Performances, visual arts exhibitions and educational workshops will visit 102 locations across the state with Palaszczuk Government funding of more than $640,000 through round 4 of the Touring Queensland Fund.
Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch announced twelve successful TQF productions, performances and exhibitions combined with artist-in-residence and educational projects will tour to an extensive list of locations, including Palm Island and Doomadgee, Blackall and Boulia, Burleigh Heads and Caboolture.
"The tours include a mix of regional and Brisbane-based companies, along with dedicated funding specifically for four arts-inspired education projects that will benefit students," Minister Enoch said.
"Regionally-based recipients include Toowoomba-based Rava Productions who will engage audiences with a modern stage version of the classic Wind in the Willows, while Townsville's Australian Festival of Chamber Music will present its popular Winterschool Outreach Regional Tour.
"Helping to drive social change through arts, Miss Keely Eggmolesse's Healing Through Song will work with First Nations women who have experienced family and domestic violence, offering music-focussed workshops and culminating in a concert," the Minister said.
"Flipside Circus will work closely with communities in the Gulf, Far North, Western, Central and Southwest Queensland, while theatre company shake & stir will reach more than 8,000 participants on their Far North School Tour, with many young people engaging in theatre for the first time."
"Heatley Secondary College's People Culture & Country tour will create wearable art works together with dance, sharing the skills and traditions of First Nations communities in north Queensland, while the Mirndiyan Gununa Aboriginal Corporation's Mornington Island Dance Tour for Youth Dancers will strengthen cultural identity and facilitate greater understanding between non-Indigenous and First Nations Cultures."
Recipient Keely Eggmolesse said, "For time immemorial First Nations peoples have practiced storytelling through song.
"My project, Healing Through Song, applies both cultural and contemporary knowledge to a series of workshops, group therapy, mentoring, discussions and showcases led by well-respected
First Nations women in music and industries alike," Keely said.
"This funding will bring this important project on the road, which seeks to amplify the voices of Blak women to continue the legacy of our ancestors and ensure it for generations to come whilst working towards meaningful outcomes for community."
Minister Enoch said Palaszczuk Government investment in touring helped to provide access to quality arts and cultural experiences in communities across the state.
"These projects help to deliver the Creative Together 2020 -2030 roadmap, with initiatives through the next action plan, Grow 2022-2026, continuing to bolster regional access to rich arts and cultural experiences underpinned by additional investment of $50 million over four years as announced in the Queensland State Budget 2022-2023."
