- Palaszczuk Government investment of almost $1.6 million will support 13 art tours that will engage regional communities across Queensland through the Touring Queensland Fund.
- These outcomes include support for five new touring-focussed industry placements, with $264,640 growing employment and skills development for Queensland artists and arts workers.
- For the first time, strategic multi-year touring funding was offered to support audience development and growing sector sustainability.
The Palaszczuk Government has announced it will invest almost $1.6 million to support 13 touring arts and cultural experiences that will engage communities across Queensland, including five full-time industry placements in the latest outcomes of the Touring Queensland Fund.
These funding outcomes are supporting the touring of a broad range of high-quality arts experiences, from tours of music, theatre, circus, and visual arts into communities across state.
Five arts organisations are sharing in nearly $265,000 to support industry placements, growing employment and capacity-building opportunities for emerging artists and artworkers to hone their skills on the job.
For the first time, strategic multi-year tour funding through the Touring Queensland Fund is enabling arts companies to develop new touring circuits, grow new audiences, build relationships with venues, and engage communities throughout Queensland.
Quotes attributable to Minister for the Arts, Leeanne Enoch MP:
"Through the Touring Queensland Fund, the Palaszczuk Government is investing almost $1.6 million to support 13 tours of performances, exhibitions, workshops, to deliver engaging arts experiences in Queensland communities across the state from Thargomindah to Toowoomba, and from Cairns to Cunnamulla.
"This investment in arts touring is fostering a love of reading and connecting kids to interactive theatre, supporting storytelling workshops with remote First Nations youth, enabling communities to enjoy performances by Queensland's talented musicians, and supporting large-scale productions to tour to regional venues.
"Striking visual arts experiences and touring exhibitions will also showcase our artists, a cabaret tour will explore experiences of mental illness and neurodiversity, and stories of important First Nations leaders from across Australia will be shared through song.
"Organisations including shake and stir theatre company, Woodfordia and Cluster Arts will receive strategic multiyear touring funding, enabling them to build partnerships and engage communities through multi-year touring in halls, libraries, galleries, performing arts venues, schools and non-traditional spaces across Queensland.
"Additional investment of nearly $265,000 is supporting five full-time industry placements, boosting touring and production employment and skills development, and further backing the Palaszczuk Government's commitment to growing creative employment, and the skills and scale of the sector ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Quote attributable to Catarina Hebbard, Co-Artistic Director, Indel-ABILITY Arts:
"The funding will allow Indel-ABILITY Arts to share work with regional communities that entertains as well as gently educates," Ms Hebbard said.
"We hope that the performances and post-show question and answer sessions will start conversations and challenge the audience's perception of autism and mental illness. We are looking forward to sharing our work with regional communities who may not have access to works created by and employing disabled artists."
