Arts and Cultural Funding Program

Regional Arts Touring

The Visitors

These grants support projects that provide access to arts and culture for audiences living in regional NSW.
Find the current opportunities at Create NSW.

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Key information

  • Status: Closed
  • Grant amount: Grant amount varies per tour
  • Application opened: 15 November 2023
  • Application closed: 26 February 2024, 5:00 pm

Program objective

Regional Arts Touring funding supports tours that provide access to arts and culture for audiences living in regional NSW.

2024/25 opportunity for Individuals/Groups

2024/25 opportunity for Organisations

Provided by Create NSW, the funding is available for tours of all artforms, including performing arts, music, visual arts, literature, history, museums and multi-arts. Applicants should demonstrate strong audience development and engagement strategies.

It aims to:

  • provide people in regional NSW with access to a high-calibre and diverse range of artistic and cultural experiences, no matter where they live.
  • support best practice programming in regional and rural facilities.
  • build audiences by encouraging and promoting regional and local support for arts and culture.
  • build the viability of NSW arts and cultural organisations by developing new markets and audiences.

Image: Sydney Theatre Company 2023 The Visitors Beau Dean Riley Smith and Dalara Williams Photo Rob Hookey

This program is administered by Create NSW and Department of Enterprise, Investment and Trade.

This program is funded by Create NSW.

Eligibility

Who can apply

To be able to apply for Regional NSW Arts Touring funding, you need to meet the following criteria:

Applicant type

You must be:

  • 18 years and above
  • an Australian citizen or
  • an Australian permanent resident or
  • a group located in Australia with Australian citizen and/or permanent resident members or
  • a small to medium independent arts and cultural organisation based in Australia -preference is given to NSW-based organisations
  • an NSW Local Government Authority (LGA)
  • a professional artist or arts/cultural worker (including museum workers) with:
    • a commitment to arts and cultural work as a major aspect of their working life (even if this work is not the main source of your/their income) and
    • A degree of training, experience or manner of working that allows your/their work to be assessed against the highest practiced standards in the relevant artform or discipline.

Preference is given to NSW-based individuals, groups and organisations who apply.

You cannot apply for Regional Touring Funding if you:

  • are a:
    • National Performing Arts Partnership Organisation (NPAP) 
    • State and Federal Government departments and/or agencies 
    • State Significant Organisations or State Significant Institutions 
    • Screen based organisation/individual and group applying for filmmaking screen production, mainstream animation or film festivals. 
    • you are an educational institution (including preschools, primary and secondary schools) 
  • have received Create NSW funding for the same stage/phase of the tour/s or for tour top ups 
  • do not meet the ABN requirements 
  • are a current employee of Create NSW (note in addition, Create NSW employees cannot benefit from this funding round) 
  • have been employed by Create NSW within the last 12 months 
  • have already started your tour or it has already taken place. 

Tour focus

Your tour must be a clearly defined arts and cultural touring activity.

What you can apply for

Funding is available for a wide range of touring activity to regional NSW which may include but is not limited to:  

  • a Sydney-based dance company touring to three regional NSW destinations and delivering workshops with young people  
  • a regional NSW theatre organisation touring a performance to one Western Sydney and two regional NSW locations  
  • an artist/curator from Western Sydney touring an exhibition to multiple regional NSW galleries  a band touring regional NSW to support an album release.  


You can apply for tours in development, however, you will need to identify the venues/regions in the touring itinerary and provide a rationale for the chosen tour regions. You can apply for works in development, which is when the tour may include local outputs such as workshops, professional development or engaging local performers. 

If you are a Sydney, Western Sydney or interstate-based organisation, 70% of your funding request must be going towards the regional NSW component of your tour.

For the purposes of Regional Arts Touring Funding Guidelines, regional NSW touring destinations includes all local government areas outside of Sydney, Western Sydney, Newcastle LGA and Wollongong LGA.

There are no minimum or maximum funding limits for this category. A tour is considered more viable when it has multiple sources of income (see Viability criteria). As such, you should contribute other cash or in- kind support towards the tour.  Further information can be found in the resource hub.

What you can't apply for

You cannot apply for Regional Arts Touring funding towards:   

  • in-house salaries or fees   
  • interstate and international touring  
  • touring to primary or secondary schools  
  • accredited study, training or university courses or education programs.
  • fundraising, awards or prize money
  • the purchase of musical instruments, artworks or vehicles
  • loan repayments
  • the cost of plans, feasibility studies or architectural drawings
  • filmmaking, screen production, mainstream animation or film
  • Reimbursement to cover costs of items already purchased or vehicles 
  • Capital works.

