Arts Short Notice Activity Program 2025 (Australia)

The program supports the growth of a vibrant sector that promotes the participation and active engagement of Western Australian artists and arts workers in high quality arts and cultural opportunities.

Objectives

• To enable individual artists, groups, and creative workers to participate in outstanding and relevant time-sensitive opportunities.
• Reflect the State’s identity through telling Western Australian stories.
• Support international initiatives that promote both the artist and the State of Western Australia.
• Support creative industry professionals at different points in their careers.
• Increase professional and skills development of artists, arts workers, and cultural workers.

Focus Areas

• Circus and physical theatre
• Comedy
• Community arts and cultural development
• Cross-art form
• Dance
• Design
• Interactive arts content
• Literature and writing (limited to literary fiction, literary non-fiction, poetry, illustrated narrative)
• Multi-arts festivals
• Music
• Music theatre and opera
• Other performing arts
• Theatre
• Visual arts.

Funding Information

• Up to $5000 for regional and national opportunities
• Up to $10,000 for international opportunities.

Eligible Activities

• Eligible short notice activities may include, but are not limited to:
  • Travel and accommodation to take up an extraordinary opportunity
  • Touring nationally or internationally
  • Residencies in Australia or overseas
  • Unplanned exhibition opportunity
  • Opportunities to participate in skills or professional development
  • Unexpected performance opportunity
  • Receiving short notice mentoring
  • Unexpected opportunity to present regionally, nationally or internationally in conferences, seminars, festivals, art fairs etc.

Ineligible Activities

• Contemporary music activities — these short notice activity applications must be submitted through the Contemporary Music Fund Short Notice Activity Program.
• Projects or activities that do not involve or benefit Western Australian practicing artists, creatives, or arts or cultural workers
• Purchase of capital equipment including instruments, equipment, software, subscriptions, licenses, computers and/or uniforms
• Capital works such as construction or purchasing of studios, workspaces or gallery spaces
• Activities already funded by the department through any of the funding programs
• Activity relating to radio broadcasting
• Display, restoration or conservation of cultural and/or historical material
• Costs of manufacturing and/or producing prototypes or samples
• Activities relating to podcasts and audiobooks that do not involve creative arts practitioners
• Fundraising, competitions, prizes and trophies
• The work of State Government or Federal Government departments
• Activity that will be academically assessed or any school curriculum-based activity
• Facsimiles, genealogical works and histories of local governments, clubs, districts and organisations
• Activities related to an individual’s membership in a national organisation
• Ongoing staffing costs
• Digital games development activities
• Film and television activities such as:
  • The development or production of narrative shorts or features, pilots for television series, web series, mainstream animation for example conventional character-based narrative cartoons
  • Documentaries, including documentaries on the arts
  • Screenwriting activities or script development for film and television
  • Stand-alone documentation activities
  • education activities, or activities where members of the public take part, where the main or only art form being used is film or digital, unless it’s in support of an artist’s work
  • Film festivals, unless they support works created by practicing artists.

Eligibility Criteria

• Individuals and groups are welcome to apply however:
  • Individuals must have Australian citizenship or permanent resident status
  • Groups including unincorporated bodies, partnerships and individuals informally collaborating on an activity must be based in Australia
  • If you are considering submitting an administered/auspiced grant you must contact the department before commencing your application.
  • If you are applying on behalf of Aboriginal people you must provide evidence of significant Aboriginal involvement in the conception, development of and participation in the activity
  • Although WA residency is not a requirement to apply for a grant, if you are applying from outside WA you will need to show the benefits to WA artists, creatives, arts or cultural workers in your application
  • Organizations are not eligible to apply.

Ineligibility Criteria

• You will make your application ineligible if you:
  • Are an organization
  • Have already applied to this program in this financial year
  • Have not provided evidence of the short notice opportunity to attend or deliver the activity
  • Have an activity that will not be completed within 12 weeks of the activity start date
  • Do not provide the mandatory support material
  • Start the activity before the eligible start date
  • Submit an application late
  • Have any key personnel with an overdue acquittal report
  • Are a staff member of the department of local government, sport and cultural industries (staff of portfolio organizations may apply subject to meeting the code of conduct and secondary employment policy)
  • Request funding that exceeds the funding cap of the program
  • Apply for activity that is delivered as part of an educational institution’s curriculum or will be academically assessed
  • Are a portfolio organization of DLGSC
  • Are an Arts Organization Investment Program funded organization or Major Performing Arts Company.

For more information, visit DLGSCI.