Seven small arts projects across the NSW Central West will share $17,000 in funding from the annual Country Arts Support Program (CASP).
“The volume of applications demonstrates not only the crunch on budgets and rising costs of making art happen, but the demand for small, accessible, seed grants for regional arts activities and ideas,” said Arts OutWest executive director Kylie Shead.
There were 40 applications for the 2023 round asking for just over $105,000 in funding, a 40% increase from the previous round and around a 16% success rate.
“The activities proposed in all 40 applications are exciting, thoughtful, creative and worthy,” said Ms Shead. “There just isn’t the money to fund all of them.”
Funded activities in 2025 include: An artist-led community postcard art project in Cowra, Music making workshops with young women with disability in Bathurst, Puppetry and movement workshops in Lithgow, Kandos and Mudgee, A mural in Gulgong to commemorate Henry Lawson, Art making for a community veggie garden in Orange, Fibre arts workshops in Parkes, Youth podcasting training in Lithgow.
“These seven projects offer exciting opportunities to communities, arts makers and audiences in the region. They provide employment opportunities to artists and arts workers. We also know from the history of this funding that it often seeds the first steps of potentially bigger arts projects or collaborations,” Ms Shead said.
Arts OutWest is the regional arts development organisation for Central West NSW, servicing the 12 local government areas of Bathurst Region, Blayney, Cabonne, Cowra, Forbes, Lachlan, Lithgow, Mid-Western Region, Oberon, Orange, Parkes and Weddin.