Program - Presenter - Theatre

Closing date: 3 June 2010
Decisions advised: end of August 2010
For funding for: 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2013

Program – presenter grants provide three-year funding to assist the development and presentation of programs of new high quality contemporary theatre work. They are worth $50,000 per year for three years ($150,000 in total).

Program – presenter grants are for organisations with a record of successfully developing new high-quality contemporary theatre work or presenting it to the public. These could be venues, festivals or independent producers.

These grants are to underwrite the risk of presenting new work to the public, or to fund the development of new work for later possible presentation. ‘New work’ is defined as theatre works that have not yet had a public season anywhere. The theatre board funds will be exclusively for the fees and salaries of the artists and artsworkers being presented.

Applicants will be expected to bring considerable resources of their own to their proposed program.

Please note that program - presenter grants are not for organisations that primarily exist to create their own work and which are led by the key artists involved in the work presented.Such organisations should apply in the board’s other funding categories such as new work.

The receipt of a program - presenter grant is no guarantee of funding beyond the three years of the agreement. All applications compete on their merits for available funding.

Applicants to this category are advised to discuss their application with theatre board staff before applying.

This category is open to organisations only. To be eligible, applicants must meet the general eligibility requirements.

Program – presenter grants represent one of an organisation’s two applications to the Australia Council each year. A second application cannot be to the theatre board.

Organisations currently in receipt of a program - presenter grant may make one other application to the Australia Council each year, but that second application cannot be to the theatre board.

Selection criteria

Applications will be selected that best meet the following selection criteria:

• An artistic rationale for the activity as a vital contribution to the development of high quality contemporary theatre
• Artistic or professional skills appropriate to the activity
• Contribution to the diversity of Australian theatre
• Good planning and effective use of resources.

Your artistic rationale must include your curatorial vision and proposed selection process for developing or presenting new high quality contemporary theatre works.

In assessing your application against the last criterion, the board will take into account whether the contribution of your own cash and resources to the program is commensurate with the size and resources of your organisation.

Support material

You can apply online for all Australia Council grants.  

You must submit evidence of your eligibility and the required support material as part of the application.

Required support material

You must submit the following required support material with your application by the closing date:

• Program budget –   applicants to the program presenter grant category must use the program budget template regardless of whether applying online or by post, and should only provide budget information for the 2010 activities which are the subject of the application. (We do not require your organisation’s entire annual budget).

The following required support material can be submitted after the closing date, but must be sent before the assessment meeting. It must be received no later than 23 July 2011:

• When proposals are submitted from organisations or individuals that involve companies funded by the major performing arts board (MPAB), a letter of agreement between the applicant and the MPAB-funded company must be provided to both the MPAB and this board. More information is available here
• 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 (hard copies are available from the Australia Council).

Please do not submit any additional material, as it will not be viewed by the Board.