This week, New South Wales-based artists and arts organisations can apply for funding to tour their work to regional areas, and in Victoria, there’s a commissioning opportunity for First Nations artists.
Opportunities for creatives – quick links
Multi-artform
Minderoo Artist Fund (WA) – closes 15 September
Grant/Residency. The Minderoo Artist Fund is designed to support mid-career Western Australian artists, and this next round is offering six project grants of $40,000 and up to two six-week creative residencies at Forrest Hall in Perth, valued at $25,000.
Applications close 15 September.
Helsinki International Artist Program – closes 15 September
Residency. Run by Creative Australia, this three-month residency program offers a $15,000 grant, plus time and space for open-ended research and experimentation on Suomenlinna island in Helsinki. It’s the largest international residency centre in the Nordic and Baltic region, which promises lots of opportunity to forge new connections.
While the Helsinki International Artist Program focuses on the visual arts, it’s open to artists and curators from various disciplines, including dance, theatre, literature and music.
Applications close 15 September.
Red Ochre Award – closes 15 September
Prize. Creative Australia’s First Nations arts awards are now open, including the $60,000 Red Ochre Awards for Lifetime Achievement. Nominations can be made for senior First Nations artists, cultural leaders and advocates who have a practice spanning 30 years or more.
There are also awards for established artists, young artists and First Nations arts and cultural businesses.
Nominations need to be in by 15 September.
ArtsHub: Bronwyn Bancroft and Hetti Perkins recognised in First Nations Awards
PICA Studio Program (WA) – closes 21 September
Residency. The Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts Studio Program is open to Western Australian artists, curators, writers, producers and creative practitioners, and provides a range of local, national and international residency opportunities.
There’s a three-month residency with Treasure Hill Artist Village in Taipei, and an exchange program with Sydney’s Parramatta Artists Studios.
PICA also offers Quick Response Residencies, for those needing space for one to four weeks, as well Hyper Local Residencies, which are extended five-month residencies for mid-career Boorloo/Perth-based artists developing larger long-term projects.
Eligibility criteria vary, however applications for all opportunities close 21 September.
NEW – artsACT Advisory Committees (ACT) – closes 24 September
Volunteer. The ACT’s Cultural Facilities Corporation is is seeking expressions of interest from community members, cultural leaders and professionals who can lend their skills to the following advisory committees:
- Performing Arts Advisory Committee
- Museums and Heritage Advisory Committee
Members will help shape the future of arts, culture and heritage in Canberra, and help artsACT deliver the CFC Strategic Priorities 2026-2030.
The goal is to have a mix of expertise and lived experience on these panels. Areas of expertise may include:
- Design, planning or placemaking expertise
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership, knowledge and cultural authority
- Experience within the cultural sector
- Strategic, commercial and governance capability
- Audience development, marketing and tourism insight
These are voluntary advisory positions, and appointments are generally for a two-year term. Expressions of interest close 24 September.
NEW – Regional Arts Touring Grants (NSW) – closes 13 October
Grant. Create NSW’s 2026 Regional Arts Touring (Round 2) funding helps New South Wales-based artists and arts organisations with the cost of touring their work to regional areas in the state. The scheme backs both small and large tours, and covers things like live shows, exhibitions and arts and cultural programs. It’s open to all artforms, and to works for audiences of all ages.
The program has previously supported AUTO-TUNE, which is coming soon to Newcastle as part of the upcoming New Annual Festival, and The Girl Who Glows, touring in 2027.
Individual artists and collectives are able to apply for up to $75,000, and organisations up to $120,000. Applications for this second round of funding close 13 October.
Visual arts
Kate Derum and Irene Davies Awards – closes 7 September
Prize. Run by the Australian Tapestry Workshop, the biennial Kate Derum and Irene Davies Awards invites artists from around the world to submit small-scale handwoven tapestry works.
The awards seek work that demonstrate ‘an expressive use of tapestry through materials, concept, colour and design’.
The Kate Derum Award is for established artists, and comes with a $4000 prize. The Irene Davies Award is for those in their first five years of practice, and is worth $1000. There is also an innovation award, and other smaller prizes.
For inspiration, the 2024 exhibition catalogue includes the work of past winners Anna Dunnill from Melbourne and Misako Nakahara from Japan.
Entries to the Kate Derum and Irene Davies Awards are $25 and close 7 September.
Dobell Drawing Prize – closes 14 September
Prize. The $30,000 Dobell Drawing Prize has a history that stretches back over three decades. First presented by the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the acquisitive award is now presented by Sydney’s National Art School, with the biennial exhibition continuing to highlight the enduring relevance and changing role of drawing in contemporary art practice.
This year artist Joan Ross joins the judging panel, and applications close 14 September.
Creative Australia Residencies – closes 15 September
Residency. Visual artists can now apply for Creative Australia’s Acme London Residency and International Studio & Curatorial Program residency in New York.
The Acme program is open to artists, artists, curators and arts writers, and provides $30,000 and six months at the Fire Station residency space in London.
The ISCP is for mid-career artists and curators, and provides four months in New York along with a $35,000 grant.
Applications for both programs close 15 September.
Outerspace Program (Brisbane) – closes 25 September
Exhibition opportunity. Brisbane artist-run initiative Outerspace is currently putting together its 2027 program and is seeking artists and curators who are ‘working at the edge’.
