Creative industry to benefit from Vic Grants

VICTORIAN MUSICIANS, fashion labels, game developers, galleries, filmmakers and writers are among the first wave of creatives to receive support through the Victorian Government’s Sustaining Creative Workers initiative.

More than $2.4 million in grants will support almost 400 Victorian creative industries workers, organisations and micro-businesses to undertake activities that will help protect creative careers, explore new business opportunities and enable the sector to rebuild and bounce back.

The creative industries, which ordinarily employ 280,000 people in Victoria, 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.

The $4.2 million Sustaining Creative Workers initiative is a quick response grants program that is part of the Victorian Government’s $51.1 million response to safeguard our renowned creative sector and keep creatives working.

This first tranche of activities will see artists focus on expanding business skills, purchasing streaming equipment or creating online stores to expand their markets. Others will respond to the crisis by hosting online launch events and virtual publicity tours or by adapting cancelled shows into podcasts, audio plays or online exhibitions.

Demonstrating the breadth of Victoria’s creative community, the many recipients include rapper BIRDZ, fashion labels Strateas Carlucci and Gwendolynne, south-west Victoria’s Find Your Voice - All Abilities Choir, author Nam Lee, game developer Paper House, artist Lisa Roet, children’s group The Listies and industrial designer Girius Antanaitis.

Some artists and businesses will create work to launch when restrictions ease while others respond to the new environment with initiatives such as a ‘drive-in’ performance at the Newstead Racecourse or a performance delivered to audiences over the phone.

To future-proof their businesses against further disruption, many will use this time to upskill staff in new technologies, adapt their studios to include live-streaming capabilities, explore how to present events with both online and live components or to establish new supply chains where all materials can be sourced, and created, onshore.

In partnership with Regional Arts Victoria and Arts Access Victoria, rolling assessment continues on the program which received more than 2500 applications over four weeks.

To see the full list of the first recipients go to the Creative Victoria website

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