Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: The successful recipient will receive $30,000 in funding towards their fellowship.
- Application opened: 15 July 2024
- Application closed: 26 August 2024, 5:00 pm
Program objective
The Visual Arts Fellowship Emerging (VAFE) is delivered with the curatorial and exhibition support of Artspace. The objective is to support NSW visual arts practitioners in the early stages of their career to challenge and expand their practice.
Up to 6 applicants will be shortlisted to take part in the fellowship exhibition at Artspace, Sydney in July 2025. At the exhibition opening, the fellowship of $30,000 will be awarded to 1 successful emerging visual artist to undertake a self-directed professional development program. The self-directed program could include research, travel, studio residencies, creation of new work, mentorships and other activities that align with the recipient’s practice.
Shortlisted artists will receive an artist fee to participate in the exhibition and may be asked by Artspace to participate in artist talks, other public programs, meetings with visiting curators, and media interviews to produce greater visibility for their practice. The shortlisted artists will be interviewed prior to the opening of the exhibition, as part of the assessment process to determine the fellowship recipient.
Artspace is one of the leading institutions for the production and presentation of contemporary art in the Asia Pacific. Their expansive, multi-platform approach to programming includes new commissions, exhibitions, performances, studio residencies, publishing, public programs, learning and outreach initiatives, and advocacy. Artspace is where artists of all generations test new ideas and shape public conversation. Embracing risk, experimentation, collaboration and advocacy, Artspace’s mission is to enhance our culture and support community vibrancy through a deeper engagement with contemporary art.
Credit: Gillian Kayrooz, Leave Your Shoes at the Door, 2024. Installation view, 2024 Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging), Artspace, Photography Anna Kucera
This program is administered by Create NSW.
Eligibility
Who can apply
- Individuals and groups are eligible to apply, providing that an individual or all members of the group are emerging/early career visual artists
- Applicants must be 18 years or above
- Residing in NSW over the last 12 months.
- Meet the ABN requirements. Incorporated Entity, Companies and Trust ABN’s will not be accepted.
What is an early career stage visual artist?
An early career artist or arts and cultural worker is someone who is at the beginning of their career, has created a modest independent body of work but hasn’t yet established a solid reputation as an artist within their artform.
Types of projects funded under this grant
The NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) recipient undertakes a self-directed program of professional development which may include: research, travel, studio residencies, the creation of new work and/or mentorships.
When the project can start and end
The fellowship must start after 1 August 2025 and is to be completed within a 2-year period.
The project should be started by 1 August 2025 and the project must be completed by 1 August 2027.
Who can’t apply
- organisations (legally constituted establishments with an ABN)
- you are a previous shortlisted applicant or have been a successful recipient of the NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging)
- your proposed professional development activity/ies are already taking place or have been completed
- you are a current employee of Create NSW or have been employed by Create NSW within the last 12 months
Types of projects not funded under this grant
- activities that are carried out to satisfy the course requirements of an educational institution, such as TAFE or university
- activities that directly support the delivery of an educational program or course
- arts and cultural activities that are led by non-professional artists
- reimbursement to recover costs of items already purchased (such as flights, accommodation, and materials)
- purchasing musical instruments, artworks, equipment (such as laptops, cameras, technical equipment, or machinery), or vehicles
- capital works (infrastructure/building activities). Refer to Create Infrastructure regarding capital works funding opportunities
- Fundraising and donations
- Awards, prizes, competitions, or prize money
- Paying back loans
- Filmmaking projects, screen productions or film festivals. Refer to Screen NSW regarding film sector funding opportunities. This does not include videos with direct involvement of artists, musicians and performers such as music videos, video art and video for performance.
Example projects
The most recent Fellowship recipients include the following artists: Gillian Kayrooz (2024), Morgan Hogg (2023), Eddie Abd (2022), Dennis Golding (2020), Shivanjani Lal (2019), EO Gill (2018), Claudia Nicholson (2017), Consuelo Cavaniglia (2016), Heath Franco (2015), Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran (2014).
Additional eligibility requirements
For applications involving groups, the application must be submitted by an individual on behalf of the group.
Note: this will count as an application for all nominated group members who will not be eligible to submit separate applications to the Fellowship.
What your application needs to include
Prepare your application with this checklist
- Read the guidelines, FAQ's and glossary
- Check your eligibility
- Samples of work
- Biography/CV for:
- yourself
- the group members involved (if you are applying on behalf of a group)
- key artists, arts and cultural workers or collaborators involved
- key organisations/partners involved
- Letters of confirmation/support from artist/s, organisations and/or communities involved
- Letters of offer/ invitations/partnership arrangements related to your proposed fellowship program
Address the eligibility criteria
Each applicant, as part of an application response, must confirm that they meet the eligibility criteria.
