2018 Createability intern Joel Pragnell on the set of ABC Play School. Image courtesy Joel Pragnell
NSW artists and practitioners with disability have the opportunity to develop meaningful career pathways into the arts, screen, and culture sectors thanks to the NSW Government’s Createability Internship Program.
This call for Expression of Interest (EOI) is now closed.
Image: 2018 Createability intern Joel Pragnell on the set of ABC Play School. Image courtesy Joel Pragnell
Key information
- Status: Closed
- Grant amount: Provides customised training followed by paid internship for up to 10 participants.
- Application opened: 29 August 2022
- Application closed: 26 September 2022
Program objective
The Createability Internship Program is a three-year commitment delivered by the NSW Government in partnership with Accessible Arts and leading NSW-based arts, screen and cultural organisations.
The program creates new opportunities for young artists with a disability across the sector.
The program includes customised training for up to 10 participants, followed by paid internships for up to 160 hours at participating arts, screen and cultural organisations.
This important initiative removes barriers to employment and provides training, mentoring and support for our emerging creatives.
This program is administered by Create NSW.
Eligibility
You must:
be an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident
identify as a person with disability or who is d/Deaf (see below for definition)
be over 18 years of age
be a current resident of NSW and;
have some previous industry experience at an emerging or mid-career level. This could include being new to the workforce or having been actively engaged in or seeking a career opportunity in the arts, screen and culture industry.
Who can apply
The program is designed for people who would benefit from an internship, rather than those who are established practitioners.
What can I apply for?
As part of your application, you will identify which Host Organisation/s you are interested in working with, from a list of organisations provided. You will be able to select up to three and list them in priority order.
You may also choose another organisation not on the list, provided you have contacted them, and they have agreed to be involved in this program. This would count as one of your three choices. All Host Organisations must be based in NSW.
The list of internships available in a separate document – Appendix C of the Createability Internship Program Guidelines. (DOCX 1.75MB)
Who can’t apply
Applicant must not be a recipient of a 2021/22 Createability Internship
Applicant type
The interns are open to arts and screen workers at any career stage or level of experience. Interns need to show that they have had some involvement, either voluntary or via employment, in the arts or screen sector, but they don’t need to have a significant level of experience to suit this program.
Applicants will need to demonstrate that they would benefit from undertaking an internship.
People who are already well established in their careers in arts, culture or screen may not be suitable for this internship.
What this program does and doesn't do
This is not a grants program.
The program includes customised training for up to 10 participants, followed by paid internships for up to 160 hours at participating arts, screen and cultural organisations.
The internships will cover a variety of creative and technical areas in the screen and cultural sectors. This includes opportunities in marketing, curating, production, front of house, arts administration, public programs, art department, camera and sound, writing, producing, animation and visual effects, and editing.
What is being funded in this internship opportunity?
The program includes customised training for up to 10 participants, followed by paid internships for up to 160 hours at participating arts, screen and cultural organisations.
Following the successful pilot program delivered in 2018, Create NSW has committed to running the Createability Internship Program over from July 2021 through to June 2024 (three years). This round is the second of three rounds.
Example projects
The successful interns in 2023 receive placements at: Cementa, Sydney Opera House, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Theatre Company, Animal Logic, ABC, Industrial Light & Magic, Endemol Shine Australia.
See news article about Kristi Archer's Createability internship.
What your application needs to include
Download the following:
Createability Internship Program Guidelines (DOCX 2.81MB) (accessible word version)
Createability List of Host Organisations (accessible word version) (DOCX 1.75MB)
Createability Internship Program Guidelines (print easy read version) (PDF 6.12MB)
Createability Internship List of Host Organisations (print easy read version) (PDF 8.75MB)
Prepare your application with this checklist
What do you need to tell us?
The best applications will be those that clearly address the selection criteria and provide good responses for all the questions asked in the application form.
Two webinars were delivered in 2021 as part of this program. See Createability webinars.
Address the eligibility criteria
You can submit either a biography or a CV as part of your application’s support material. This should relate to your experience in the arts, culture or screen sector and should show what you’ve done in terms of employment, voluntary work and training.
Start the application
Applications have closed
Submit your proposal in any format accessible to you. For example, this might include email, audio file, video, handwritten or printed document.
If you choose to submit a video application, it does not need to be a professionally edited clip, it can be as simple as a video shot on an iPhone. There is a Create NSW webinar about how to submit a video application here.
If you choose to submit a written application, you are welcome to use dot points to address the questions.
This year, we also have an Easy Read version of the Guidelines (PDF 6.12MB) available here, as well as an Easy Read version of the application form (please contact David Everist for an Easy Read application form at David.everist@create.nsw.gov.au)
We do ask all applicants to provide the following information with their submission:
Contact Details
Name
Date of Birth
Address
Contact phone number
Email address
CV or short bio – including details of relevant work, volunteer and study experience and/or qualifications.
Do you identify as a person with disability or d/Deaf?
Outline any support and/or access requirements you may have.
Outline your previous work and/or volunteer experience as it relates to the arts, culture or screen sectors.
Summary of formal or informal training and employment you have been involved in.
What do you hope to get out of the Createability Internship and why do you believe it would be of value to you at this point in your career?
Description of the type and/or area of work you might be interested working in. This could include identifying one or more of the Host Organisations and internship opportunities listed in these guidelines, or another organisation you are interested in working with.
Details of two independent referees who can speak to your suitability for this program.
Essential dates
- Intern applications open on SmartyGrants system – Monday 22 August 2022
- Intern applications close – 5pm Monday 26 September 2022
- Intern interview dates – Monday 31 October, Tuesday 1 November and Wednesday 2 November 2022
- Internship recipients and Host Organisations announced – early December 2022
- Intern training day – Monday 12 December 2022
- Internships take place – December 2022 through to June 2023
Please make a note of these dates, as all shortlisted interns will need to attend an interview and all successful interns will need to attend the training day.
After the application is submitted
The applications will be assessed and both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified.
Shortlisted applicants
Access will be provided for the interviews for shortlisted applicants.
Prior to starting their internship, each of the successful interns will be matched with a Host Organisation. A work program will be developed based on the skills and interest of the participants, alongside the opportunities and requirements of the organisations.
Interns will be provided with bespoke job-ready training, delivered by Create NSW and Accessible Arts.
The Host Organisations will be provided with customised Disability Confidence Training facilitated by Accessible Arts.
Both the interns and Host Organisations will receive support and mentoring from Create NSW throughout the duration of the internships.
Interns will need to provide information on their access requirements in the application form and interview process. Access requirements for the internship period will be supported via the Employee Assistance Fund (run by Job Access) and/or the Host Organisations. For anyone needing support via Job Access and the Employment Assistance Fund, they would need to work a minimum of 8 hours a week for at least 13 weeks.
Support and contact
We have a range of resources to assist you with your funding application. After reviewing these, you may contact a staff member if you need advice regarding these guidelines between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.
Phone: 02 9228 4578