NSW Arts and Cultural Funding Program

Arts and Cultural Funding Program, NSW Government, April 2026

2026 Cultural Access – Priority Area Projects for Individuals and Organisations.

This funding supports individuals, groups and organisations that are led by and/or support ACFP Strategic Priority Area communities to develop and deliver a diverse range of arts and cultural experiences.

Image credit: Crystal Nguyen is ViV! Written and Directed by Catherine McNamara, presented by BMEC 2025 Image credit Henry Simmons.

Key information

  • Status: Open
  • Grant amount: Individuals and groups can apply for $10,000 up to $75,000. Organisations can apply for $20,000 up to $100,000.
  • Application opened: 13 April 2026
  • Application closes: 25 May 2026, 2:00 pm

 

Program objective

In response to Creative Communities, the NSW arts, culture and creative industries policy, the purpose of this funding is to strengthen communities through equitable access to vibrant arts and cultural experiences. The program targets the Strategic Priority Areas:

  • First Nations stories and communities
  • Broad and inclusive communities and content
  • Broad and inclusive communities refers to the wide diversity of NSW people including First Nations communities, people of non-English speaking background, those from cultural and linguistically diverse (CaLD) communities, and those who identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community. It also refers to our regional communities outside the cities as well as the unique communities in our urban environments.
  • Accessibility and Equity
  • Accessibility and equity refer to the inclusion of people with disability or who are d/Deaf. When considering equity, you may wish to include areas of accessibility (physical, financial, economic and social), to ensure there are as few barriers as possible to engagement with your project.
  • Western Sydney and/or regional NSW; and
  • Next generation of creatives and audiences
  • includes young people aged between 18-25, as well as emerging artists, and arts and cultural workers who are generally in the first five years of their creative practice or profession, regardless of age.

 

This funding could:

  • enable the development, creation and presentation of work designed, led by and/or for artists, arts and cultural workers, groups and organisations in NSW who are included in the Strategic Priority Areas.
  • strengthen communities through equitable access to arts and cultural experiences.
  • provide capacity building opportunities and strengthen the diversity of cultural leadership within the NSW arts and culture ecosystem.
  • increase the visibility of work developed and created for and by prioritised NSW artists, arts and cultural workers, and audiences.
  • strengthen the creative ecosystem through collaborations and partnerships.
  • support access to resources and expertise for artists and arts and cultural workers to grow their careers.
  • contribute to personal and community wellbeing, and economic development.

 

This program is administered by Create NSW.

See full details of the program here.