Members of Newcastle Art Gallery’s Youth Advisory Group holding their Zine, centred on the theme of connection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Included in the zine were poems, artworks, memes and collaborations by both emerging and established local creatives of all ages and backgrounds.
Tamara Dean, Fleeting, 2020, from High Jinks in the Hydrangeas at Ngununggula; image courtesy the artist and Michael Reid, Sydney
We are pleased to announce five projects to be supported through our Audience Development Fund. The 2021 round was the sixth year that this grant program, supported by Create NSW, has assisted regional and public galleries to develop new and innovative public programming to target and engage diverse audiences.
Many of the successful programs employed digital strategies to increase engagement and access and engaged artists and creatives in delivering their projects. There was a focus in applications this year on creating programming to introduce new audiences to gallery collections and present them through a new lens in collaboration with the audience, as well as on projects led by young people encouraging involvement in the programming of the gallery and developing future audiences.
Campbelltown Arts Centre, Fiction as Fact
Fiction as Fact invites a wide audience to contribute to the storytelling behind artworks from the Campbelltown City Council collection, held at Campbelltown Arts Centre. Captured on a microsite, audiences can access a range of collection artworks, encouraging ‘civic curating’ and view a series of new digitally commissioned responses to the artworks in the collection.
Bankstown Arts Centre (Canterbury Bankstown Council) – Zoom Lens
Zoom Lens is a youth initiative designed to increase the participation of audiences between the ages of 15-18 (with a particular focus on CaLD communities) from the Canterbury Bankstown area. The program will develop innovative digital, culturally relevant programming, co-designed by a volunteer committee, which is responsive to Bankstown Arts Centre’s artistic program.
Maitland Regional Art Gallery – Take One: Envisioning the future of performance-based practice for Lower Hunter audiences
Take One is a series of labs in performance-based practice at Maitland Regional Art Gallery. Presented in partnership with Upstage Youth Theatre, Take One targets marginalised and young audiences aged 12-18 in the Lower Hunter. Participants will connect with art and artists, develop confidence, and grow leadership and team skills.
Newcastle Art Gallery – NAG YAG Connecting Youth to Collection Project (Y2C)
Newcastle Art Gallery Youth Advisory Group’s (YAG) Connecting Youth to Collection Project (Y2C) aims to increase youth engagement with the Gallery’s collection by showcasing the six key collecting areas (Printmaking and Drawing, Painting, Photography, Sculpture, Ceramics, and New Media) across four unified platforms – a collectable six-issue zine; an interactive digital platform; a video series; and six launch events.
Southern Highlands Gallery at Retford Park Ltd, Ngununggula – Education: Digital Resource Library
The Digital Resource Library will provide learning opportunities, access to artists and their ideas, and will inspire artmaking across a variety of ages. It will consist of short online workshop videos featuring activities designed and created by Ngununggula exhibiting artists.
For more information on the Audience Development Fund please contact: Susan Wacher, Funding & Programs Manager susanw@mgnsw.org.au
The Audience Development Fund is a Create NSW devolved funding program, administered by Museums & Galleries of NSW on behalf of the NSW Government.
