$5M philanthropic gift to Sydney Festival – the largest in its history

RØDE Founder donates $5 million to the Sydney Festival, with a message to philanthropists that the arts need their help.

RØDE Founder and Chairman Peter Freedman AM has been the principal philanthropic partner of the Sydney Festival since 2013. Today (14 January) he renewed that commitment with a $5 million donation – the largest singular philanthropic contribution to the Sydney Festival in its history.  

In a statement Freedman said: ‘Our artistic communities need assistance now more than ever. The creative arts are at the mercy of this pandemic, more so than any other industry, and the past 12 months have highlighted just how fragile the industry is.’

Incoming Sydney Festival Director, Olivia Ansell said: ‘Mr Freedman’s generous philanthropic gift will do much to rescue the state of our arts industry after the immense disruption COVID has caused.’

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina