The latest grants and fellowships announced by the Australia Council for the Arts have continued the trend towards supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait artists.
A total allocation of $6.2 million has been made to support project and development grants for individuals, groups and small-to-medium arts organisations.
Among the recipients are Melbourne-based hip hop, soul and R&B artist, Mojo Juju (pictured), to take part in a European tour with the Hilltop Hoods, and First Nations curator, Freja Carmichael for her latest project building on her success as the inaugural recipient of the emerging First Nations Curator Award.
Chief Executive of the Australia Council, Adrian Collette said the strong result for First Nations artists reflected the Council’s long term commitment to First Nations arts and culture.
“Now more than ever, Australians are engaging with First Nations arts for their beauty, strength and power, and to understand who we are as a nation,” Mr Collette said.
“Equally pleasing is that almost a third of the successful applicants nominated audience engagement, or access and participation, as primary outcomes of their project,” he said.
“We want as many Australians as possible to be captivated by arts experiences.”
The latest grant round also includes the recipients of the Australia Council’s highly sought-after fellowships. For the first time this year, the Council has awarded two additional fellowships, taking the total to 10.
A full list of grant recipients can be found on the Australia Council website at this PS News link.