Youth arts funding – too little, too hard

By ALYSON VARDOS
FUNDING for youth arts in the ACT has recently been brought into the spotlight, after the ACT Government was accused of not doing enough to support local young and emerging artists.

According to the Minister for the Arts, Joy Burch, Arts ACT has recently initiated a series of grants for the young and emerging artist and Canberra. Young artists can apply for grants from $500 up to $40,000 to fund projects and activities.

However, , Greens spokesperson for Arts and Heritage Caroline Le Couteur says it is not enough to support emerging artists.

“The Government can afford to quadruple the scheme,” she said.

The 2010 – 2011 budget allocated $11,609,000 to the Arts ACT. Almost $750,000 was shared amongst 54 individuals and groups for projects last year. Ms Burch also announced $3.3 million was being granted to the ACT arts community late last year, which was divvied out to seven key arts organisations.

When asked about the $500 Start Up grants offered to young people aged 18 – 25, Ms Burch said, “We understand that grants are important… $500 may not seem like a lot, but for a young man or woman looking for a start in the arts it can mean that they can make that CD or book that stage to get their feet off the ground”.

However, in the past six months, only 13 Start Up grants were given out by the Government.

Not only is there not enough funding given to young artists, Ms Le Couteur also believes the grant application process is too difficult.

“It is extremely hard for young artists to access,” she said. “Most people aren’t aware of it and there isn’t enough money.”

Although grants such as the Project Funding category are only given out once a year, there is no limit on the amount of start up grants distributed each year.

“I would like to see the Government double, triple, quadruple the scheme because it’s the sort of money that at the right point of your career can make a significant difference,” she said.

Canberra dance choreographer William Tran says that although the young artist grants are really positive, the application process is overwhelming.

“When I first heard about the grants I wondered why more dancers hadn’t utilized it, but then when I saw what was involved in the application process it actually frightened me, the amount of work involved,” he said.

Alicia Xyrakis, a Canberra jazz dancer and recent tertiary dance graduate, also looked into applying for funding and was quickly deterred.

“I took one look at it and was turned off!” she said.

There are a range of different types of funding available to artists and organisations in Canberra including the Communities Working with Artists funding, Key Arts Organisation funding, Program Funding, Project Funding, Out of Round funding and Start Up cash grants.

Each funding category requires different levels of work on behalf of the applicant. For example, a young artist applying for the $500 cash grant simply has to fill out a one page application form which is then assessed by a panel. The Project Grant allows applicants to seek up to $40,000, requires applicants to answer an extensive range of questions and must provide details such as project management timelines and budgets. Funding applications are then judged by the peer assessment panel, which is made up of members of the community involved in theatre, dance, music, film, literature and visual arts.

The only place one can access all the information about the various types of funding available is on the Arts ACT website. However, the actual application forms for each grant can only be accessed by contacting Arts ACT directly.

The essence of the issue is that whilst the young artist grants are a positive implementation, they are reportedly difficult to access, difficult to complete and poorly advertised.

Mr Tran said, “I think the information that is needed should be more readily available. If it was available in schools, at artistic centres such as dance academies, arts academies, I think it would be much better and more people would apply.”