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.

Visions of Australia funding announcement

The Minister for the Arts and Sport, Senator Rod Kemp, today announced funding of over

$1 million to support the development and touring of exhibitions of arts and cultural material, under the latest grant round of the Australian Government’s Visions of Australia program.

“Through Visions of Australia more and more Australians are being able to access and enjoy the nation’s unique cultural collections,” Senator Kemp said.

“The exhibitions supported by Visions of Australia are also creating valuable educational opportunities, through the catalogues and public events that accompany the exhibitions.

“This funding round will support the development and touring of social history and innovative craft and design exhibitions from Fremantle in Western Australia to Rockhampton in Queensland.”

“The National Library of Australia has received funding of $160,000 to tour its National Treasures from Australia’s Great Libraries exhibition to all states and territories. More than 170 items will tour, and many of them have never left their libraries before or been seen first hand by the public.”

The Visions of Australia program encourages organisations to extend their tours so that exhibitions reach audiences that would not normally get to see them. Some of the exhibitions supported by Visions of Australia include:

• Just Add Water: Schemes and Dreams for a Sunburnt Country – draws upon the rich collection of environmental and social history records at the National Archives of Australia. These records show how Australians in the driest inhabited continent on earth have managed one of the world’s most precious resources.

• Encounters with Country: Landscapes of Ray Crooke – from Cairns Regional Gallery, will present an in-depth focus on the Australian landscape paintings of Ray Crooke.

The Visions of Australia program provides assistance to museums, galleries, libraries, archives and community organisations, to develop and tour exhibitions nationally.

A full list of the latest round of grant recipients can be found at www.dcita.gov.au/visions

MELBOURNE

30 September 2005

Media contact: Michael Christo, 03 9650 7274 or 0409 040276