Air Time by Branch Nebula. Photography: Johnny Chaing
Visit Create NSWto learn more about the Arts and Cultural Funding Program.
What do Artform Boards do?
Artform Boards are formal Boards appointed through the NSW Public Service Commission to support the NSW Minister for the Arts to make good funding decisions.
At Create NSW we refer to them as Artform Boards as board members review and assess funding proposals for competitive funding rounds (grants) in the Arts and Cultural Funding Program (ACFP).
Artform Board members are to submit individual assessment results via an online grant management system to be discussed at assessment meetings within set timeframes - during which time members must be available.
Assessment outcomes made by the Artform Boards are recommended to the Arts Minister for approval by Create NSW.
The boards help ensure the arts sector is represented in the grants assessment process in a way that is delivered in alignment with the NSW Government Grants Management Guide to ensure funding outcomes that are:
- consistent
- high-quality
- inclusive.
Assessors are expected to share their professional insights to support a fair and equitable grant assessment process.
Who can be a Board member?
Artform Board members represent the full spectrum of arts and culture practice including those that create, produce, distribute, and interpret cultural and creative works, as well as management.
Diversity of experience is key and can range from emerging practitioners through to leaders of small to medium enterprises or major institutions from across NSW.
The board membership usually includes:
- artists, arts and cultural practitioners
- leaders of small to medium sized organisations and major institutions from across NSW.
You do not need to be an experienced grant assessor to be eligible.
What are the eligibility criteria to be considered for Artform Board membership?
To be eligible to apply to an Artform Board individuals must be/demonstrate:
- a thorough understanding of the NSW Arts and Cultural ecology
- an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident
- a NSW resident (for at least 12 months) or predominantly working in NSW
- a professional artist or arts/cultural leader or worker demonstrating employment in the NSW Art & Cultural sector
- age 18 or over
It is important to note that individuals who have not satisfactorily acquitted any prior Create NSW funding will be ineligible for consideration unless written approval has been received from Create NSW.
What are the Artform Boards?
There are 10 Artform Boards with up to 20 members on each board.
The artforms are:
First Nations Arts and Culture
First Nations artistic and cultural expression is based on traditional and contemporary practice. Arts and culture are intrinsic to contemporary First Nations society and an important part of the social fabric of NSW’s First Nations communities.
- Classical Music / Opera / Choral/ Ensemble
- Classical Music is a form of music developed from the European tradition of the 18th and 19th centuries. This panel will include contemporary classical and ensemble groups including percussion.
- Opera is a staged drama set to music, made up of vocal pieces with instrumental or orchestral accompaniment.
- Choral is a group of people who sing together.
Community Arts and Cultural Development
Community Arts and Cultural Development (CACD) involves artists working collaboratively with communities through art and culture.
Dance and Physical Theatre
Dance includes all forms of dance from ballet to contemporary dance. Physical Theatre includes all forms of physical theatre from circus, acrobatics to storytelling through physical movement.
- Digital and Experimental, Immersive and Light Art
- Digital & Experimental - combining or involving two or more artforms using experimental approaches, artistic risk-taking, and including the development of cutting-edge contemporary practice. Encompasses new artform development. Digital artforms includes application of new forms of technology and existing forms such as podcasts.
- Immersive artforms are those that envelop the participant in a total experience, engaging multiple senses and often blurring the lines between the artwork and the real world and could include virtual reality and Infinity rooms.
- Light Art is a visual art form in which light is the main if not sole medium of creation. It includes projection mapping using projectors to create images and videos on surfaces, often buildings or landscapes.
Festivals
Festivals are an event that celebrates a program of a specific artform or various artforms through live performances, workshops, and exhibitions, often across multiple locations.
Literature / Writing
Works of fiction, literary non-fiction, children’s and young adult literature, poetry, writing for performance, graphic novels, and literary digital and new media work.
Museums and History
A museum is a non-profit, permanent institution in the service of society and its development which acquires, conserves, research, and exhibits the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and its environment for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment. History is the analysis and interpretation of the human past enabling us to study continuity and changes that are taking place over time.
Theatre and Musical Theatre
Theatre: all forms of theatre from performance, playwriting, directing, new work, devising and adaption of the canon.
Musical Theatre: a genre of theatre in which singing, dancing, and composing play an essential role.Visual Arts
Visual Arts includes design and craft. Applications submitted to the Visual Arts Board often include but are not limited to elements of sculpture, performance, painting, installation, ceramics, video, and printmaking.
Why is there a specific First Nations Arts and Culture Board?
Our First Nations-focused Board:
- embraces the principles of First Nations self-determination
- encourages First Nations arts and culture to be at the centre of funded activity.
This benefits First Nations artists, arts and cultural workers, organisations, and communities.
The First Nations Board may also advise other artform boards on funding applications with First Nations content and may be able to seek advice from other First Nations people on other Artform boards.
Why is there no contemporary music board?
Contemporary music is supported through Sound NSW. Sound NSW is a dedicated office committed to the growth, development, and promotion of contemporary music in NSW. More information is available here.
How are new Board Members chosen?
Create NSW is currently undertaking an open Expression of Interest (EOI) process.
The EOI process requires submission of an online application form. You can self-nominate or nominate others if they have agreed to be nominated.
