Regional Arts Fund Project Grants – Round 1 2024 Recipients

Applicant

Project Title

Project Description

Funded Amount

Applicant Location

Yimbaya Maranoa

(Formerly Remapping Mitchell Arts Collective)

Yimbaya Maranoa Camp Residency 2024

Participants from the arts collective ‘Yimbaya Maranoa’ will develop material for collaborative digital light and sound installations during an on-country residency. The collective comprises Indigenous, Maranoa, and visiting artists, working with contemporary, historical, and personal accounts of the Maranoa region, to foreground less visible or absent stories and perspectives. Stage One includes planning, and online discussions for all participants. Stage Two includes photographic artist Marian Drew facilitating and providing the collective with on-country training and recording experiences. An initial one-day skill and concept-building workshop in Mitchell will be preparation for a four-day camp on the Maranoa River. At camp, digitally recorded collaborative, participatory and performative activities will provide the content for post-production artworks.

$20,356.00

Injune, 4454

JUTE Theatre Company

Production of a New Work for young people, O, Ophelia by Amber Grossmann

‘O, Ophelia’ is a new regional theatre work, a contemporary reimagining of Shakespeare’s iconic character, Ophelia, by 21-year-old regional playwright, Amber Grossmann. It explores themes of coercive behaviour from young peoples’ perspectives. The co-production between JUTE Theatre Company and Overall Arts, a Cairns-based Youth Theatre Company led by Grossmann, will be rehearsed and staged at Bulmba-ja Arts Centre, Cairns, March 2025 with a predominantly young cast. The production will see industry professionals offer mentorship to local emerging youth artists, including playwrights, directors, cast, and designers. Through the DARTS touring initiative, which is a platform facilitating tours of regional works hosted by regional companies, audiences in additional regional centres will experience “O, Ophelia”, broadening the engagement, reach and impact of work of young artists.

$29,275.00

Cairns, 4870

Natalie Ward

The Application of Local Geology and Geological Waste Products in Ceramics

This professional and concept development project will focus on the use of local geological materials and geological waste materials in ceramics. Natalie Ward will attend a 10-day, one-on-one workshop with ceramicist and geodesist Anja Slapnicar, that will focus on how to source, process, and utilise local geology in ceramic clay bodes and glaze. Using this skill and knowledge, Ward will then partner with a Townsville exploration company, to spend time with a local geologist on site, learning about the local geology of North Queensland and how to recognise different environmental aspects that can be used in pottery. Ward will be supported to collect local samples, and provided with waste materials, and have these processed to determine their elemental composition. With this information and materials, Ward will complete tests of the materials as clay bodies and in glazes to create ceramics with locally sourced materials and geological waste materials.

$7,450.00

West End, 4810

Melissa Buchholz

Lovesong the Cabaret

“Lovesong the Cabaret” is a beautiful and emotionally evocative music theatre experience. Designed in cabaret style, the characters will use well-known songs to link the stories of intertwined lives seen through all the textured windows of where love takes us. With three truly exceptional performers, “Lovesong the Cabaret” will feature some of the greatest love songs of all time. With haunting melodies and soul-stirring lyrics, that will touch the hearts of audiences. This production will resonate with audience members in unique and personal ways. Audiences will laugh, be touched by tears, and find themselves cheering for our characters, every step of the way. Created for regional Queensland, this production will connect with music theatre lovers and offers first time theatre goers an accessible music experience.

$19,375.00

Middle Ridge, 4350

Tully Arts and Cultural Precinct

Tully Arts & Cultural Precinct – Consultation, Planning and Communication

The Tully Arts and Cultural Precinct Community Consultation, Planning & Communication Project (TACP-CCPC) ultimately aims to develop and construct an Arts and Cultural Precinct for Tully to encourage multiple cultural, economic, educational, and social benefits to the town and Cassowary Coast Council (CCRC) region, enhance liveability and re-establish well-being within the community. Undertaking a rigorous and respectful process of community engagement with community members, businesses, and other stakeholders, the TACP-CCP project will deliver a comprehensive strategic plan to guide the project forward, underpin relationships and support future activities and submissions for funding. The Tully Arts and Cultural Precinct will be guided by key principles of Reconciliation and Truth Telling, Arts and Cultural Development, Inclusion and Connection, Collaboration and Sustainability. This is a grass roots project driven by a collective desire for positive change and revitalisation of the community.

