover basic personal expenses while on tour) and accommodation costs. However, applicants are encouraged to keep these to a realistic amount. As a guide, you  can refer to the Australian Tax office’s per diem guidelines which you can view here.
• While quotes are not required for Australia Council grant applications, the budget section has room to provide notes in the ‘details’ column. Keep accommodation funding requests realistic and  relevant to the project.
• The Australia Council will not fund a salary/fee for applicants to attend events. However, you can request funding to cover the costs associated with attendance (e.g. travel, accommodation, registration etc).
• Expenditure must include the GST to be paid on purchases. If you are registered for GST, do not add GST to the grant amount you are requesting. If you are successful in receiving funding, the Australia Council will provide you with the 10% GST to remit to the Australian Taxation Office.