Melt OPEN, a major new festival of Queer art and culture, is set to make its mark on the vibrant city of Brisbane, Australia. Premiering in Oct/Nov 2024, Melt OPEN promises to be an unforgettable celebration of diversity, inclusivity and creative expression.

Building on the success of festival predecessor Melt, now in its seventh year at Brisbane Powerhouse, Melt OPEN is a celebration of Queer art, artists, allies, icons, sport and ideas. Melt OPEN aims to raise the bar higher with more venues, more artists, and more LGBTQIA+ love in a city that is gearing up to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032.

An open access festival similar to fringe events around the world, Melt OPEN will be staged at venues throughout central Brisbane including Fortitude Valley, Newstead, New Farm, Brisbane City, West End and Wooloongabba.

Studio1 opens their doors to visionary dance-theatre companies featured in Brisbane Festival's 2024 program - Force Majeure, Dancenorth & Restless Dance Theatre. Get involved in one of (or all) three inclusive workshops that investigate process and creativity led by Australia’s leading makers of contemporary and dance theatre works.

Studio1 is a choreographic hub and micro arts precinct, supporting the day-to-day practice and ongoing development of Independent Dance and Physical Theatre in Megandjin. The organisation champions safe spaces frameworks and actively encourages people from First Nations, LGBTQIA+, CALD and D/deaf and/or Disability communities to participate; each workshop included Pay What You Can (no minimum spend) options.

Age recommendation: 16+

FRIDAY 13 SEPTEMBER, 10AM - 11AM DANCE WORKSHOP WITH DANCENORTH

$15 or Pay What You Can

SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER, 2-3:20PM WORKSHOP + 3:30-4PM Q&A WITH MICHELLE RYAN

Creative Movement Workshop with Michelle Ryan (Artistic Director, Restless Dance Theatre)
$20 or Pay What You Can

OR Double workshop ticket offer: $30 (Dancenorth + Restless Dance Theatre)

Be Bold. Be Brave. Be Brisbane.

We believe that a Festival should be festive and celebrate the personality of its city.

We are Brisbane’s most anticipated event of the year, bringing people together as they awake from their winter slumber for an explosion of arts performances and experiences.

Brisbane Festival is unlike anything else you can experience in the world. We redefine what an International Arts Festival looks and feels like, staying ahead of the game and bringing the next generation with us.

The river and iconic city landmarks are our stage as we create the art that enlivens, delights and disrupts. The curated multi-arts program presents a bold international program transporting our audience beyond the everyday through captivating performances and installations from across the world. We participate in global conversations. Brisbane is a city with boundless ambition, and the program celebrates this through collaborations, commissions and presentations.

We are deeply committed to making the impossible possible for our audiences and our artists. Brisbane Festival is an important time of the year when our artists are pushed beyond the horizon to make the work of their dreams come to life. We inspire audiences with new ideas and experiences that leave life-long impressions. We are at the heart of integrating arts and culture as a vital part of Brisbane’s future, creating an unwavering demand for this wonderful Festival.

Brisbane Festival acknowledges this country’s First Nations people and with their leadership and guidance, we celebrate that deep cultural legacy. We create a rich multi-arts program made by and with our local Indigenous community.

As our city landscape changes and undergoes unprecedented growth, we move forward with gusto, determination, authenticity and excitement. Brisbane Festival is seizing the moment and heralding a new beginning.

Crossroad Arts presents a fantastic opportunity for regional Australian artists with disability to apply for scholarships of up to $2,000 to assist with travel and accommodation to attend their annual C.R.U.S.H theatre making intensive. This is for ages 15yrs + and for beginners to accomplished performers. All levels invited to apply.

 When:   Friday, 18 October to Sunday 20, October 2024. 

Time: 10-4pm

Where:  Senior Citizens Hall, 58 MacAlister Street, Mackay, QLD

Cost:   $90 for weekend (heavily subsidised).  Companion cards accepted.  Should cost be a barrier to participation, please contact us. 

Access: Venue is wheelchair accessible. Should you have any access requirements please let us know when registering.

To register or for more information contact: admin@crossroadarts.com.au or 07 4953 5122 or via the National Relay Service.

All information including past videos of C.R.U.S.H please visit https://www.crossroadarts.com.au/current-projects/2024/crush2024 

Cairns Festival is an annual 10-day celebration of art, culture and the beauty of living in Tropical North Queensland. The event delivers a vibrant, progressive and collaborative festival showcasing the rich cultural identity of Cairns, including the much-anticipated return of Reef Lights at the Esplanade Lagoon.

Since it’s inception in 1961, Cairns Festival continues to proudly showcase the breadth and depth of our local creatives, as well as brings world-class performers to the region.

