It is for each of us to reflect on how we collectively and individually respond to the continuing threat of fires in regional Victoria.

For those communities recently impacted, as well those still facing dangerous conditions, the team at Regional Arts Victoria is working with a number of partners right now to ensure the right support gets to you at the right time. As a first step, the Regional Arts Fund Quick Response Grant program is now taking applications for creative recovery projects, which you can read more about at rav.net.au/funding-opportunities/quick-response-grants. Please contact us if you wish to discuss these and/or other needs you may have.

As the weeks progress, more and better information will be available for artists and arts organisations in impacted communities, and Regional Arts Victoria will collect and update this as we have it through our website and social media pages. A number of general information pages also already exist (including this one from Emergency Management Victoria: emergency.vic.gov.au/relief-and-recovery/924), as well as fundraising appeals (including the Victorian Bushfire Appeal: vic.gov.au/bushfireappeal).

Part of any honest response must also be reflecting on the contributions we make to a changing climate. Regional Arts Victoria enters this decade conscious that the cultural importance of our programs does not lessen the impact they have on the environment. If things are ever going to change for the better, it must be all of us doing the changing, and the part Regional Arts Victoria plays will be a point for critical review in the coming months.

I wish you all a safe 2020.

Joe Toohey
CEO

Image: ‘Voyage’ performance by Awaken Theatre Company. Community Grant 2018 recipient. Photograph by Charmaine Phoon.

Regional Arts Fund grants applications now open

Applications are now open for this year’s Regional Arts Fund Community Grants, Fellowships and Quick Response Grants! Please note that applications for Community Grants and Fellowships will close on Monday 3 March 2020 at 5.00pm for projects starting after 1 July 2020. Applications for Quick Response Grants will close on Tuesday 3 June 2020 at 5.00pm.

We encourage you to think about your planned arts activity and whether or not you might be eligible to apply to the fund. Please refer to the funding pages on our website to read the guidance materials and then contact a member of the Partnerships team if you wish to discuss an application.

Apply now

National Regional Arts Fellowship Program 2020, Regional Arts Australia

Applications for the National Regional Arts Fellowship Program are now open! The program is designed to elevate the practice of artists and practitioners across regional, rural and remote Australia, raise their profile and provide professional development opportunities. Fellowships will be offered across a range of art forms, stages of career, duration and categories.

Find out more

Art Aid for Gippsland - 2020 Gippsland Bushfire Appeal Exhibition & Auction

Our wonderful partners at the Gippsland Art Gallery in Sale (part of Wellington Shire Council) are calling on artists to support the fire relief effort by submitting artworks for a fundraising auction. There are now nine drop off locations across Melbourne and Gippsland for those wishing to contribute to the Art Aid bushfire appeal. Artworks will be displayed at the Gallery from 15 February to 15 March culminating in an auction on the final day, on Sunday 15 March.

Find out more

2020 Murray Arts NSW & VIC Creative Industries Bushfire Impact Survey

Our friends at Murray Arts are conducting a survey for professional artists, creative businesses, museums, galleries or collectives living or operating in the Murray Arts footprint (Towong Shire Council, Greater Hume Council, Indigo Shire Council, City of Wodonga, Albury City and Federation Council) who have suffered direct impact from the bushfires. Information collected from the survey will help assist agencies with their recovery initiatives and strategies. Check out the link below to contribute.

Start survey

Memberships

Image: Talking Hands by Zoya Martin.

#RAVMember highlight: Zoya Martin

#RAVMember artist Zoya Martin connects with her community through her art practice. In her work Talking Hands Zoya explores the changing conditions and challenges of labour in Hobsons Bay, capturing every wrinkle, crease and scar, each telling their own story. She shares: ‘Through focusing on their hands, workers recalled their experiences in a new way, sharing details that may not have been revealed otherwise. They offered their hands to be photographed unselfconsciously, and often with a sense of pride.’ Talking Hands is touring Japan later this year with new photographs added to the series, and will be exhibited in Hobsons Bay as part of the Art & Industry Festival from November 20-29, 2020. Talking Hands is supported by Hobsons Bay City Council and Creative Victoria. Find out more about Zoya's practice.

Want to get featured in our next #RAVMember highlight? Contact us at memberships@rav.net.au or sign up via the link button below.

Become a member

Programming

Image: 2017 ACTF Commission Recipient Tinker by New Working Group and Andy Dexterity. Image by Sarah Walker.

2020 Joan & Betty Rayner ACTF Fellowship Expressions of Interest close 31 January

Supported by the Australian Children’s Theatre Foundation (ACTF) and Regional Arts Victoria, the 2020 Joan and Betty Rayner ACTF Fellowship will support the development of an artists’ practice to the amount of $20,000. Open to emerging or established artists working in children’s theatre or those wishing to diversify their practice into and across the field of theatre for young audiences, Expressions of Interest for the Fellowship will close on 31 January 2020. As applicants need to present work which aligns to the ideals of the Foundation, we encourage you to visit the information page where you can download the Guidelines and Application Form.

Find out more