Up to $50,000 support for Individuals & Groups in Circus & Physical Theatre Sector (Australia)

It provides investment to artists at all stages of their career (emerging/mid-career/established), and supports activity with an artistic, mobility or capacity building focus. Applications may be for new work development, collaboration and presentation of work; mobility and market development activities through national or international touring; or professional pathways and skills development activities including training, mentoring and capacity building.

Creative Australia and Creative Victoria are jointly managing strategic initiatives to support the circus and physical theatre sector in Victoria through to the end of 2024, guided by the principles of the National Performing Arts Partnership Framework.

Responding to the needs and opportunities identified in the Victorian Circus and Physical Theatre Scan undertaken in 2023, two investment opportunities will be delivered by Creative Australia in early 2024: Operations for Organisations and Projects and Capacity Building for Individuals and Groups.

This program supports circus and physical theatre practice. It does not extend to dance or dance-theatre. This program is open to Victoria-based individuals and groups only.

Funding Information

• Applicants may apply for investment between $10,000-$50,000 and can propose a single project, a series of projects, or a suite of activities over a fixed period.
• Supported activities must last no longer than two years from the proposed start date.

What can be applied for?

• They will fund a range of activities which support artistic work, facilitate mobility, or build capacity in the circus and physical theatre sector in Victoria, for example:
  • professional skills development, including mentoring, residencies, training, re-training and pathways
  • the creation of new work
  • practice based research
  • creative development
  • experimentation
  • collaborations
  • producing activity
  • mobility and touring (intra-state/inter-state/metro/regional/international)
  • festivals
  • community engagement
  • productions
  • performances
  • promotion, marketing and documentation
  • market development activity.
• Access costs are legitimate expenses and may be included in your application. They encourage applicants to ensure that their work is accessible to everyone. Therefore, budgets may also include costs associated with making activities accessible to a wide range of people (e.g. performances using Auslan, translation to other languages, captioning, audio description, temporary building adjustments, and materials in other formats).
• If you are a d/Deaf applicant, an applicant with disability, or are working with d/Deaf artists or artists with disability, you may apply for access costs associated with the use of an interpreter, translation services, specific technical equipment, carer, or support worker assistance.

What can’t be applied for?

You can’t apply for:

• projects or activities that do not involve or benefit the Victorian circus and physical theatre sector
• projects or activities that do not have a clearly defined arts component
• projects that have already taken place
• activities engaging with First Nations content, artists and communities that do not adhere to Creative Australia’s First Nations Cultural & Intellectual Property Protocols.

Who can apply?

• Only individuals and groups who are based in Victoria can apply to this category.
• The proposed activity must have a circus and physical theatre focus or support the circus and physical theatre sector in Victoria.

Who can’t apply?

You can’t apply for this grant if:

• you or your group are not based in Victoria
• the focus of the proposed activity is not circus and physical theatre or does not support the circus and physical theatre sector in Victoria
• you are an organisation.
• you have an overdue grant report
• you owe money to Creative Australia.

For more information, visit Creative Australia.