Upgrade for culture
Megan Anderson, Get ready to renovate: $2.5 million available for cultural infrastructure, ArtsHub, 25 February 2016
Lennox Head Cultural and Community Centre. Source: ArtsHub.
Arts buildings in NSW are in for a revamp, with $10 million over four years drawn from gaming taxes on registered clubs.
Arts and cultural facilities in need of an upgrade now have their chance, with expressions of interest open for $2.5 million in ClubGRANTS towards arts and cultural infrastructure in NSW.
The grants are the first in a four year allocation which will provide a total of $10 million to community groups, arts and cultural organisations, local councils and not-for-profits across NSW.
They form the arts and cultural round of ClubGRANTS’s competitive Category 3 fund, which is managed by Liquor & Gaming NSW in consultation with Arts NSW. The funding comes from gaming machine taxes that are paid by any NSW registered club that earns more than $1 million a year.
The ClubGRANTS Category 3 fund also provides $8 million a year for sport and recreation projects and $2 million a year for emergency relief facilities.
Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant said: ‘The NSW Government is committed to ensuring people have access to art and culture no matter where they live – this investment will build participation and ensure facilities are equipped for the long term.’
The focus on infrastructure addresses the pressure many arts organisations face in keeping facilities and buildings up to date. Aging infrastructure, changing demographics and increasing populations have made it difficult for councils and community groups to keep up with local expectations and needs.
Grants between $100,000 to $300,000 will be available in 2016 for building new facilities as well as upgrading existing ones with high quality, well-designed infrastructure. These are open to not-for-profit projects throughout NSW – with an emphasis on regional and remote communities. The most competitive expressions of interest will be invited to submit a full application in May.
‘Particular emphasis will be given to projects that support disadvantaged and regional and remote communities, as they often struggle to attract this level of funding,’ Deputy Premier Grant said.