The City of Sydney Cultural Strategy 2025-2035 identified issues affecting the local cultural economy, such as unaffordable housing, loss of creative space and an industry focus on presentation rather than the production of art.
Sydney has lost more than 172,000 square metres of creative floorspace in the decade from 2012 to 2022, which dramatically reduces the ability for artists to thrive in the city. In response, the City of Sydney is thinking differently about how to support artists with a mix of government, private sector and cultural sector-led creative projects to help nurture a more sustainable creative ecosystem.
The Accommodation Grant Program is one approach the City of Sydney is taking to put its research and strategy into action. The program provides artists and arts and community organisations with affordable spaces, including creative studios, galleries, and performance and making spaces.
Many of the city’s most well-loved cultural spaces are supported by the accommodation grant program including 4A Centre for Contemporary Art, PACT Theatre, Firstdraft and Tom Bass Sculpture Studio. In fact, there are 35 organisations currently running their cultural programs with help from subsidised or waived rent in City of Sydney owned properties.
What would you do with subsidised creative space in the city?
Right now, the City of Sydney is offering five creative tenancies at Joynton Avenue Creative Centre and one community tenancy at the Banga Community Shed in Green Square.
Feedback from artists about the administrational burden of grant applications has informed the way the City of Sydney is running its application process for this Accommodation Grants Program opportunity. To encourage experimental and responsive ideas, it is asking you to ‘pitch’ your ideas through an expression of interest process. It’s a simple form that asks for 300 words about you and 300 words about your idea for these spaces – no need for budgets, charters, forecasts or references. It’s only if your idea is shortlisted that you would be invited to the second stage to complete a more detailed application.
Express your interest in these properties by 29 July. Along with the simplified application process, the City of Sydney is providing application support sessions, open days and information sessions to encourage you to dream up your creative idea to connect people and inspire contemporary cultural life in the heart of the most densely populated hub of the city.
Enjoy a creative city
There are many other ways to make the most out of the City of Sydney’s Accommodation Grants Program and support local culture. Catch performances at Hayes Theatre Co, PACT, City Recital Hall or Milk Crate Theatre, learn ceramics at Kil.n.It, sculpture at Tom Bass studio or printmaking at Bad Press, or book a rehearsal space at Readymade Works Incorp, the East Sydney Community Arts Centre, Glebe Music Project or the City of Sydney Creative Studios.
Watch out for film, radio and media content created by Digital Storytellers, Dream Channel, Australian Screen Editors, Australian Guild of Screen Composers, Eastside Radio or Screen Culture, which presents the annual Antenna Documentary Film Festival.
Be sure to support First Nations cultural organisations such as Indigitek, Impact Policy and We Are Warriors. All these independent cultural and social organisations work out of City of Sydney-owned properties, making sure that a diverse local cultural life thrives in our city.
Ready to learn more and apply? Visit City of Sydney.
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