The Hon Rod Kemp was Minister for the Arts and Sport from Friday 23 November 2001 to Tuesday 30 January 2007. This site is available for archival purposes only.
Festival experience coming to local communities
The festival experience will make its way through Australia’s rural and regional communities following the announcement of over $570,000 in grants by the Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator Rod Kemp, today.
Senator Kemp said 39 festivals will share in over $570,000 under the latest round of the Australian Governments, Festivals Australia program.
“Festivals are a great way for people to come together to celebrate, appreciate and understand their communities. By funding innovative cultural activities through Festivals Australia, the Australian Government provides regional and remote communities with access to exciting arts experiences that would otherwise not be available,” Senator Kemp said.
“Many projects involve workshops, enabling community members to participate in the creation of artworks or performances along with professional artists.”
This grant round will support a range of cultural activities at a variety of festivals across Australia, including:
- Family Portraits – Artists in residence Workshops at the Tom Roberts Festival in Inverell, NSW – Using the theme ‘Family Portraits’ this project aims to bring three artists to work with local youth and school students, adult community members and indigenous groups to produce portraits reconnecting people, landscape art and history.
- Cirque de Silo at the Natimuk Fringe Festival, VIC—this project will capture the stories of older community members about visits by the circus to the town, and develop a performance involving vertical dance on the 33 metre high Graincorp silos, projected animation, shadow puppets, acrobats and a choir.
- Outbach at the Darwin International Guitar Festival, NT—this project aims to explore the music of Johann Sebastian Bach through a series of workshops and performances from a new cultural and aural perspective by the inclusion of traditional indigenous Australian music and the guitar in the setting of Katherine Gorge.
A list of the successful grantees for the program is attached and is also available online from www.dcita.gov.au/festivals.
The deadline for applications in the next round of funding is 15 July 2005.
Festivals Australia is an Australian Government funding program which provides funding for arts-based projects which enhance the cultural program of regional and community festivals.
6 June 2005
Media contact: Michael Christo, Minister’s Office, 02 6277 7350 or 0407 040 276