Festivals to receive restart grants as part of Federal Government’s $250 million JobMaker plan
Subscribe
X

Get the latest from Beat

11.08.2020

Festivals to receive restart grants as part of Federal Government’s $250 million JobMaker plan

Hello Sunshine
Photo by Aranxa Esteve/Unsplash
Words by Tom Parker

Some of the details of the JobMaker plan were announced today.

The Federal Government has today announced some of the details of its $250 million JobMaker plan it revealed in late June. Created to “help restart the creative economy and get the entertainment, arts and screen sectors back to work”, the JobMaker plan will support a number of facets of the industry including organisations like Screen Australia in restarting the film and TV sector, as well as providing loans for creative economy businesses to get things back on the road.

Within the $250 million commitment comes the $75 million Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund, designed to provide funding to arts organisations, companies and promoters to support new events on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As he announced the finer details, Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP, reinforced the Morrison Government’s ongoing commitment to the creative industry.

“The RISE Fund will provide grants of between $75,000 and $2 million to help restart activities such as festivals, concerts, tours and events once it is safe to do so,” Minister Fletcher said.

“The grants will allow the arts sector reactivate, re-imagine and create new cultural experiences, including innovative operating and digital delivery models. This will help keep artists, performers, roadies, front of house staff and all those who work behind the scenes employed.

“I encourage eligible organisations across Australia to familiarise themselves with the RISE Fund guidelines ahead of applications opening later this month to help bring arts and entertainment back to Australian audiences.”

Minister Kennedy continued by revealing some statistics that consolidated the importance of Australia’s creative industries.

“Australia’s creative and cultural sector is an important component of Australia’s economy, generating $112 billion a year and stimulating activity in adjacent sectors such as tourism and hospitality. Having a strong creative and cultural sector will be important in rebuilding the economy following COVID-19.”

Applications for grants under the RISE Fund open on August 31 and can be made until May 31, 2021.

Find out more about the announcement here.

Never miss a story. Sign up to Beat’s newsletter and you’ll be served fresh music, arts, food and culture stories three times a week.