PPCA, Aus Council offer $15K recording grants
For the third time PPCA and the Australia Council are offering five $15,000 grants to assist Australian artists with new sound recordings.
Past recipients include Grammy nominee Courtney Barnett, US-based blues and roots artist Mia Dyson, classical guitarists Slava and Leonard Grigoryan, jazz ensemble The Vampires and Perth’s The Growl.
Applications for the initiative are open now to individual artists for projects starting after May 1 next year. Bands can apply, however one member must be nominated to apply on behalf of the group.
The $15,000 must be used for the creation of a sound recording, but can also go toward costs associated with the promotion of the recording. Expressions of Interest close February 2.
Eligible artists will be chosen based on the following selection criteria:
- Artistic Merit
Industry Advisors will consider the artistic merit of the recording outlined in the Expression of Interest. They may consider:
- The significance of the work
- The quality of work previously produced
- Public or peer response to work previously produced
- Diversity
Industry Advisors will consider the potential of the recording to reflect the diversity of music practice in Australia. They may consider:
- The contribution to diverse music practice
- Potential to engage diverse audiences
- The diversity and quality of the people and partners involved
- Viability
Industry advisors will consider the viability of your Expression of Interest. They may consider:
- Relevance and timeliness of the proposed activity
- The skills and artistic ability of the people involved and their relevance to the proposed activity
- Realistic and achievable planning
- The role of any partners involved
Australia Council Chief Executive Officer Tony Grybowski said: “These grants provide a much needed opportunity for Australian musicians to record their own music and it is wonderful to see previous recipients, such as Courtney Barnett, achieve such success.”
The new round of recording grants follows a report by a Senate committee into the impact of the Commonwealth Budget decisions on the arts in 2014 and 2015. The report made 13 recommendations to the Federal Government, the main of which was to restore all the funding taken away from the Australia Council.
$110 millionwas siphoned by former Arts Minister George Brandisto fund his ill-fated National Program for Excellence in the Arts (NPEA). The move was met with rallies and intensive lobbying by an enraged arts sector.
Last month new Arts Minister Mitch Fifield restored $8 million in funding, however the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee said it “goes only a very small way to redressing this budget shortfall.”