Museums & Galleries of NSW congratulates the recipients of the Audience Development Fund for 2025. The successful applicants developed innovative and collaborative proposals that targeted new and specific audiences, demonstrating how they would achieve ongoing engagement. High scoring proposals incorporated sustainable audience engagement opportunities through skills development, aligned resources and career pathway enhancement.
Five diverse projects were supported:
Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre – Baabinje’s Backyard: Cultural Education Program for 3-7 years ($9,000)
Baabinje’s Backyard is a cultural education program centred on Bronwyn Bancroft’s solo exhibition, engaging preschool to Grade 2 children through First Nations art, storytelling and ways of knowing. Led by First Nations educators, the project fosters early gallery engagement while mentoring facilitators for sustainable, community-led delivery.
Saltwater Freshwater Arts Alliance Aboriginal Corporation – WEAR YOUR POWER ($9,000)
WEAR YOUR POWER is a full-day wearable art workshop and exhibition, held at The Gallery, for LGBTQIA+ Aboriginal people from the Mid North Coast, while also welcoming non-Indigenous LGBTQIA+ participants through an EOI process. Led by artist Dennis Golding, it celebrates identity, culture, and pride through storytelling and creative expression.
Mid-Western Regional Council (Mudgee Arts Precinct) – The Archibird ($9,000)
The Archibird connects Mudgee’s Arts Precinct to Putta Bucca Wetlands via vibrant bird murals, celebrating local avian life. Timed with an Australian bird exhibition, the project fosters community engagement and tourism, inviting audiences to explore art, nature, and culture across the region.
Goulburn Regional Art Gallery – Speaking Collections: Youth Perspectives on Art ($9,000)
Goulburn youth will curate an exhibition from the Gallery’s permanent collection, connecting with local artists to enable skill-building and creative exchange. Enlivening the collection through youth perspectives, the project nurtures the next generation through hands-on activities led by key staff, culminating in an exhibition and video dialogue with artists.
Museum of Art and Culture, MAC yapang, Lake Macquarie – Art for All (AFA) ($9,000)
Art for All is an inclusive art program for youth with diverse voices. It provides a safe space to connect with artists and each other through engagement with exhibitions and practical artmaking workshops at MAC yapang and MAP mima.
The Audience Development Fund is a Create NSW devolved funding program, administered by Museums & Galleries of NSW (M&G NSW) on behalf of the NSW Government.
