South Coast Arts can continue and grow supports for the creative sector after success with new funding. Photo: Stephen Mifsud.
A regional arts organisation that supports creatives from Shellharbour, Kiama and Shoalhaven is pushing ahead with programs and initiatives with backing from a new grant, after its application for four-year funding was knocked back earlier in the year.
South Coast Arts’ future is now a little more secure with the organisation successful in the latest two-year funding round by Create NSW.
The vital support system for the region’s creative community has been operating since 2023, but hit a hurdle after it was one of three Regional Arts Development Organisations (RADOs) that failed to receive the four-year funding amid the downsizing of Create NSW and increased competitiveness for grants.
“By the time we were advised we weren’t successful for the four-year funding, we’d only been in operation for two years,” South Coast Arts Executive Director Louise Croker said.
“So there was quite a lot of shock from the community who were like, ‘We’d lobbied for decades for this organisation, we finally get it and now you’re not funding it’.
“We were a little bit more prepared but we were still very disappointed and quite disillusioned but we took the approach that there was a two-year funding coming up and it was a case of heads down, bums up, we’ve got to get this.”
The team shifted their approach to the application based on limited feedback from the earlier round in hope of better highlighting the work the organisation was already doing, rather than focusing on the projection for growth.
The organisation conducts research and provides mentorship and development opportunities for those in creative industries. Photo: South Coast Arts.
They spent months waiting to hear their fate, before the news that the latest application was a success.
“Obviously it was a stressful time but we are also co-funded by three councils – Shellharbour, Kiama and Shoalhaven all contribute to South Coast Arts and they stayed firm in that commitment,” Louise said.
“We were incredibly grateful that we knew we had that continued support from them because while it would have meant a very reduced service delivery, it meant we could survive at least for a couple of years without funding from Create NSW.”
Now the organisation is forging ahead with continuing and growing its support system and opportunities for those in the industry.
It offers the means to bring ideas and creative careers into reality with mentorship around business development and funding pathways, as well as fostering a creative community hub through directories, mixers, information sessions and panel events.
“Our existence itself I really believe provides a focal point for the creative industry in our region to be able to say, ‘Look, we’re here,’ Louise said.
“I hope that we’re a bit of a lighthouse – that we’re standing up and saying our creative community exists.
South Coast Arts is fostering relationships among creatives from Shellharbour to Shoalhaven. Photo: Samuel Croker.
“We’re so known on the South Coast here for beaches and sun and water sports and landscape and our tourism industry is very focused around those things – we’ve also got this amazing creative offering.”
The expansion of the Culture Bank from Wollongong to the South Coast will also provide more funding opportunities for projects that mean something to the community.
“It’s a grassroots community sponsored microgrants platform,” Louise said.
“People sign up to become subscribers and donors to Culture Bank and when the funding pool reaches a set limit applications are called for and then the member/subscribers are invited to a dinner where they decide who the money’s going to go to.”
But the information South Coast Arts gains is just as vital as what it provides, with a research project currently underway inviting anyone involved in the region’s music scene to fill out a survey to help guide future supports.
“The survey has sections for musicians, producers, technicians, festival organisers, venue operators and audiences and you can just go in and complete the section relevant to you,” Louise said.
“It’s vital for us to know that we are providing services that are relevant, appropriate and supportive for our creative community.
“Having the hard data in a report that’s formalised and can be quoted in funding applications, that can be given to MPs and funding providers, is really critical for us as an organisation but also for all of our artists out there.
While the broader South Coast community expressed its value for the organisation through its response to the initial funding knockback, Louise said the best way to show support was directly through creators and creatives.
“Our community can support our creative sector by attending exhibitions, going to performances, attending gigs, supporting musicians that are playing original music, help them build a fan base, buying local South Coast music, being involved in creative events and attending the festivals,” she said.
“That’s how you support South Coast Arts, by supporting our creatives.”
For more information and to participate in the survey visit the South Coast Arts website.