Most recent recipients

What your application needs to include

Tour Start and End date must be between 1/6/2024 and 31/12/2025.

1

Prepare your application

In your application you will need to describe your activity, who it benefits, what you are planning to do, why you are doing it and what you hope to achieve. 

You can do this in the three areas that will make up most of your application: 

  • Merit – This is where you present your pitch and speak to the quality of the tour you will develop and the work you will present.    
  • Impact – This is where you explain why the tour matters, and who will benefit from it and why you are touring to specific regions.   
  • Viability and Itinerary (Viability) – This is where you must demonstrate your ability to manage a touring budget with NSW State funding and achieve your tour objectives. 

We recommend reading the Green Touring Toolkit from Arts on Tour.

2

Address the eligibility criteria

Refer to "Who can apply - Applicant Type" section above

Special eligibility

  • Applicants from interstate and those applicants based in Sydney and Western Sydney Local Government Areas are eligible to apply for tours to regional NSW destinations.
  • Regional NSW applicants are eligible to apply for tours that include Western Sydney, Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong destinations.

Non-NSW organisations, individuals and groups can apply if they demonstrate benefits to audiences in regional NSW and that 70% of your funding request must be for the regional NSW component of the tour. It is highly recommended that you discuss your application with Create NSW staff before applying. 

Organisations based in regional NSW are eligible to apply for funding for

  • net touring costs 
  • community engagement or audience development costs
  • inclusion of remount/pre-production costs up to $10,000 per tour

Sydney and Western Sydney-based organisations can also apply for the above costs, but for regional NSW tour locations only.  

3

Address the assessment criteria

You will be assessed based on your responses to the information below and the supporting material that you provide. The level of detail expected in your application will increase depending on your funding request amount.   

Merit

You should provide details on the following questions: 

  • Tell us about your tour. 
  • The reason/s for undertaking the tour including aims of the tour and artistic rationale 
  • Other artists involved and the locations of the tour and venues 
  • The outcome/s of the tour. 

Supporting Materials

  • For a list of required documentation - see below 'Supporting material' 

Impact

The changes (outcomes) you expect to see as a result of your tour 
 
Tell us in detail about: 

  • impacts to your audience such as increased access, attendance or participation. 
  • impacts to your artform: such as innovation, advancement, employment, NSW works developed/presented/represented 
  • Social impacts: such as improved wellbeing, community and cultural development, increased visibility of issues, stories or communities  

 Viability  

The planning and finances, timeline and how the budget will be managed 

  • The key steps or activities to plan and deliver the tour, this can include
    • dates, activities, names, descriptions, collaborators involved and locations of your tour 
  • How you will spend the amount you are requesting from Create NSW, including a breakdown of your total tour costs? 
  • What are the risks associated with the tour? How can you reduce these risks?
  • What governance and management arrangements are in place for the tour? (this is only for Organisations/LGAs) 

The budget is a tool for showing strength of your planning and ability to deliver your tour. You will be expected to download the budget template provided by Create NSW (in Smartygrants) and upload it as part of the budget criteria. 

You should provide a detailed budget breakdown, this may include quotes, industry standard rates for artist/s and arts workers, and any other additional income associated with the total costs of delivering the tour. 

  • What are your income and expenses to deliver the tour? 
  • How much confirmed income do you have? 
  • What are the risks associated with this tour? How can you reduce those risks? 

You cannot apply for 100% of the costs of your tour – you must show other income sources in your budget

4

Supporting Material

Throughout the application, you will be expected to provide support material. 
These can include: 

  • confirmation letters from artist/s, venues and/or communities that can confirm they are working with you on the tour 
  • letters of support from artist/s organisations and/or communities who can speak to your tour’s vision and your experience in tour delivery 
  • letters of support for tours which will be working with Aboriginal people or Aboriginal Communities 
  • Evidence that industry rates have been applied when budgeting artist fees 
  • venue booking confirmation/s or expressions of interest. 
  • a full touring itinerary, including:  
    • all NSW tour dates if applicable  
    • all proposed venues, indicating whether they are confirmed (Yes/No) 

Samples of previous artist/organisations works and/or touring works. 

