GRANTS TO SUPPORT LOCAL CREATIVE RECOVERY
Monday, 15 June 2020
Grants worth $26,000 will support local creatives to rebound, recover and explore new business opportunities as part of the first wave of the Victorian Government’s Sustaining Creative Workers initiative.
Parliamentary Secretary for Creative Industries and Member for Eastern Victoria, Harriet Shing, welcomed the news that three local creative workers and businesses would share in state-wide grants totalling $2.4 million through the first tranche of the program.
Sustaining Creative Workers provides quick response grants to support the work of professional creatives across all fields – from filmmakers, game developers and fashion designers to writers, visual artists, musicians, performers and many others.
The three local recipients are:
| GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL | AMOUNT | PURPOSE |
| Bynm Aboriginal Corporation, Morwell | $10,000 | To develop new ceramic products and to support staff to undertake professional and skills development to improve their online capabilities and social media presence in order to reach new markets. |
| Pezaloom | $6,000 | To research and trial digital platforms and develop skills in using media tools to expand his creative practice. |
| The Owls of Nebraska CHURCHILL | $10,000 | To enable the Gippsland art collective to research and test a range of digital platforms to produce works together while physically apart. |
The creative industries employ 280,000 people in Victoria and have been among the hardest hit sectors, with venue closures, screen industry shutdowns and event cancellations leaving thousands of creative practitioners and associated trades out of work and leading to millions in lost revenue.
Sustaining Creative Workers is part the Victorian Government’s overall $51.1 million response to protect creative jobs and ensure the state’s renowned creative sector survives the crisis.
The grants program was delivered in partnership with Regional Arts Victoria and Arts Access Victoria.
Visit creative.vic.gov.au to see a full list of recipients.
Quotes attributable to Parliamentary Secretary for Creative Industries and Member for Eastern Victoria, Harriet Shing
“Creativity has always played a strong role in our community. Over the past few months, while we have stayed home, the creative sector has played a vital role in entertaining us, inspiring us and keeping us connected.”
“However, the sector has been hit hard by event cancellations and venue closures. Even as restrictions slowly begin to ease, these workers and businesses will continue to be impacted for some time.”
“The Sustaining Creative Workers grants will help them adapt to these new circumstances, develop new sources of income or new ways to reach audiences, and keep working, building and future-proofing their business or career.”