PUNQ is a biennial place-making festival which activates and engages with spaces, histories, and futures through art. It celebrates the distinct landscapes of North Queensland to inspire cultural exchange and reimagine expectations, transform perceptions and provide unique creative experiences for locals and visitors alike.

The festival presents immersive journeys across North Queensland on Gurambilbarra (Townsville), Yunbenun (Magnetic Island), Warrgamay, Nywaigi & Bandjin Country (Hinchinbrook) and Gudjal Country (Charters Towers).

Cairns Indigenous Art Fair is an arts and cultural event in the northern Australian city of Cairns, that showcases art by Contemporary Indigenous Australian artists. CIAF is committed to strengthening and celebrating culture, creating professional development opportunities for artists, and cultural exchange between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and visitors.

CIAF is focused on offering an ethical art market place, attracting national and international collectors and curators, commissioning new work and providing pathways for emerging visual and performance artists.

Anywhere Festival is an annual Brisbane based festival for performance anywhere but traditional theatre spaces. Anywhere Festivals makes it possible for performance makers to create works anywhere and for audiences to engage with storytelling while discovering local nooks and crannies. For audiences, Anywhere Festival becomes a discovery of places and performances by using local nooks and crannies: poetry in light houses, circus in driveways, music in backyards, storytelling on ferries, theatre in hedge mazes and musicals in aeroplanes.

The Cultural Trust offers grants of up to $15,000 to assist talented emerging and early-career artists to take up professional development opportunities, usually overseas.

If a development opportunity within Australia is of high quality and can offer exceptional benefit to an individual's professional practice, applicants may seek funding to undertake a professional development project within Australia. In line with the Cultural Trust's funding principle to encourage the diversity, excellence, and distinction of emerging Australian artists, The Trustees have indicated a preference that at least 70% of grants be awarded to support projects overseas.

We support applicants who can demonstrate initiative, exceptional talent, and the ability to convert their ambitions into reality. In particular, we are looking for well-researched and planned projects.

The Trust primarily provides support for structured professional development and networking opportunities such as:

• Residencies

• Mentorships

• Study tours that have a clear skills development focus

• Private lessons

• Internships

• Conferences and workshops.

The Trust may also consider supporting postgraduate study with a focus on professional development and artistic practice where no equivalent exists in Australia.

Please note that projects for which the sole purpose is an exhibition, performance, or the making of a work (such as a recording or publication} are ineligible. This includes performances at festivals.

Join ADC for a free contemporary workshop + Q&A

ADC Artistic Director Amy Hollingsworth and Pre-Professional Program Director Alison Currie will deliver a series of inspiring workshops featuring contemporary technique and repertoire.

 Learn directly from these leading Australian choreographers and hear about exciting opportunities including ADC’s Pre-Professional Program (starting 2025).

 All dancers aged 16+ are welcome. Dancers interested in vocational training are encouraged to attend.

/ Toowoomba
Saturday 22 June | 10am – 1pm
The Empire

/ Caloundra
Sunday 23 June | 11.30am – 2.30pm
The Events Centre

/ Gold Coast
Monday 24 June | 10.30am – 1.30pm
Broadbeach Cultural Centre

Places are limited and registrations are essential.
REGISTER NOW → bit.ly/3XD0Bwf

Applications to audition for ADC's Pre-Professional Program 2025 are now open. 

Led by a team of industry professionals, the program provides excellence in training and performance and aims to cultivate creative, versatile and employable dance artists.

The nationally recognised qualification, CUA60120 Advanced Diploma of Professional Dance (Elite Performance), will be delivered by ADC in partnership with Australian Teachers of Dancing (RTO 31624).

To assist your application, please join the upcoming Online Information Session and view the 2025 Prospectus. 

Applications Close | Sunday 4 August 2024
Auditions will be held on Sunday 1 September 2024 in Meanjin/Brisbane.

The Cultural Trust offers grants of up to $15,000 to assist talented emerging and early-career artists to take up professional development opportunities, usually overseas.

If a development opportunity within Australia is of high quality and can offer exceptional benefit to an individual's professional practice, applicants may seek funding to undertake a professional development project within Australia. In line with the Cultural Trust's funding principle to encourage the diversity, excellence, and distinction of emerging Australian artists, The Trustees have indicated a preference that at least 70% of grants be awarded to support projects overseas.

We support applicants who can demonstrate initiative, exceptional talent, and the ability to convert their ambitions into reality. In particular, we are looking for well-researched and planned projects.

The Trust primarily provides support for structured professional development and networking opportunities such as:

• Residencies

• Mentorships

• Study tours that have a clear skills development focus

• Private lessons

• Internships

• Conferences and workshops.

