Museums & Galleries of NSW congratulates the recipients of the Audience Development Fund for 2026. High scoring proposals demonstrated how they would attract new audiences; build community connections and new partnerships; remove barriers to allow diverse audience participation; foster a sense of belonging; provide opportunities for professional development; and develop models that also expand mentoring and staff training.
Seven diverse engagement projects were supported by this grant:
Bankstown Arts Centre – Own Words ($8,000.00)
Own Words is a suite of multilingual artist-and community-led creative workshops and exhibition resources designed to overcome the cultural and linguistic barriers to arts engagement for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in Canterbury Bankstown by encouraging them to play an active role in leading their own art experiences.
Clifton School of Arts Gallery and Arts Centre – Regional Emerging Curator Program ($8,000.00)
The Regional Emerging Curator Program is an audience development initiative to grow, diversify and retain next generation creative practitioners connected to Clifton School of Arts Gallery and Art Centre. It targets early-career artists, curators and administrators in the Illawarra, specifically First Nations, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and LGBTQIA+ practitioners.
Griffith Regional Art Gallery – Art Your Way ($8,000.00)
Art Your Way promotes inclusive gallery experiences for neurodivergent audiences. Developed with the Griffith Autism Support Group, it includes staff training and offers six sensory-friendly tours and artmaking workshops. Workshop outcomes will form a participant exhibition, celebrating creative expression and encouraging individuals to engage with art in their own way.
Kew-Y-Ahn Aboriginal Gallery – KYA Makers & Creators ($7991.09)
The project engages Aboriginal young people in creative workshops led by Wiradjuri artists at Kew-Y-Ahn Gallery, strengthening cultural identity, wellbeing and community connection. Partnering with Mingaan Wiradjuri Aboriginal Corporation and Illuminart, Stage 1 builds relationships that will inform a major Hartley based projection artwork in Stage 2.
Lismore Regional Gallery – Common Ground: Pathways to Inclusion and Community Connection ($8,000.00)
Common Ground expands access to arts and culture by creating welcoming, inclusive opportunities for Deaf, disabled, neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ communities. Through creative participation, accessibility-led design and strategic partnerships, it builds community connection, audience diversity and a stronger sense of belonging within the gallery.
Murray Art Museum Albury – Mawang Holiday Art Club ($8,000.00)
Mawang Holiday Art Club is a free school holiday art program for local First Nations children aged 9-12. Led by local First Nations artists, educators and Elders, this program will foster new generations of First Nations creatives through engagement with exhibitions and artworks that elevate South East Aboriginal art practices.
South East Centre for Contemporary Art (SECCA) – Creative Encounters – Expanding Curatorial Conversations in Regional NSW ($8,000.00)
Creative Encounters is a series of public talks and artist clinics in the Bega Valley, connecting regional artists with leading Australian curators – including a First Nations arts leader – for dialogue, mentorship, and professional development, addressing cultural access gaps, developing new audiences, and fostering sector connectivity in regional NSW.
The Audience Development Fund is a Museums & Galleries of NSW program.
