Visual artist and primate enthusiast Lisa Roet is a recipient of 2016 Annual Arts Grants Program for her work Golden Monkey, Image: www.lisaroet.com
As the government funding available for independent artists diminishes, Melbourne artists have bucked the trend with the strength of grant applications inspiring an increase in funding.
Receiving a substantial increase in the number of applications, the City of Melbourne has boosted its funding pool by $200,000 for the 2016 Annual Arts Grants Program.
Councillor Rohan Leppert, Chair of Council’s Arts and Culture committee, said the applications reflects the creative talent thriving in Melbourne and the important of grants.
‘Because of the overwhelming number of applications in all categories, we have taken the unusual but very exciting step of dedicating an additional unbudgeted $200,000 to the 2016 grants, so that we can fund a greater proportion of this really strong field of applications.
‘Melbourne is one of the world’s great arts cities and the arts grants are an important way for us to help bring new and creative ideas to life to ensure we build on this reputation into the future,’ said Leppert.