The Trust may also consider supporting postgraduate study with a focus on professional development and artistic practice where no equivalent exists in Australia.

Please note that projects for which the sole purpose is an exhibition, performance, or the making of a work (such as a recording or publication} are ineligible. This includes performances at festivals.

The Touring Queensland Fund focuses on supporting regional community access to quality arts and cultural events and products. It supports arts presenters and producers in the delivery of performing arts, visual arts, contemporary music gigs, and cultural heritage touring activity. 

This fund has 2 streams:

1. Single year and single tour funding for single tours and touring programs including schools touring (within a 12-month period) and single tours to present arts products and experiences across Queensland touring circuits or regions.

2. Multi-year touring funding for touring programs that are not dedicated schools touring within a 2-year period (with the option to extend funding agreements for a third year of programs) that enhance community cultural calendars and grow audiences for Queensland artists and arts organisations across or within regions.

Funding will support tours within and between regions, touring from Brisbane to regional Queensland locations, and tours from regionally based companies to Brisbane.

Note: The Touring Queensland Fund will only support single-year schools touring projects.  

Objectives 

The Touring Queensland Fund:

• Supports arts presenters and producers in the delivery of touring arts and cultural experiences and gigs in a range of places including halls, libraries, galleries, performing arts venues, schools and non-traditional spaces within and across Queensland communities. 

• Grows audience access to and demand for exceptional and diverse arts experiences.

• Enables audience development within regions, for an artist, organisation and/or artform through touring activity.

• Increases diverse programming, including First Nations arts, contemporary music, and inclusive arts, and drive regional company touring into new regional locations and Brisbane.

• Provides new employment and career development opportunities for Queensland artists and organisations.
   

Funding

Single year touring programs and single tour funding—up to $100,000 for tour-ready performing arts, visual arts, schools’ tours, workshops, (any art form that falls under Arts Queensland's responsibility), and events for tour itineraries that include at least three (3) locations within a 12-month period.

Multi-year touring program funding—up to $150,000 per annum for touring an identified circuit of at least five (5) locations multiple times over a 24-month period. Funding will support either;

• touring programs that repeat visits to the same circuits

• tours to different circuits across the period.

Applicants can apply for up to 50% of the total project costs (excluding placement cost, see below).

Frequency

Round 4 

18 March 2024 - 29 April 2024

Round 5

19 August 2024 - 30 September 2024

The Queensland Arts Showcase Program (QASP) is focused on celebrating Queensland’s artists and stories, ensuring Queenslanders’ access to high quality experiences and growing Queensland’s cultural reputation.

Objectives

QASP:

• Supports the development and presentation of new arts and cultural works by individual Queensland artists, organisations, and communities.

• Strengthens skills development, and provide new employment and career development opportunities for artists and arts workers.

• Grows a pipeline of high-quality arts, cultural products, and experiences.

Funding

The Fund supports applications from individuals and organisations for projects and programs at different stages of development and across multiple stages from creative development through to production, presentation, and distribution.

For example, you can apply for just the creative development stage of a new work or apply to fund the project from its early stages through to a tour of the finished work.

The fund will also support costs towards artistic collaboration with a nationally or internationally significant artist or company for an outcome in Queensland.

In addition, applicants have the options to apply for additional funding towards an industry placement as part of the project, and/or the fees for the commissioning of new live or recorded music as part of your project.

Funding available

• Single year projects—up to $70,000 for projects and programs for up to 12 months.

• Two-year projects—up to $150,000 to support the development and delivery of single projects and programs across financial years. These are projects and programs that need a larger and/or longer scale of development of up to two-years and include presentation and/or distribution.

Applicants may only receive 1 QASP grant per calendar year.

Additional funding available

PLUS up to $10,000 towards fees for Queensland-based composers, musicians or librettists to support the commissioning of new live or recorded music as part of your project

Applicants may only recieve one QASP grant per calendar year.

 Funding rounds

Round 5
4 March 2024 - 15 April 2024

Round 6
29 July 2024 - 9 September 2024

In 2023, Brisbane Powerhouse is gifting music and art fans a brand-new boundary-pushing celebration of sound, tunes and performance: ΩHM (pronounced "ohm"). This fresh venture is all about getting adventurous — it hasn't been dubbed a "festival of other music" for no good reason — and sports a lineup headlined by Peaches, Future Islands and Hear My Eyes doing Pan's Labyrinth.

Across February and March 2023, ΩHM will take over the riverside spot with a program curated by Room40's Lawrence English alongside Brisbane Powerhouse Arts Program Director Brad Spolding, serving up a mix of big-name international headliners and emerging local acts — and gigs, cutting-edge shows and immersive installations. Peaches does the honours while she's in the country for Mona Foma, and Future Islands hits the fest as part of their first Aussie tour since 2017.

