Deadline: 11-Nov-2025
Applications are now open for the Young People: First Nations Arts and Culture Project Fund to support their creative practice and career development, nationally and internationally across all art forms.
This grant opportunity aims to support the development of First Nations young people’s skills, career pathways, marketing, and audience engagement to strengthen their practice in the arts and cultural sectors and creative industries. The focus areas include building the capacity of First Nations young people’s skills development, career pathways, marketing, and audience development to maintain and elevate their practice and engagement in the arts and cultural sectors and creative industries.
Grants are available from $10,000 to $20,000, and projects can commence from February 2026, with all activities required to be completed within 12 months of the proposed start date. Funding can be used for professional skills development such as mentoring, masterclasses, workshops, and residencies, creation of new work, practice-based research, creative development, experimentation, collaborations and exchanges, touring, productions, exhibitions, performances, publishing, recording, promotion and marketing, market development activity, materials costs associated with a particular project/program, and access costs. Access costs may include Auslan interpreters, captioning, translation to other languages, audio description, temporary building adjustments, materials in other formats, specific technical equipment, carer or support worker assistance, and sensory spaces for events and festivals.
Eligible applicants must be Australian First Nations artists or arts and culture workers between the ages of 18 and 35 years, living in Australia. Applicants are encouraged to have an Australian Business Number (ABN), but if they do not, they can create one, ask someone to administer or auspice the grant on their behalf, or have an organisation administer the grant.
Applications are not open to groups, organisations, managers, or agents of First Nations artists, or individuals based outside of Australia. Projects focused on screen or film, or those that have already received funding from Creative Australia for the same project, are also ineligible. Applicants with overdue grant reports or outstanding debts to Creative Australia cannot apply.
The First Nations Industry Advisory Panel, composed of First Nations artists and arts and culture workers representing each state, territory, and areas of artistic and cultural expression, will review and score applications based on three assessment criteria: Project Quality, Project Impact, and Project Viability. Project Quality considers the artistic and cultural development of the proposed project, Project Impact evaluates the expected outcomes on the artist’s practice and career, and Project Viability assesses the capacity to deliver the project, including realistic timelines, budgets, skills of collaborators, cultural protocols, and well-being considerations.
Applications require information about the project title, a short summary, and details about the applicant’s artistic practice, career development, achievements, project steps, expected outcomes, collaborators, partners, activity timetable, budget, and support materials. Support materials can include examples of work, short bios or CVs of artists and collaborators, and letters of support or confirmation from communities, Elders, or partner organisations. Applicants can provide up to three URLs linking to media content or upload materials in video, audio, image, or written formats, ensuring files are accessible without login requirements. The deadline for application is 11 November 2025.
For more information, visit Creative Australia.