The Australia Council for the Arts is the Australian Government’s arts funding and advisory body. It supports Australia’s arts through funding, strengthening and developing the arts sector.
The Council collaborates to build new audiences, foster philanthropic support and deepen our understanding of the the arts through research.
Each year, it provides more than $158 million in funding for arts organisations and individual artists across the country.
HOW TO CONTACT AUSTRALIA COUNCIL
General Enquiries
Telephone: (02) 9215 9000
Toll-free: 1800 226 912
Fax (02) 9215 9111
Email: mail@australiacouncil.gov.au
Address: 372 Elizabeth Street (cnr Cooper Street)
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Information for applicants
This section contains everything you need to know about applying to the Australia Council for the Arts.
Before applying to any grant category you should carefully read all the relevant information by clicking on the link below:
http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/grants/information_for_applicants
To access information on the Visual Arts Grants below, cick on this link:
http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/grants/find_grants?queries_artform_query=Visual+arts&queries_closing_date_query_tovalue[d]=31&queries_closing_date_query_tovalue[m]=12&queries_closing_date_query_tovalue[y]=2010&search_page_43086_submit_button.x=49&search_page_43086_submit_button.y=11
Significant International Opportunities - Visual Arts Visual arts 01 February 2010
The Significant International Opportunities initiative assists Australian and International arts organisations to present and promote contemporary Australian visual arts to audiences overseas.
Artist Run Initiatives 2010 Visual arts 01 February 2010
The Visual Arts Board in partnership with the Inter-arts office is offering a limited number of grants to Artist Run Initiatives (ARIs), as part of the Australian Government’s Opportunities for Young and Emerging Artists program.
JUMP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts; Community partnerships; Dance; Inter-arts; Literature; Music; Theatre; Visual arts 26 February 2010
The JUMP National Mentoring Program for Young and Emerging Artists supports the career development of artists aged 18-30, and in the first five years of their professional practice, by providing mentoring opportunities with established professionals in their artform. Managed by Youth Arts Queensland
ArtStart Visual arts 08 March 2010
The ArtStart program provides financial assistance to artists who have recently graduated in creative arts to help them establish a professional arts practice or gain employment as an artist.
New Work – Established - Visual Arts Visual arts 14 April 2010
New Work – established grants support the creation of new work by established craftspeople, designers, media artists, visual artists and arts writers.
Fellowships - Visual Arts Visual arts 16 April 2010
Fellowship grants provide financial support to craftspeople, designers, media artists and visual artists who have an outstanding record of achievement in their field.
New Work – Emerging - Visual Arts Visual arts 16 April 2010
New Work – emerging grants support the creation of new work by emerging craftspeople, designers, media artists, visual artists and arts writers.
Presentation and Promotion - Visual Arts Visual arts 16 August 2010
Presentation and Promotion grants assist arts organisations to present and promote contemporary Australian craft, design, media and visual arts to audiences in Australia and overseas.
Skills and Arts Development – General - Visual Arts Visual arts 16 August 2010
Skills and Arts Development – general grants support excellence in the arts by providing professional development opportunities for craftspeople, designers, media artists, visual artists, arts writers and curators.
Australian Visual Arts Emeritus Award and Medal - Visual Arts Visual arts 16 August 2010
The Australian Visual Arts Emeritus Award and Medal recognise Australian visual artists and advocates of contemporary Australian art who are making an outstanding contribution to the development of the sector.
Skills and Arts Development – Residencies - Visual Arts Visual arts 18 August 2010
Skills and Arts Development – residency grants support excellence in the arts by providing professional development opportunities for craftspeople, designers, media artists and visual artists.
Top 10 Tips for Applying for NAVA Grants:
1. Read the guidelines. We've had years of developing these guidelines
and they're there to help. Everything you need to know will be there
and anything you don't need, won't be.
2. Be clear and concise. Although we appreciate that you're passionate
about your project and could talk about it for a week, being able to
succinctly describe it to someone who has never seen it before is the
key. The assessors have a lot of applications to go through and the
quicker they understand what you're trying to tell them, the better it
is for everyone.
3. Income equals Expenditure. You should cost your project properly so
you know what your expenses will be. Income for the project will
usually be shown as coming from a number of sources including the grant
you are asking for, money and in-kind contributions from others,
expected sales or fees etc. if you still have an income shortage but
expect the project to go ahead, then the shortfall will be your own
personal contribution, and you should note that.
4. Kill two birds with one stone. If you're an artist living in NSW,
you can apply for both the Marketing and Visual and Craft Artists Grant
Scheme. The funding bodies are different for both grants and each are
assessed on their own merit.
5. Know your tax and GST. If you are registered for GST we need a tax
invoice to pay you so provide one at the time of applying. You will be
applying for the amount of the grant plus GST.
If you are not registered for GST and have an ABN you need to provide
us with the ABN so that you will not have tax withheld from the grant.
If you are not registered for GST and you do not have an ABN then you
need to either fill in a Statement by a Supplier or pay withholding tax
on the grant (remember this is currently 48.5%). Most of our grant
applicants in this category would submit a Statement by a Supplier but
you may need to get further advice from your accountant or the
Australia Taxation Office.
For more information about tax, go to the Advice Centre.
6. Don't panic - Post it. Once you decide to apply, give yourself
plenty of time to fill out all the questions, write up all your
paperwork and send us in any images, attachments etc – if they are
asked for. NAVA is a national organisation and we accept that not
everyone has access to metro postal services, which is why we accept
grants postmarked by the closing date. Which means that you just need
to get it in the post box on the day and you'll be OK. This means that
an artist in Perth has the same amount of time to prepare the
application as someone living in Sydney.
7. All NAVA grants are assessed externally. The small grants are
assessed by a different pair of assessors in a different state each
round. The Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship, Windmill
Scholarship and the Art & Australia/ANZ Private Bank RIPE Award are
all assessed by selection panels. This means that it takes time to
assess because your projects are all worthwhile. It also means that
NAVA staff don't have any influence over the decision. We can only give
limited feedback after the grants have been assessed depending on the
level of feedback the assessors have, or haven’t, given us.
8. If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. Just because you
aren't successful, doesn't mean your exhibition, project, marketing
plan isn't great.
9. If you are successful, don’t forget to bank the cheque! And you have
to acknowledge the funding as outlined in your letter of offer.
10. Don't forget to tell us all about it! We love to hear how the
project went, so after it's all over, download an acquittal form from
the site and let us know. Don't forget to include copies of the
invitations/web printouts/posters/flyers, etc. so that we have
something to look at too.