Theatre

Career Development Grants for Individuals and Groups

If you are an individual artist, arts worker or group of artists, this grant can provide support to further develop your skills or improve your capacity to build an enduring career. Grants are available from $5,000 to $25,000. 

The Australia Council offers three grant rounds each year for this category.

In 2019, the grant rounds will close on:

• Tuesday 5 February for projects starting after 1 May 2019. 
• Tuesday 4 June for projects starting after 1 September 2019.
• Tuesday 1 October for projects starting after 1 January 2020.

Each round closes at midnight AEST on the closing date. Technical and administrative support will not be available after 5pm on the closing date.

Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups

Our arts projects program funds a range of activities that deliver benefits to the arts sector and wider public, including national and international audiences:

The Australia Council offers three grant rounds each year for this category.

In 2019, the grant rounds will close on:

• Tuesday 5 February for projects starting after 1 May 2019. 
• Tuesday 4 June for projects starting after 1 September 2019.
• Tuesday 1 October for projects starting after 1 January 2020.

Each round closes at midnight AEST on the closing date. Technical and administrative support will not be available after 5pm on the closing date.

Arts Projects – Organisations

This program funds a range of activities that deliver benefits to the arts sector and wider public, including national and international audiences. Only organisations are eligible to apply. Grants are available from $10,000 to $100,000. In 2019, the grant rounds will close on:

• Tuesday 5 February for projects starting after 1 May 2019. 
• Tuesday 4 June for projects starting after 1 September 2019.
• Tuesday 1 October for projects starting after 1 January 2020.

Each round closes at midnight AEST on the closing date. Technical and administrative support will not be available after 5pm on the closing date.

Artistic proposal for national participation at the Australian Pavilion at the 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia

Applications are now open for artistic proposals to represent Australia in the category of National Participation at the Australian Pavilion for the 59th International Art Exhibition (Biennale Arte 2021).

Australia’s participation in the Biennale Arte is a high-profile international opportunity for Australian artists and curators to connect with new audiences at the world’s oldest contemporary art biennale. This exposure builds the profile of Australian contemporary arts and stimulates international cultural links, networks and dialogue. The Biennale Arte represents a significant platform to showcase contemporary Australian arts to a global audience.

Stage One: Applications close midnight (AEST), Thursday 18 July 2019.

Fellowships

The Australia Council offers one grant round each year for Fellowships. Fellowships will close on Tuesday 4 June 2019.

Each round closes at midnight AEST on the closing date.

Technical and administrative support will not be available after 5pm on the closing date.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application approximately 12 weeks after the closing date.

Australia Council Fellowships support outstanding, established artists’ creative activity for a period of up to two years.

China Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair

Applications are now closed.

CCBF is the only book fair fully dedicated to books for children aged 0-16 years in the Asia-Pacific region, and is a major hub of rights activity for children’s literature. The focus of this delegation is to increase opportunities for Australian children’s authors by providing access via their representatives to China’s growing market for children’s books.

The Australia Council will support delegates with $2,500 each towards the cost of attending.

Playing Australia: Regional Performing Arts Touring Fund

The Australia Council offers three grant rounds each year for Playing Australia.

In 2019, the grant rounds will close on:

• Tuesday 5 February for projects starting after 1 May 2019.
• Tuesday 4 June for projects starting after 1 September 2019.
• Tuesday 1 October for projects starting after 1 January 2020.

Each round closes at midnight on the closing date.

Contemporary Music Touring Program

The Contemporary Music Touring Program supports national touring activity undertaken by Australian musicians performing original contemporary music. It provides support of up to $15,000 for tours in Australia that include performances in regional and remote areas.  Up to an additional $15,000 can be requested for remote and very remote touring. In 2019, the grant rounds will close on:

• Tuesday 5 February for projects starting after 1 May 2019.
• Tuesday 1 October for projects starting after 1 January 2020.
  

Each round closes at midnight on the closing date. Technical and administrative support will not be available after 5pm on the closing date.

Four Year Funding for Organisations

Please note that there will be a two stage application process for the next round:

• Stage 1: Expressions of Interest (EOI) are currently closed.
• Stage 2: Full application process open September 2019 - closing 12 November 2019, for organisations successful at Stage 1.

Expressions of interest are now closed.

Contemporary Touring Initiative

Applications for this program will close at midnight on Tuesday 5 February 2019, for projects starting after 1 May 2019.

Technical and administrative support will not be available after 5pm on the closing date. Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application approximately 12 weeks after the closing date.

International Arts Strategy Outcomes Fund

The International Arts Strategy Outcomes Fund supports opportunities that directly arise from strategic initiatives delivered by the Australia Council in the target international regions under the International Arts Strategy: Europe, North America, North Asia, South and South East Asia. The fund prioritises outcomes that directly involve and benefit Australian artists, for example tours, presentations, exhibitions and translations of Australian work.

TPAM – Performing Arts Meeting in Yokohama

TPAM is one of the most established and influential performing arts platforms in Asia; a space where people from various places in the world who are professionally involved in performing arts get together for exchange through diverse performance and meeting programs that take place under the TPAM umbrella. The focus for the 2020 platform will be on dance in Asia.

India Literature Exploratory

The Australia Council now invites applications from Australian literature and publishing sector professionals to attend key literature and networking platforms in India in January 2020.  

The Australia Council will lead a gathering of four Australian literature and publishing sector professionals; including publishers, commissioning editors, literary magazine editors, curators of writers’ centres and literature festivals, programmers of words and ideas programs and for the first time writers on a week long research, engagement and networking program in India. To best leverage the trip, writers intending to apply must confirm that their work is published and available for purchase in India.

Arts and Disability Mentoring Initiative 2019-21

Applications for the 2019 round are now closed.

The Australia Council for the Arts is offering six grants of $30,000 in each Arts and Disability Mentoring Initiative round. 

If you are an individual artist or arts worker with disability, these grants can provide support to extend your arts practice, networks, skills and ambition.

Applications to this initiative do not count as one of your three permissible applications to the Australia Council Grants Program in a calendar year.

Dhaka Art Summit

Now in its fifth edition, the Dhaka Art Summit (DAS) is a hub for art and architecture in South Asia, held at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

Rejecting the traditional biennale format to create a more generative space for art and exchange, DAS’s interdisciplinary programme endeavours to catalyse a rich context for research and artistic production in the future by empowering artists and the public through its exhibition, education, and public programmes.

Event dates: 7 – 15 February 2020

Applications close: 3 September 2019 

International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY) Showcase

Applications are now open for support to attend the International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY) Showcase in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 21-25 January 2020. 

The Australia Council’s International Development Manager – North America will work with a delegation of Australians in Philadelphia to build connections with international performing arts professionals, organisations and artists working in children’s theatre/youth arts, and support their capacity to develop partnerships in North America. 

Visiting International Publishers (VIPs) Program

Applications are now open for participation in the 2020 Visiting International Publishers (VIPs) program, held in conjunction with the Sydney Writers’ Festival from 27 April – 3 May.

The VIPs program strengthens relationships between Australian publishers and agents and their international counterparts, showcases Australia’s literary talent, and promotes the sale of rights to Australian titles in international markets.

Applications close: Thursday 31 October 2019 (11:59PM ADST)