Council to invest in Newcastle's arts and cultural organisations
02 July 2017
Today Newcastle City Council has launched a new program designed to support growth and vitality of our local arts and cultural sector through programming partnerships.
Council is accepting Expressions of Interest (EOI) for a new funding program to provide support for arts and cultural organisations in Newcastle. The competitive application process opens today, Monday 3 July, with organisations invited to submit their EOIs by 5pm Monday 31 July 2017.
The purpose of the funding program is to support not-for-profit arts and cultural organisations in Newcastle to be sustainable by supporting them to develop projects for the city.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Cr Nuatali Nelmes said Council is committed to growing arts and culture in our city through building sustainable not-for-profit arts and cultural organisations.
"This new funding program is focused on building professional relationships and capacity within our local organisations, and creating a funding base that organisations can leverage with other funding partners," said the Lord Mayor.
"We want to see artists and arts practitioners thrive in our city and enable the development and co-presentation of quality new works. A strong and sustainable arts and cultural community feeds into a healthy economy, helps to revitalise and activate public spaces, creates vibrant night life, and spurs growth in cultural tourism."
In the 2017-18 financial year the total cash and in-kind budget for the program is $150,000 and a maximum of three organisations will enter into an agreement with Council. These agreements of up to three years will have annual milestones for the release of funds.
Council will host an applicant workshop to discuss the new program, and to answer questions from potential applicants, on Tuesday 11 July from 5.30-7.30pm at Newcastle City Hall.
The Lord Mayor said this opportunity opens with an Expression of Interest application, with short-listed organisations then invited to provide a full Project Proposal. This full proposal will entail greater depth in project detail and documentation.
"We will be assessing the benefit to the community through the development and presentation of the project with an emphasis on project vision and quality," she said. "We will also look at how the Council funding and co-presentation is to be leveraged to increase project support, alignment with priorities in Council's Cultural Strategy 2016-2019, demonstrated value for money, and the organisation's demonstrated track record."
Key dates in the process:
- Monday 3 July Announcement and Expressions of Interest open
- Tuesday 11 July Applicant workshop, 5.30-7,30pm, Newcastle City Hall
- Monday 31 July Expressions of Interest close
- Monday 4 September Full project proposals invited from short-listed applicants
- Sunday 8 October Full proposal applications close
- End of October Agreements finalised with up to three organisations
The new 'Council Support for Arts and Cultural Organisations in Newcastle' policy and funding program was adopted by Council on 28 March 2017.
Contact:
Mardi Ryan
Senior Cultural Planner
4974 5327 (Monday - Thursday)
