Peak arts body AICSA welcomes SA Government’s new $7m arts funding package
Thursday 28 October 2021 – For immediate release
The Arts Industry Council of South Australia (AICSA) welcomes the South Australian Government’s new $7 million funding package to support arts and live music jobs for Covid-19 recovery.
On Tuesday, the Premier Hon Steven Marshall MP and Minster for Innovation and Skills, the Hon David Pisoni MP, announced four new funding opportunities within a boost of the existing Arts Recovery Fund, plus new funds for Adelaide Fringe and South Australia’s live music sector.
The funding is a targeted initiative for the creative sector after the Government’s most recent Covid-19 support package, the $100 million Business Support Package announced in July. The package delivered vital emergency cash grants to small and medium size businesses and sole traders, though AICSA voiced concerns that many in the sector would be ineligible for support due to the $75,000 earning threshold for non-employing sole trader artists.
Jessica Alice, AICSA Chair, said the new investment represents a welcome and significant commitment from the SA Government to the future of the state’s arts and cultural sector.
“We are delighted that the Government has responded to AICSA’s calls for dedicated support to assist artists and arts organisations through the continuation of the Arts Recovery Fund,” Alice said.
“The additional $2.9m will support the South Australian arts sector to employ artists, make new works and present work safely as the state opens its borders.”
AICSA also looks forward to further information on the $500,000 within the funding package that will be made available exclusively to South Australia’s small to medium arts and culture organisations to support renewal and recovery, with details to be announced in November.
Key elements of the Arts Recovery Fund package include:
- Artist Employment Grants: are available for activity which directly employs South Australian professional practicing artists and arts workers, aligned to locally determined recovery priorities.
- Practice Research and Development Grants: for practice-based research and experimentation related to making and presenting work in a living with COVID-19 environment.
- Festivals and Events Grants: to support the direct costs of employing professional artists in emerging and small scale local and regional festivals and events.
- Collaboration Grants: to support partnership opportunities, encourage strategic and innovative collaborations across the arts sector, with a focus on risk-taking, knowledge and resource sharing and new employment opportunities.
The total $7m announced this week includes $1.45m allocated to the Adelaide Fringe to enable additional direct support to South Australian independent artists through the festival’s Artist Grant program and to ensure COVID-Safe operations of Fringe Hubs in 2022, and $3m to support South Australia’s live music sector.