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.
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.
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 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