Country Arts SA recognises that we are living and creating on First Nations Lands and we are committed to working together to honour their living cultures.
More than $150,000 injected into South Australian regional and remote arts practices
The Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund will provide $159,770 in support of 10 arts projects across regional South Australia.
The latest grant round gives the green light to a range of project types from community capacity building to professional development opportunities for artists.
Country Arts SA’s Chief Executive/Executive Director, Anthony Peluso said, “Country Arts SA is thrilled to deliver Regional Arts Funding to support 10 new and innovative projects across regional South Australia. We are excited to see what the successful applicants will produce and how they will grow their practice through their funded projects. The Regional Arts Fund supports sustainable cultural development in regional and remote communities that benefit the whole region and even more so in 2020 when the arts can help us to heal and understand the world around us better.”
Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, said that it was positive to see a number of innovative projects across South Australia receiving funding.
“Through the Regional Arts Fund we are providing opportunities for communities across regional South Australia to share their stories and connect with one another, particularly in a year where most of us have been isolated,” Minister Fletcher said.
“We recognise the challenges regional and remote communities have faced throughout 2020, and we are committed to supporting the work of artists and organisations, especially as they use the arts as a platform to recover from the impacts of COVID-19 and last summer’s bushfires.
“We are supporting these organisations and individuals to develop important works and performances and engage with their local communities, which in turn provides long-term cultural, economic and social benefits.”
Using digital media to share stories was a theme for this round, with several applicants delivering projects looking to capture stories from their communities and share them as apps or short films. Successful digital media initiatives in this round include:
en plein air Films – Church Road, Kangaroo Islsand
Church Road is a storytelling project with local residents focusing on the events that occurred during the Kangaroo Island fires in January 2020. Newly formed production group, en plein air Films, will make a short film in response to the impact that the fires had on the natural environment and the lives of the people on the island.
Michal Hughes – Walking Home, Whyalla
Whyalla creators Michal Hughes and Richard Parker will interview local residents about their connection to Whyalla. The resulting stories will be collated into an app that will allow tourists and locals to listen to site-specific stories of Whyalla.
The Australian Government supports regional artists, arts workers and organisations to develop and expand their artistic practice through the Regional Arts Fund. Where projects are impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, the response from the Office for the Arts and Country Arts SA will be as flexible and supportive as possible.
Funding targets activities that will have long-term cultural, economic and social benefits for individuals and communities. Funding through the Regional Arts Fund assists communities and individuals through the development of partnerships and cultural networks, by providing artists with professional development and employment opportunities, and by supporting arts and community development projects that provide local communities with opportunities to access exciting arts and cultural activities.
The Regional Arts Fund is administered on behalf of the Australian Government by Regional Arts Australia and its member organisations which include Country Arts SA. The next round of Project Grants closes on 15 March 2021 for projects that commence after 1 July 2021.
Here are all the projects that were funded
Michal Hughes – WHYALLA $6,700
Walking Home
Whyalla creators Michal Hughes and Richard Parker will interview local residents about their connection to Whyalla. The resulting stories will be collated into an app that will allow tourists and locals to listen to site-specific stories of Whyalla.
Maria Holst Salomonsen – KANGAROO ISLAND $13,895
Learning about Metal
Textile artist Maria Holst-Salomonsen will be mentored by sculptor Deb Sleeman, extending her practice to create works that incorporate fibre with metal.
Marika Davies – PORT PIRIE $13,795
Curatorial Mentorship
Emerging Curator Marika Davies will be mentored by Nici Cumpston, Senior Aboriginal Curator of the Art Gallery of South Australia and Director of Tarnanthi Festival and Ursula Halpin, Director of Port Pirie Regional Art Gallery. The mentors will support Marika to curate an exhibition as part of Tarnarthi 2021 and will allow Marika to support Aboriginal female artists in her region.
Jennifer Bourne – PORT AUGUSTA $14,998
Design and Yardage Screen Printing Mentorship
Emerging textile artist Jenny Bourne will undertake a mentorship in yardage screen-printing with textile artist Rae O’Connell. Jenny will invite other regional artists to take part in workshops with the artist’s rare screen print yardage table, as a way of revitalising an art form that is at risk of dying out.
Gavin Clarke – MOUNT GAMBIER $14,994
The Chrysalis Box – Suite of Music
Multi-art form creator Gavin Clarke will compose and record a suite of music to be used as a soundtrack for a variety of interactive art experiment activities, which will be tested by kindergarten collaborators.
Richard Parker – WHYALLA $15,000
Unbroken
Filmmaker and animator Richard Parker will design and facilitate a series of visual arts workshops for participants with a lived experience of domestic abuse and family violence. The workshop processes will create a forum for mutual learning and will result in an exhibition to raise awareness about these issues.
Arts Up Streaky Bay – STREAKY BAY $23,107
Stars Align
Eyre Peninsula artists will collaborate on a series of site-specific residencies to create public artworks at the Streaky Bay Nature Play space, focusing on the cultural, environmental and celestial heritage of Streaky Bay.
ac.care Berri – RENMARK $14,958
Renmark Skate Park Youth Mural
Artist Scott Rathman will lead a community capacity-building project to provide Aboriginal youth in the Riverland the opportunity to be involved in the design and creation of a large-scale artwork at the Renmark Skate Park.
En plein air Films – KANGAROO ISLAND $30,000
Church Road
Church Road is a storytelling project with local residents focusing on the events that occurred during the Kangaroo Island fires in January 2020. Newly formed production group, en plein air Films, will make a short film in response to the impact that the fires had on the natural environment and the lives of the people on the island.
D’faces of Youth Arts – WHYALLA $12,323
Choose Your Own Adventure
Young people from D’faces of Youth Arts drama and film groups will work with professional artsworkers from the film and media industry to create an interactive and innovative media project. A key outcome of the project will be a film, to be screened at various events, allowing young, regional artists the opportunity to showcase their skills to their peers and community.