The Australia Council for the Arts has reported that more than half (63 per cent) of the latest grants awarded to individual artists around Australia have gone to women.
Chief Executive of the Australia Council, Tony Grybowski said the strong success of female artists was welcomed and followed the release of the research, Making Art Work, which highlighted the substantial pay gap for women in the arts.
“There was particularly good news for women in music with 73 per cent of individual music grants awarded to women — a significant increase on previous rounds,” Mr Grybowski said.
“Overall, the Australia Council’s latest grant round will deliver $6.3 million to Australian artists, supporting more than 200 diverse and ambitious projects from individual artists, groups and organisations.”
He said the high demand for Australia Council grants continued, with a total of 1,227 applications received including 30 per cent from first time applicants.
“In addition to the funded projects, a further 163 projects were assessed to be worthy of support, affirming the high levels of artistic vibrancy of Australian arts,” Mr Grybowski said.
“These grants will support a significant range of arts activity.
“The Australia Council’s project and career development grants invest in artists at crucial moments, supporting sustainable careers, and the creation of compelling artistic work that will be experienced and enjoyed by audiences across Australia and internationally.”
He said one of the awards went to composer Cat Hope (pictured) for developing the final stage of her opera, Speechless.
The grants are peer assessed by panels of industry experts from across the country. Applications for the next round of grants close on 2 October.
