Cultivate | Closing date:  5pm, 5th September 2011

Cultivate is a new professional development fund for Australian artists with disability.

Cultivate will provide seed funding to artists who want to further develop their professional artistic practice with the aim of being better placed to pursue a professional artistic career and to compete for funding in general arts funding programs.

Cultivate is an initiative of Arts Access Australia and the Australia Council for the Arts.
It is supported by the Australian Government through the Office for the Arts.

Key Dates

Closing date:              5pm, 5 September 2011

Assessment:             September 2011

Decisions advised:   October 2011

Projects start:            1 November 2011

Projects end:             31 August 2012

Costs

Grants are for the costs associated with starting or growing your professional practice as an artist. This could include specific skills or professional development opportunities, professional fees, travel, training or mentoring.

Cultivate is not intended to be project funding, but can include the cost of developing new artistic work if the lack of opportunities to develop or showcase your work has been identified as a problem in developing your artistic career. The focus of the proposal must be on career development, not the production of the work itself.

A reasonable level of administrative costs may be included in your application.

Grants cannot cover living costs or funding to purchase equipment such as cameras or computers (unless they are access requirements and specifically related to your arts practice).

Applicants can apply for a maximum of $8,000 (including access costs).

We encourage artists to apply independently, but you can ask an organisation to auspice your application. This means they will receive the funding on your behalf, organise to pay you, and help you make sure the project gets done on time.

In your application form, you will need to provide a budget outlining all the income and expenses relating to your project. If the Cultivate grant does not cover all your costs, you will need to seek other support and/or include your own contribution (cash or in-kind support) towards the project.

Eligibility

To apply, you need to:

• Identify as an artist with disability.
• Be either an Australian citizen or have permanent residency status.
• Have unsuccessfully applied to any State, Territory or Federal Government arts funding agency between 2006 and 2011 or have experienced access barriers that have prevented you from applying during this period.

Selection criteria

Applications will be ranked against the following criteria:

• The artistic quality of the applicant and other project partners
• Suitability of the proposal to the artist’s professional development
• The direct benefit to the artist involved
• Good planning and effective use of resources

How to Apply

By Monday the 5^th of September 2011 you must send:

1.    Completed Cultivate application form (including budget)

2.    Examples of your work (pick one of the following)

• Five pages of written material (published writing, research or press coverage) (OR)
• Up to 10 printed photographs or electronic images of your recent work (OR)
• Up to 10 minutes of video or sound recording of your recent work on either DVD or CD (OR)
• Up to three website addresses linking to your recent work

3.    Support letters (between one and three)

• Provide up to three letters of support from relevant people or organisations that can comment on the benefit of your proposed Cultivate grant and your track record as an artist. This could include teachers, colleagues, more established artists, project partners or other appropriate arts professionals.
• A good support letter may include an explanation of the importance of the activity, the likely benefits and a brief outline of the writer’s own experience with you and your work.

4.    Additional support material (if relevant)

• For projects that involve Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artists or communities:
  • In line with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Policy and its underpinning principles, the Australia Council requires that applications for projects containing representations of artistic/cultural practice or intended outcomes relating to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artists or communities must provide letters from relevant communities or artists. Letters must show clear evidence of support and agreement for the activities undertaken. In preparing your application, you may wish to consult the Indigenous protocol guides in song, performance, writing, new media, and visual arts (hard copies may be obtained from the Australia Council). Copies can be found on the Australia Council website at the following links:

Media Arts  Music  Performing Arts  Visual Arts  Writing

• For projects that involve companies funded by the Major Performing Arts Board (MPAB):
  • A letter of agreement between the applicant and the MPAB-funded company must be provided. For further details please contact MPAB staff directly.
  • More information on Major Performing Arts Board funding companies can be found on the Australia Council website.

You are welcome to submit your application in a way that’s accessible to you. Please contact Arts Access Australia for more information.

Only one proposal per person will be accepted.

Applications must be received by 5pm on Monday the 5^th of September.

Please send your application to:

Email:            info@artsaccessaustralia.org

Mail:               Arts Access Australia, 222 Bank Street, South Melbourne, VIC 3031

Assessment Process

The assessment panel will be made up of representatives from the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Access Australia and individual artists with disability.

The panel will award funding to applicants who rate the highest against the published selection criteria.

Evaluation

An evaluation program will be set up by the Australia Council to measure the benefits of this program. Participation in evaluation is a funding condition for successful applicants.

For more information

Applicants are encouraged to contact Arts Access Australia prior to submitting your application.

AAA can help answer questions about your application or support material and give you information on how to put together an effective application.

AAA can be contacted via:

Email              info@artsaccessaustralia.org

Phone               0419 201 338 (voice / text)

Skype             artsaccessaustralia2

Please let us know if you would like this information in another format, or if you’d like help filling out the form.