Applications are open to artists and curators anywhere in Australia, and close 25 September.
Oceania Photo Contest – closes 18 September
Prize. Alongside announcing artist Ben Quilty as its new ambassador, environmental advocacy group The Nature Conservancy Australia has also opened entries for its Oceania Photo Contest.
Open to artists from across Oceania, the prize invites entries across six categories: people and nature; plants and fungi; water; land; climate; and wildlife. The main prize is worth $6000.
As an environmental group, there are naturally some rules about subject matter and participation. Images that cause damage to the environment or involve harrassing wildlife are not eligible. Neither are images of captive animals in zoos or game farms, or images generated with AI.
Entries close 18 September.
Kilgour Art Prize – closes 5 October
Prize. The Newcastle Art Gallery had to shelve this one during the recent redevelopment work, but with the gallery open again, the Kilgour Art Prize is on its way back too. ‘We are thrilled that, as part of our reopening year, we are able to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this nationally significant art prize,’ said NAG Director Lauretta Morton.
The Kilgour celebrates figurative and portrait painting and comes with a $50,000 main prize. Past winners include Nicholas Harding, whose Beach life (pink zinc and figures) is currently on display in the the gallery’s Iconic Loved Unexpected exhibition, as well as Natasha Walsh, Blak Douglas, Michael Bell and Peter Gardiner.
Joining Morton on the judging panel this year will be independent curator Kelli Cole and artist Jason Phu. The award exhibition is set to take place in April next year.
Entries are $50 and close 5 October.
NEW – WorkSafe Commission (VIC) – closes 6 October
First Nations. This $16,000 opportunity will see a Victorian First Nations artist commissioned to produce artwork for WorkSafe Victoria, to be used across its publications, digital platforms and workplace communications. The commission is part of WorkSafe’s reconciliation action plan.
Expressions of interest close 6 October.
ATW Residency – closes 12 October
Residency. For over 20 years, the Australian Tapestry Workshop has given artists the chance to work in the studio alongside the workshop’s master weavers and dye technicians. The main residency program is open to mid-career artists working in any medium, and provides a workspace with looms, plus dedicated support. Residents are also encouraged to connect with the local communities around ATW, either through exhibitions or public programming.
There are also residencies specifically for regional artists and First Nations artists. Applications close 12 October.
Performing arts
Next Up Music Awards – closes 15 September
Awards. The inaugural Next Up Music Awards are about supporting school-aged musicians and helping them find pathways into the contemporary music industry. There are a host of famous names involved, including music theatre superstar Eddie Perfect, who will be mentoring the young winner of the Music Theatre category.
For the grown ups, there’s also a Music Teacher of the Year prize plus prizes for organisations and schools supporting the next generation of talent.
Nominations close 15 September.
NEW – La Mama 2027 Program – closes 19 October
Production opportunity. Want to present your work at La Mama in Melbourne? Applications are now open for for PLAY (June to August), La Mama’s Festival of Mother Tongues (September), Melbourne Fringe Festival (October), and Cultural Conservation in Action (November).
An in-person information session will be held on 21 September and applications are open to 19 October.
Writing, publishing & playwriting
BR Whiting Studio Residency – closes 15 September
Resdiency. Creative Australia’s BR Whiting Studio residency is a chance to work in Rome for a period of one, three or six months. It’s for writers who want to develop their practice and networks, and the six-month residency comes with a stipend of $27,500. Entirely unsurprisingly, it’s described as ‘highly competitive’.
Recent recipients include Max Easton, Leanne Hall and Katerina Gibson, and applications for this next round close 15 September.
AWGIE Awards – closes 17 September
Prize. The prestigious annual AWGIE Awards celebrate writers for screen, stage, interactive and audio works, across multiple categories. All judging is by writers, with decisions made solely on the strength of the script.
Applications are open to Australian Writers’ Guild members and close 17 September.
Blake-Beckett Trust Scholarship – closes 2 October
Fellowship. Coordinated by the Australian Society of Authors, the Blake-Beckett Trust Scholarship is for writers of fiction in any genre, as well as writers of biography. The winner receives $35,000 and the runner up $15,000.
Applicants must have published a minimum of two books and be (or become) and ASA member. They must also be working on a new manuscript, and be able to outline how the scholarship will help them achieve their goals.
Applications close 2 October.
Griffin Theatre Submissions – open 2-9 October
Production opportunity. Sydney’s Griffin Theatre has announced plans to hold two open play submission windows each year, with the first slated for this October.
‘Open access matters,’ said a theatre spokesperson in the announcement. ‘It creates pathways for writers at any stage of their career and helps ensure our stages reflect the breadth, complexity and imagination of contemporary Australia.’
These open submission periods are designed to help the company ‘connect with more playwrights and plays outside of our creative programs and their application processes,’ the statement continued.
Griffin Theatre is looking for new full-length work by Australian playwrights who have at least two professional productions behind them.
During these week-long windows, writers will be invited to submit full drafts of plays through an online portal, with feedback then provided within three months.
Submissions will be read by the Griffin Literary and Artistic team, which includes Literary Associate Daley Rangi, Artistic Director Declan Greene and Associate Artistic Director Anthea Williams, but the process may also involve collaborating with other readers and consultants external to the company to ensure that plays are assessed within their context.
The first submission window will be open from 2 to 9 October.