$9,850.00

Murray Upper, 4854

Munimba-ja Arts Centre Ltd

BL:AK Camp + Exhibition 2024

BL:AK Camp is a 5-day multi-disciplinary First Nations artist camp and exhibition for ten selected artists from the Sunshine Coast, Kabi Kabi/Jinibara Country. Held at Booloumba Creek, Kabi Kabi Country, the camp will foster critical exchange among emerging, established, and mid-career artists, elders, and peers, exploring diverse creative practices and industry avenues. Inclusivity is at the heart, dedicating a day to all First Nations Artists from the Sunshine Coast, Moreton Bay, Noosa, and Gympie Regions. BL:AK Camp also hosts an industry day, providing a culturally safe environment for engagement with non-Indigenous industry leaders. As a platform for cultural continuation and artistic innovation, this project is integral to professional development for First Nations Artists on the Sunshine Coast, encouraging experimentation, expanding networks, employment, and participation in non-Indigenous projects, enriching both participants and the broader community.

$30,000.00

Maleny, 4552

Rockhampton Youth Orchestra

Rockhampton Creative Bootcamp 2024

To commemorate Rockhampton Youth Orchestra’s 50th anniversary, RYO will partner with Topology, renowned leaders in creativity and collaboration, to deliver Rockhampton Creative Bootcamp 2024. Rockhampton Creative Bootcamp is a 4-day intensive program designed for emerging artists and community members to refine their skills and unlock their creative potential. Over the duration of the bootcamp, participants will engage in the creative process and craft a new work under the guidance of Topology’s tutors. The culmination of this process will be a professional presentation where participants are encouraged to perform their new work live on stage. The core objective of Rockhampton Creative Bootcamp 2024 is to create an environment where participants can grow their artistic skills and experience personal empowerment. Beyond individual growth, the structured collaborative environment aims to strengthen social cohesion and encourage cross-generational collaboration.

$15,893.00

Rockhampton, 4700

Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council

Wujal Wujal Mural of Significance

Following the devastating Tropical Cyclone Jasper which caused unprecedented flooding displacing residents and destroying the local Art Centre, the Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire Council will engage a professional artist from the region to collaborate with local artists to design and create a mural of significance on the local amenities block adjacent to the community hall. Local artists will also assist in the development and design of new signage for essential community services buildings such as the Council’s Cultural Connections Office. This initiative seeks to enhance social and cultural connections through collaboration with local artists, while also promoting economic sustainability by encouraging cultural participation in the arts sector. The project also supports the return of residents to their homes by offering a positive and creative outlet for the community to come together and heal.

$30,000.00

Wujal Wujal, 4895

Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation

Kuku Bakal Kaykayanda (Giving Words to All the Children)

This project is a series of participatory creative programs developed with children and young people from across the three Shires of Far North Queensland severely impacted by Tropical Cyclone Jasper and the associated flooding event. In the communities of Mossman, Cooktown, Rossville, Wujal Wujal, Degarra and Ayton, children and youth have experienced continual upheaval, displacement and trauma impacts from this disaster event. This program holds significant promise to help in an impactful and powerful way, to move through a recovery where the arts are a vehicle for healing and connection. Creative skill development will strengthen the voice of young people, creating a space for storytelling processes, connection and building resilience. This creative platform will help articulate and deepen the shared understanding of youth recovery experiences and build sustainable youth-centred recovery programs.

$30,000.00

Mossman, 4873

Harley Mann

Wakka Wakka and Goreng Goreng Circus Engagement Tour

This project will see a tour of 5 towns in Goreng Goreng and Wakka Wakka Countries with a professional ensemble of First Nations artists. The tour included facilitated circus skills workshops for school aged children allowing them the opportunity to develop personal skills, enjoy physical movement and promote connectivity within the local community. Additionally in each location, Harley Mann’s production of ‘The Dry’ will be performed, bringing together remote communities to experience a professional circus performance by First Nations artists. Harley Mann will subcontract First Nation’s performers through Circa to facilitate workshops and perform his production of ‘The Dry’.

$30,000.00

Cairns North, 4870

CQUniversity

Pathways to Prosperity: Grant Writing and Community Engagement in Rural Settings

This project will provide a platform for skill-building and collaboration, understanding the ever-changing framework of grant programs, budgets and fostering partnerships that go beyond the realm of arts and culture. A workshop covering a range of essential topics, including grant writing, strategic project planning and community engagement will be open to artists, makers, small businesses and cultural associations in Western Queensland. To facilitate the workshop and mentoring sessions, CQUniversity will engage with Olivia Everitt, a seasoned grant writer, arts consultant, and project coordinator with over 12 years of experience working with not-for-profits, local government, and the arts and cultural sector. Everitt has a proven track record of providing specialised support in grant writing, arts, and economic development to clients in rural and regional Queensland and beyond.

$4,507.14

Norman Gardens, 4701