Create NSW staff will assess applications against experience and diversity criteria and provide recommendations for appointment to the Minister for the Arts. The Minister for the Arts approves the appointment of all Artform Board members.
Applications close 17 July 2024.
What criteria will be used to assess the EOIs?
EOI applications are assessed against demonstrating the following:
- expertise and experience in at least one Artform
- recognised leadership in their practice, and/or the NSW arts and cultural sector, including strong connections and networks
- demonstrated knowledge of key issues relating to the NSW arts & cultural sector
- the diversity of NSW, as outlined below
Artform Board membership will be reflective of the diversity of NSW artists, arts, and cultural workers. Create NSW is committed to having representation from the following groups on each Artform Board:
- First Nations
- Women
- LGBTIQA+
- Western Sydney
- Regional NSW
- Young and emerging practitioners and organisations
- Culturally and linguistically diverse communities
- People with Disability and/or who are d/Deaf.
Create NSW will assess each application against the selection criteria and ensure there is diverse representation on each Board to produce a list of eligible members.
Is the Artform Boards membership made public?
Yes, a list of appointed board members for all 10 Artform Boards will be published on the Create NSW website.
What is the role of the Chair?
Each of the 10 Artform Boards will have a Chair.
The role of the Chair is to assist with moderating assessor results and discussion at the assessment meetings. The Chair is required to read all applications, attend assessment meetings associated with their artform and support Artform Leads. They will also work closely with Create NSW to assist with preparing final recommendations made to the Minister for the Arts.
How are Board Chairs chosen?
Applicants will be asked to indicate if they are interested in a Chair role in the EOI application form. Create NSW will assess all EOI applications and recommend Chairs for each Artform to the Minister of the Arts.
What is an Artform Lead?
Depending upon the number of applications received for an individual artform, one or more assessment groups of 3-5 members will be formed from the membership of the corresponding Artform Board. These assessment groups will each have a member assigned to lead them.
How long will members serve on Boards?
EOI selected participants serve an initial 12-month period, with a possible reappointment for another 12 months.
What will Create NSW’s role be in the assessment process?
Create NSW will coordinate the assessment process, support assessors, and facilitate the online assessment meetings. Other roles include:
- informing eligibility and viability assessments (where applicable)
- providing sector knowledge
- facilitate all assessment meetings
- take assessment meeting minutes
- progressing Artform Board recommendations for approval by the Minister for the Arts
How are conflicts of interests, bias, undue influence or regional misrepresentation managed?
A Code of Conduct governs Board members’ participation.
All Board members will be required to declare their interests annually and again prior to the assessment of every application to ensure the management of any conflicts.
Each year, the membership of the Artform Boards is adjusted to ensure the Boards maintain an appropriate balance of diversity and regional representation and a range of expertise and experience across the artforms.
Where will Assessment Meetings take place?
All assessment meetings will be conducted online.
This provides the most efficient and effective way to bring panel members together and ensures distance and travel are not a barrier for participation by regional and remote assessors. It also ensures an equitable approach to meeting processes with all participants contributing to the conversation via the same medium.
There will be no travel requirement as an Artform Board member.
Do the Board members get paid?
Board members will be paid for the work that they do, and it will be in line with NSW Government standards. Full details of payment will be made directly with Artform Board members as part of the induction process. NSW Government employees cannot be paid to sit on Boards.
You can find more information about what government boards are paid here: NSW Government Boards and Committees Classification and Remuneration Framework (See page 35 for C2 Classified Boards)
Do I need to be an experienced grant assessor to submit an expression of interest?
No, you do not need to be an experienced grant assessor to be eligible to submit an EOI. We are looking for a diverse range of experience and expertise and believe that board participation is a good professional development opportunity for the sector.
Can I nominate someone else to be on an Artform Board?
Yes, there is an option in the EOI application form to nominate someone else. Please ensure that you have sought your nominee’s permission before completing and submitting the EOI application on their behalf.
How will appointment to an Artform Board impact eligibility for Create NSW grants?
Appointment to an Artform Board will not prohibit you, or any organisations you are associated with, from applying for Create NSW grants.
To ensure fair assessment processes, we will require all Board members to declare their conflicts of interest. These will then be managed internally to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest in assessment.
What is the expected time commitment involved with being on an Artform Board?
Artform Board members will be asked to review and assess funding applications to Create NSW’s Arts and Cultural Funding (ACFP) program. This will involve completing an individual assessment of funding applications, followed by attendance at an assessment meeting.
Assessment of applications will commence following the closing dates of the ACFP grant rounds. Create NSW’s funding calendar can be found here. Please note that dates are subject to change.
Time taken to complete assessments will vary based on the number of applications received and allocated to each Artform Board. Create NSW will be managing workloads to ensure an equitable and reasonable time commitment across artforms. Artform board members will be allocated a capped number of applications to assess per round and this cap considers the amount of time assessors may need to complete assessment.
Board members will be notified in advance of assessment time frames and board member meetings. It is expected that assessors be available for these assessment periods. Meetings will be held online during business hours and will typically last no longer than one working day. Artform Leads and Chairs may be required to attend additional meetings.
Who can I email for more information and support?
If you have any further questions about the Create NSW Artform Boards or the EOI process please email arts.assessment@create.nsw.gov.au