Applicants that do not address the eligibility criteria in full may be excluded from the application process at the department's discretion.
Address the assessment criteria
You will have the option to answer the merit and impact assessment criteria as a written or video response.
Merit Criteria
- the ideas and achievements of your practice
- your experience to date
- an outline of your proposed professional development program.
Impact Criteria
- how the fellowship will benefit your practice at this stage of your career
- the importance of potential partnerships and collaborations with other artists, cultural workers and/or organisations in your proposed fellowship program.
The NSW Government is committed to ensuring fair access by all communities and individuals across the state. If the activity engages with the needs of a community or has outcomes that benefit specific Strategic Priority Areas, please include these details. The Strategic Priority Areas are:
- First Nations stories and communities
- Accessibility and equity
- Regional NSW
- Western Sydney
- Broad and inclusive communities and content
- Next generation of creatives and audiences
Engagement with a priority area/s is not compulsory.
Budget (not assessed)
- You will be required to submit a budget however; this does not form part of the assessment process.
Start the application
Support available
Create NSW staff are available to provide technical advice and general information to potential applicants on the interpretation of these guidelines, including the types of activity eligible for funding and support with the online application process.
- Email: arts.funding@create.nsw.gov.au
- Phone: (02) 9228 4578
- Scheduling an online meeting to speak to Create NSW staff using the link to Microsoft Bookings
- Visit our website
Create NSW staff cannot help directly with your application. To maintain a fair and equitable process, staff cannot edit or correct any applications or provide advice on the content or choices required against the Assessment Criteria.
1. Online platform
Create NSW uses the secure online grants system, SmartyGrants, to manage all its grant programs. All ACFP applications must be submitted via the online portal. You will receive an email confirmation of your application from SmartyGrants when your application has been accepted.
2. Publication of grants information
The Grants Administration Guide (Guide) requires that certain information is published in relation to grants awarded no later than 45 calendar days after the grant agreement takes effect (see section 6.5 of the Guide and Appendix A to the Guide).
This information is also open access information under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW) (GIPA Act), which must be made publicly available unless there is an overriding public interest against disclosure of the information.
In accordance with these requirements, relevant information about the grants awarded will be made available on the NSW Government Grants and Funding Finder as soon as possible after the grant agreement is executed.
However, due to the commercial-in-confidence nature of the information provided, and as the grant amount is determined as a percentage of the NSW Qualifying Production Expenditure on an individual and negotiated basis, the amount of funding provided will not be published.
All records in relation to this decision will be managed in accordance with the requirements of the State Records Act 1998 (NSW).
3. Successful grant applications
- If your application is successful, you will be sent a funding agreement (contract), generally within one month of notification. This outlines the conditions of funding, how you will be paid and your grant reporting requirements.
- Successful applicants may be asked to provide a reference letter from First Nations peers or community groups, as well as adherence to ICIP and Aboriginal Protocols prior to contracting, if appropriate.
- Successful applicants will be asked to provide:
- an active ABN (that's your Australian Business Number)
- a bank account with the same name as your ABN
- or a Funds Administrator to help you out- this is an administrative body/third party (such as a manager, agent or producing organisation) can receive and administer funds on your behalf. You may be asked for a fee for this service, and it is recommended that you include that fee in your activity budget.
- Contracts will not be issued, and payments will not be made, until all Create NSW/Sound NSW outstanding acquittals have been submitted.
- Successful applicants must acknowledge Create NSW funding in all publicity materials.
- Create NSW staff will review required reporting, outlined below, and may contact you for additional information as part of this process.
- Successful applicants will be required to provide an acquittal at the end of the funding period.
Please refer to Information for Funding Recipients for more detailed processes for successful applicants.
4. Feedback on Create NSW project funding application results
Create NSW staff continue to help and support applicants who are preparing new funding applications. However, we have shifted away from providing individualised feedback on past applications to continue to meet service standards for the processing and assessment of applications and to focus on helping applicants with their future submissions.
Program staff will no longer discuss past applications. Applicants applying in future rounds are encouraged to book an appointment with an Arts Funding and Development staff member to clarify any questions related to the application process.
5. Program evaluation
The Fellowship will be evaluated to measure how well the outcomes and objectives have been achieved.
We may collect and use information from your application and reports for this purpose. We may also interview you or ask you for more information to help us understand how the Fellowship impacted your career and to evaluate how effective the Fellowship was in achieving its outcomes.
We may contact you up to three years after you receive the final grant payment associated with the Fellowship for more information to assist with this evaluation. Create NSW and the NSW Audit Office reserves the right to undertake an audit of Program funding and support within seven years.
Tracking, reporting and an independent audit will be a requirement of the funding deed.
