By Dominique Tassell
Southern Downs Regional Council (SDRC) approved six 2021/22 Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) Round One applications, for a total of $36,301, at the recent Ordinary Council Meeting.
Cr Stephen Tancred stated in the meeting that all the applications are “good and worthy”, however, flagged that out of the six applicants, three of them involved bringing in artists from outside the region.
He said that is fine if we don’t have those talents locally, but perhaps the aims of the program should be changed to reflect this.
A staff member said councillors were welcome to amend the aims.
The six applicants were Topology, Alison Thompson, Jumpers and Jazz in July Inc, Stanthorpe Pottery Club, Mt Colliery QCWA, and Deborah Wheeler.
The full details of these projects will be included in our online article.
The Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) is a partnership between the Queensland Government and Southern Downs Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.
The purpose of the RADF program is to support local artists and creative community organisations and to provide opportunities for local residents to participate in arts and cultural activities.
The priorities for the 2021/22 Program are:
• Arts and cultural tourism (e.g. festivals and events)
• Heritage and collections of the region (e.g. museums, galleries, libraries, heritage trails)
• Applications where funding is aimed at participants from demographics and segments of the community who have not historically participated in RADF funded programs or projects
• Arts and creative activities which support the well-being of participants, strengthen social connections and build community resilience
• Provide employment opportunities for local artists and arts workers.
Applicants can apply for up to $10,000 in funding.
The total funding requested from the six projects is $36,301 and the available budget for the 2021/2022 RADF program is $89,500.
The RADF Reference Group recommends that the six applications, which meet the Assessment Criteria of the RADF Guidelines, be funded for a total of $36,301.
The balance of the budget for the 2021/22 RADF Program, $53,199, is to be made available to applicants in Round Two, which opens for applications on 23 May 2022.
Of the 2021/2022 RADF budget, $39,500 of this is funded by Arts Queensland.
This funding must be fully expended by September 2022.