These may be: 

  • written material 
  • still Images 
  • audio/visual. 

Start the application

To apply for funding you will need to complete and submit the relevant application form through our secure online grants system SmartyGrants. If you have any technical difficulties, please

Organisations and Local Government Authorities:

Organisations/LGAs - Apply Here 

Individuals and Groups:

Individuals/Groups - Apply Here

ABN Business Number (ABN) Requirements 

As an Individual you must apply with 1 of the following:  

  • An Individual/Sole Trader ABN 
  • If you're the sole director of a private company, the ABN for that company 
  • A nominated Funds Administrator  
  • None of the above, but if successful, will obtain an Individual/Sole Trader ABN or engage a Funds Administrator  

As a Group you must apply with 1 of the following: 

  • A group members’ Individual/Sole Trader ABN 
  • A partnership ABN 
  • An Unincorporated Entity ABN 
  • A nominated Funds Administrator 
  • None of the above, but, if successful, will obtain an eligible ABN or engage a Funds Administrator 

Please note: Note that the group member with the ABN must also be the Contact for that group. 

Incorporated Associations, Companies (except sole directors of private companies) and Trusts are not eligible to apply as individuals or groups. These restrictions do not apply to Funds Administrators. 

As an organisation: 

You cannot apply with an Individual/Sole Trader, partnership or unincorporated entity.  
Funds Administration 

An administrative body/third party (e.g., manager, agent or producing organisation) can receive and administer funds on your behalf. You may be asked for a fee for this service, and it is recommended that you include that fee in your activity budget. 

After the application is submitted

Successful applications will be decided by: Minister for the Arts, based on recommendations by the Artform Advisory Board Subcommittee.

Confirmation

Once your application has been submitted, you will receive an email confirmation from our secure online grants system, SmartyGrants.

Create NSW has the discretion to accept late applications only where it would not compromise the integrity and competitiveness of the process.

Pre-eligibility check

Your application will be checked for eligibility. 

If eligible, your application will proceed to the three (3) stage assessment process.

If your application is deemed ineligible, you will be advised via email within 14 days of the closing date and your application will not proceed to assessment.

Please note: You can withdraw your application at any time. Please email arts.funding@create.nsw.gov.au with your name and application number.

Assessment Stage 1 

All applications submitted to the Regional Arts Touring round will be assessed by an Artform Advisory Board Subcommittee, who:

  • Will individually assess and rank all applications against the assessment criteria
  • May set aside an application if it is assessed as “materially deficient” in any one of the three assessment criteria 
  • May ask for a Cultural Review from Create NSW Aboriginal staff or the Aboriginal Arts and Culture Artform Advisory Board based on applications with Aboriginal content and engagement.

The Subcommittee consists of representatives from different Create NSW Artform Boards. These Board members are from leading NSW arts and cultural organisations, independent organisations and are individual artists.  

Assessment Stage 2 

Create NSW will review and provide advice to the Artform Board Subcommittee on how an application meets the budget criteria. 

Create NSW may, at its sole discretion, and at any stage of the application process, do all or any of the following:

  • require additional information from an applicant
  • change the scope of the requirements of these guidelines
  • vary, amend (including by replacement) or terminate the application process
  • re-open an application after the closing date, provided it doesn’t give the applicant an advantage over other applicants
  • consider any non-conforming application

Consultations

During the assessment meeting, Create NSW may contact applicants on behalf of the Artform Advisory Board Subcommittee to request further information and/or clarification on areas of their tour.  

Assessment Stage 3

Artform Advisory Board subcommittee assessment scores will be amalgamated and presented at the subcommittee panel meeting to determine their final recommendations. They will consider the assessment criteria, the demographics, distribution, range, and scale of the initial recommendations.    This may include prioritising NSW applicants, as well as programs, individuals and activities with outcomes that address ACFP Key Priority Areas, to ensure equity across the State and the best outcomes for NSW Government investment.   

 Please note:

  • The NSW Government typically receives far more applications than it can support
  • You are not guaranteed funding even if your application meets the assessment criteria
  • If you are successful, your application may not be funded to the amount you requested.

Support and contact

This can help you prepare your funding application:

After reviewing these, you may contact a Create NSW staff member if you need advice regarding these guidelines between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

Further contacts and support

For more contacts and resources, including National Relay Service, Accessible Arts, Language Interpreting Service, see  Arts and Cultural Funding - supporting information.

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