Golden Plains Shire Council has launched a new grant program for local creatives to access professional development opportunities and fund small projects.
From today, artists, creatives and makers in Golden Plains can apply for Council’s Creative Communities Quick Response Professional Development Grants to take up professional development or small project opportunities at short notice. This can include reimbursement of registration fees or associated costs, or towards the purchase of program resources relating to an applicant’s participation in:
- Cultural or heritage conferences;
- Professional or skills development programs;
- Arts mentorships; or
- Residencies.
Council has designed this program to be responsive to projects that fall outside the scope of other funding opportunities, such as Council’s Community Strengthening Grants and other external programs. The grant program is open to applications on an ongoing basis until all funds are expended, with applicants able to apply for amounts of up to $500.
Guidelines and details on how to apply for the Creative Communities Quick Response Professional Development Grants can be found at goldenplains.vic.gov.au/grants.
The new grant program is the latest component of Council’s 2020 creative programming, following the successful ArtsACTION series of workshops earlier this year to build the capacity of Golden Plains Shire’s creative industry sector.
Golden Plains Shire Mayor Cr Owen Sharkey encouraged local creatives to take advantage of the new grant program.
“Golden Plains Shire is home to many creative-minded residents. We all know that the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the creative industries particularly hard, and grants programs such as the Creative Communities Quick Response Professional Development Grants are a great way for Council to support artists with some of their smaller out-of-pocket costs.
“This grant program has been designed to fill some of the funding gaps for artists and creatives that are unable to get funding support for professional development or equipment for small projects under either Council’s or other external grants programs.
“I’m really excited to see how this new grant program will help the local creative sector, and hope to see many Golden Plains creatives take up this funding opportunity.”