6. Additional information and resources
Conflict of interest management
Any conflicts of interest will be managed by Create NSW in accordance with the NSW Government Grants Administration Guide.
A conflict of interest, or perceived conflict of interest, may be identified if Create NSW staff, any member of the VAFE Advisory Panel and/or you as the applicant or any of your staff:
- has a professional, commercial, or personal relationship with a party who can influence the application selection process, or
- has a relationship with or interest in, an organisation, which is likely to interfere with or restrict the applicants from carrying out the proposed activities fairly and independently, or
- has a relationship with, or interest in, an organisation from which they will receive personal gain because the organisation received a grant under the grant program.
NSW Government staff, assessors and other officials including the decision maker must declare any conflicts of interest and ensure they are managed as per the Departments Code of Ethics and Conduct and the Grants Administration Guide.
Organisations working with First Nations people or communities:
Create NSW plays an important role in supporting the NSW First Nations cultural sector through providing direct investment through funding programs, developing strategies and policies for cultural development and advice and guidance to First Nations artists, arts and cultural workers, and organisations.
Create NSW acknowledges that a strong and vibrant First Nations cultural sector starts with supporting self-determination for the First Nations sector to manage, maintain and preserve First Nations cultures and ensure that the right way to do cultural business is supported, understood and acted on.
With the Aboriginal Arts & Cultural protocols, Create NSW seeks to work with the First Nations cultural sector to champion a new body of practice that has First Nations self-determination and cultural authority and agency at its foundation.
Just as First Nations culture is living and continues to evolve, these protocols have been developed to be a living document. Create NSW will continue to work with the NSW First Nations cultural sector to update the protocols annually to ensure that the continued growth and new and emerging areas are covered. These protocols aim to provide guidance to those planning to work with the First Nations communities and/or artists. The protocols can be found here.
Complaint handling, access to information and privacy
Details on how Create NSW handles complaints, access to information and your private information is available here.
Note: If you are a new applicant to SmartyGrants, you will need to register and create a password. If you are already registered, you can log in with your existing username and password.
Apply now
After the application is submitted
Successful applications will be decided by: the Director of Arts
Applications will undergo a staged assessment process, including assessment against eligibility and essential criteria, as outlined below.
Pre-eligibility
Once your application has been submitted, you will receive an email confirmation from our secure online grants system, SmartyGrants. Applications will be initially reviewed by Create NSW staff to ensure they meet eligibility requirements, and all application materials are acceptable.
Assessment Stage 1
After eligibility is confirmed, the application will be evaluated by the VAFE Advisory Panel against the published criteria and consistent with these guidelines. The VAFE Advisory Panel may comprise of:
- members of the Create NSW’s Visual Arts Artform Board
- representatives from Artspace
- the previous 2024 fellowship recipient.
Please note that funding allocation follows a competitive process. Evaluations by the VAFE Advisory Panel will consider the assessment criteria, the demographics, distribution, range and scale. This may include prioritising fellowships with outcomes that address ACFP Strategic Priority Areas, geographical spread, to ensure equity across the state and the best outcomes for NSW Government investment.
Assessment Stage 2
Create NSW will consolidate the evaluations and finalise recommendations based on the quality of the applications assessed by the VAFE Advisory Panel, demand by distribution across the state and ACFP Strategic Priorities.
The VAFE Advisory Panel:
- May set aside an application if it is assessed as below acceptable in any one of the published criteria.
- May ask for a Cultural Review from Create NSW First Nations staff or the First Nations Arts and Culture Artform Board for applications with First Nations content and engagement.
Decision Making
Final recommendations will be made by Create NSW and submitted for consideration and approval to the Director of Arts.
Assessment process consideration
Applicants should note that:
- The NSW Government typically receives far more applications than it can support.
- You are not guaranteed funding even if your application meets the published criteria.
- If you are successful, your application may not be funded to the amount you requested.
Create NSW may, at its sole discretion and at any stage of the application process, do all or any of the following:
- Require additional information from an applicant.
- may request applicants to provide clarification or additional information regarding the eligibility criteria.
- Change the scope of the requirements of these guidelines.
- Vary, amend (including by replacement), or terminate the application process.
- Re-open an application after the closing date, provided it doesn’t give the applicant an advantage over other applicants.
- Consider any non-conforming or late application.
- Request further advice and/or clarification from applicants during the assessment process.
Anticipated assessment outcome date is Anticipated assessment outcome date is within one week of the final approval of funding commitments by government
Anticipated date for funding deed execution with successful applicants is within one month of successful notification
Support and contact
Create NSW:
- Email: arts.funding@create.nsw.gov.au
- Phone: (02) 9228 4578
- Scheduling an online meeting to speak to the Arts Funding and Development team using the link to Microsoft Bookings
- Visit our website