Four Western Australian arts organisations will be among the first to receive support from this year’s $8 million Creative Future Fund.
Perth Festival, Fremantle Biennale, Community Arts Network and Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation will receive support from Creative Australia’s $7.8 million Creative Future Fund.
Additionally, Sydney-based All The Queens Men will receive funding to premier its show The Pageant at Perth Festival.
This year’s CFF aims to support 20 large-scale creative projects to share Australian stories across the country and the world.
The WA organisations will receive $250,000 each under the development investment stream of the funding initiative.
Creative Futures Fund director Wendy Martin said the projects were selected to explore new ideas, adapt existing works, and test market potential.
“From an immersive experience for families based on Shaun Tan’s illustrated stories to artworks shared under dark night skies in remote locations – five visionary works from Western Australia are set to thrill and surprise audiences,” she said.
The investments will fund a part-performance, part-installation, and immersive project bringing Shaun Tan’s series Tales from the Inner City to life in Perth’s CBD.
The Luke Kerridge creation will be set to tour the country after its initial theatrical production at Perth Festival 2028.
Contemporary art festival Fremantle Biennale will receive CFF support to put on Night Rise aiming to create partnerships with artists, astro-tourism and environmental initiatives.
The investment in Community Arts Network will go towards a First Nations-led initiative called Unfinished Business.
It is set to debut at the Indian Ocean Craft Triennial 2027 and will aim to tour internationally.
Juluwarlu will bring Yindjibarndi culture from the Pilbara region to the national stage with a performance called Ngurra Nyujunggamu: When the World Was Soft.
Juluwarlu executive producer and cultural leader Lorraine Coppen said the investment made the national tour possible.
“Yindjibarndi elders, cultural leaders, artists and community members are partnering with outstanding performing arts practitioners to develop our production, accompanied by roving large-scale puppets and outdoor projected animations, extending the performance across public spaces in major cities and festivals,” she said.
Launched last year, the CFF is an initiative of the federal government’s national cultural policy Revive.
In the first year of the fund in FY25, Creative Australia invested in “works of scale” through two streams: development and delivery.
The investments in 14 organisations ranged between $50,000 and $1.5 million.