Project Grants provide major funding for high-quality arts projects benefitting regional or remote artists, arts workers, audiences, and communities.

The focus of the project could include any area of creative practice, multiple art forms, or cross-disciplinary practice.

View past recipients

UPCOMING PROJECT GRANTS

Round 1 2024 – OPENS FEBRUARY 5 

For projects commencing on or after: 1 July 2024
Amount: Up to $30,000
Open: 9:00am – 5 February 2023
Closes: 11:59pm – 15 March 2023

We recommend all applicants speak with Flying Arts Alliance’s RAF Program manager before applying. Call (07) 3216 1322 or email raf@flyingarts.org.au to organise a time. 

Learn directly from the celebrated Australian choreographers that make up ADC’s THREE program, for dancers aged 16+. Alasdair Macindoe and Jenni Large present masterclasses to experience the same creative process undertaken by ADC Company Artists to create their new works to be premiered in THREE. Amber McCartney, guest performer for THREE, shares insight into her practice and the making of her acclaimed solo Tiny Infinite Deaths.

Dates & Times

BrisAsia Festival returns from 1-18 February 2024 to celebrate Lunar New Year and the Year of the Dragon, a creature that typically embodies the qualities of power, nobleness, leadership, luck, and success. What better way to kick start your year than to connect with culture at BrisAsia Festival, with something on offer for the whole family.

Over three weeks, audiences can experience the transformative power of live performance, learn, and grow through immersive experiences and travel the length and breadth of Asia across the incredibly packed festival program that has something for everyone.

First Nations Arts Business Grants focus on strengthening business skills and capacity of First Nations artists, artsworkers and arts and cultural organisations. 

This fund is is for First Nations applicants only. 

Objectives

Supports Queensland-based First Nations arts and cultural practitioners, organisations and businesses to access business development services that: 

• strengthen cultural governance, business and strategic planning

• increase corporate and commercial capacity to grow new revenue and market opportunities

• enable professional upskilling and development for board and/or staff.

Funding 

• One-off grant of up to $10,000 (excluding GST) are available to fund the purchase of the following eligible services:

  • strategic and business planning

  • governance planning and related training

  • data and digital platforms and related training

  • financial processes including e-commerce and related training

  • human resources advice including succession planning.

You must provide quotes to support the amount of funding requested. 

You can provide quotes for multiple services, however if the quotes exceed a total of $10,000, you will only receive a maximum of $10,000 and will be responsible for the payment of any related expenses in the excess of the $10,000 grant funding. 

Need more information about how building capacity across these areas can support you to grow your business? Please visit the new First Nations Arts Business Hub

Frequency

Applications can be submitted at any time. Successful applicants will be notified no more than 6 weeks from the date of submission.  The fund will close on 30 June 2024 or when funds for this grants program are expended.

Key eligibility 

To be eligible, all applicants must:

• be a Queensland based First Nations artist, artsworker or a First Nations arts organisation/arts business

• have an active ABN – with a business location in Queensland

• have a bank account in the name of the applicant

• not be a recipient of any of the following Arts Queensland funding:

  • First Nations Pathways Fund;

  • Organisations Fund prior to 1 July 2022;

  • annual funding of $500,000 or more per financial year (from Arts Queensland)

• attach a supplier quote for the activity the funding will support.

Other eligibility conditions apply, please read the fund guidelines for all eligibility criteria and compulsory support material.

How to apply

1. Visit our supporting documents page to view the fund guidelines.

2. Complete the online application form - telling us about your business and and how the funding will be used. 

3. Attach the supplier quote/s (if seeking funding for more than one service) which includes the description of the service, costs and planned delivery date

4. Make sure your Australian Business Register profile for your business is up to date (check your ABN status, GST status and Main Business location).

Arts Queensland uses Smartygrants, an online grant application system. For support with technical issues related to the online application, please contact an Arts Queensland Grants Officer on telephone (07) 3034 4016 or toll free 1800 175 531 or email investment@arts.qld.gov.au

About the program

This program funds a range of activities that deliver benefits to the arts sector and wider public, including national and international audiences and communities.

Grants are available from $10,000 to $50,000. Supported activities must not last longer than two years from the proposed start date.

Please read through the following grant guidelines.

If you need advice about applying, contact an Artists Services Officer.

Key dates

Applications close:

• Tuesday 5 March 2024 at 3pm AEDT, for projects beginning after 1 June 2024

• Tuesday 3 September 2024 at 3pm AEST, for projects beginning after 1 December 2024.