City of Greater Geelong – Arts Projects Grants 2025–26 (Australia)

Program Goals

• These grants are designed to grow arts and culture in greater Geelong, engage the whole community and deliver on the goals described in the City’s Arts and Cultural Strategy 2021–2031:
  • to build awareness and knowledge of First Nations People’s culture, and engage First Nations artists in leading project development or consultation
  • to encourage cross artform and industry collaboration and partnerships for a vibrant arts and cultural ecosystem, which supports local and municipal-wide creative endeavour
  • to increase opportunities for community participation and diverse engagement through inclusive and accessible arts and cultural programs
  • to celebrate their local stories across the municipality through high-quality contemporary practice
  • to support arts and cultural activities in diverse and non-traditional indoor and outdoor locations across the municipality
  • to enhance Geelong’s brand as a creative city.

Funding Information

• You may request up to $10,000.
• The total amount of funding available for Arts Project Grants is $100,000.

What can you apply for?

• To help you work out whether your project is the sort of thing they are looking to fund, they have developed the following list of example projects and costs they might cover.
  • They will fund:
    • Types of projects
      • New projects within the City of Greater Geelong’s municipal boundaries
      • If your activity has been delivered before, you may apply for funding to expand, enhance, or take a new approach
      • Temporary immersive installations and/or experiences that engage the community and create opportunities for public participation
      • Cross artform/industry artistic projects that include collaboration and partnerships
      • Experimental, contemporary and innovative work delivered in unique spaces
      • Arts and creative projects that invite diverse community participation
      • Projects that use new and emerging technologies (such as AI, VR, AR)
      • Telling and sharing of stories embedded in local places to strengthen the community’s connection to place, their own history, stories and culture
    • Types of expenses
      • Venue hire, (including City of Greater Geelong venues)
      • Contractors engaged to deliver a project
      • Artist fees
      • Materials
      • Equipment purchases or hire
      • Publicity and promotion
      • Inclusion and access costs
      • Documentation and evaluation

Who is eligible to apply?

• This grant is available to applicants whose primary practice is within the arts, creative and cultural sector. Being eligible means, you can receive a grant, but it does not guarantee funding.
• To apply for this grant, you must be one of the following:
  • incorporated not-for-profit organisation
  • unincorporated group with an auspice
  • registered charitable organisation
  • business
  • individuals operating as sole traders (with an active ABN).

Who cannot apply?

• school or learning institution
• individual (without an ABN)
• previous applicant with an outstanding acquittal for grant funding from the City
• applicant who has not complied with the terms of a previous funding agreement
• entity involved in legal proceedings related to winding up its operations, experiencing insolvency or bankruptcy (includes any legal bankruptcy related actions against an entity’s directors or officers)
• entity with outstanding debt to the City of Greater Geelong or in legal proceedings with the City.

For more information, visit City of Greater Geelong.