New dance, theatre, music and storytelling will be supported through Round 2 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Development Fund.
$284,471 will support five Queensland-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups, organisations and individuals, including Blakdance Australia, playwright Waverley Stanley Jr and director-designer Ebony Webb.
New creative work will be shared with local audiences in Brisbane, Yarrabah and Thursday Island, as well as international audiences in the United States of America and Canada.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Development Fund is delivered through two funding streams.
The Performing Arts Stream supports the creation of a broad range of new performing arts works with funding of up to $20,000 for small projects and up to $70,000 for large projects.
The Visual Art, Fashion and Textile Market Development Stream provides up to $30,000 in funding to support creatives gain global, high-profile exposure of their work.
Additional funding of up to $10,000 has been made available to applicants through the Fund to support access needs of artists and audiences with disability.
Recipients in Round 2 of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Development Fund are:
- BlakDance Australia Limited - $70,000 to develop and deliver the BlakDance First Nations Choreographic Development Program in partnership with Brisbane Powerhouse, supporting five Queensland-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander choreographers to develop new contemporary performance works.
- Yarrabah Aboriginal Shire Council - $70,000 to support the development and delivery of the Yarrabah Music and Cultural Festival 2027, a community-led celebration of Indigenous music, culture and creativity through live performances, cultural activities, and workshops, designed to preserve Yarrabah’s unique cultural identity.
- Koey Woenab Pty Ltd - $63,133 to support acclaimed cultural dance group Dhamuw Koedal led by artist Alick Tipoti on a landmark cultural diplomacy tour of three prestigious art institutions in the United States of America including Peabody Essex Museum, de Young Museum and the Metropolitan Museum, concluding with a presentation at the Winds of Zenadth Cultural Festival on Thursday Island.
- Ms Ebony Webb - $62,883 including $1,400 in access support for the development and presentation of HEAT, a new contemporary performance exploring the impact of heat on mind, body, memory and country. Led by director-designer Ebony Webb with Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre, the funding will support creative development and rehearsal, prior to a professionally-produced Brisbane season.
- Mr Waverley Stanley - $18,455 to support a live-reading of playwright Waverley Stanley Jr’s new play The Lottery at the Weesageechak Begins to Dance Festival in Toronto, Canada. Waverley will be accompanied by actor James Slee and mentor, Lily Shearer, to perform and support the presentation of the play, which explores the impact of climate change on Indigenous communities around the world.
Image: Dhamuw Koedal Cultural Dance Team at the Winds of Zenadth Cultural Festival, 2023. Credit: Lewis Bin Doraho