Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

The Australia Council for the Arts has announced the results of its February grant round: more than $11 million were awarded in development and project grants for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts, community arts and cultural development, dance, emerging and experimental arts, literature, multi-art form projects, music, theatre, visual arts, and artists with disabilities. The unusually large total is due to only two rounds being offered in the 2015-16 financial year and the fact that additional funding was available after the partial return of funding to the Australia Council in late 2015.

Grant recipients include AMC-represented artists Daniel Blinkhorn, Lyle Chan, Andrée Greenwell, Mark Isaacs, Anthony Lyons, Barney McAll, Anthony Pateras, Jon Rose and Nick Tsiavos. Other grant recipients include Riley Lee (to commission multiple new works), William Gardiner (to undertake a mentorship with Ben Frost), Joanna Drimatis (to commission new work from Cat Hope), Lawrence English, Madeleine Flynn & Tim Humphrey, Nigel Helyer, Richard Petkovic, Bree Van Reyk, Joe Tawadros, Astra Chamber Music Society, Bendigo Festival of Exploratory Music, Decibel, ELISION, Kupkas Piano, Liquid Architecture, Sirens Big Band, Speak Percussion and the Wired Lab.

There were 1,542 applications altogether in this round, with 404 projects supported. Of all successful applicants, 24 % were based in regional or remote areas, and 40% of successful applicants had not applied to the Australia Council before. 113 peers were involved in the assessment process.

> A list of all grant recipients and more details, see the Australia Council for the Arts website (includes grants for all artforms in the February round)

> Media release '$11.2M invested in Australian artists and arts projects' (10 May 2016)