The latest round of the Creators Fund will invest in the careers of 25 independent artists and creatives.
The round will support creative workers in fields such as fashion, music, sculpture, jewellery design, filmmaking and podcasting to build their skills and undertake the research, development and experimentation required to create groundbreaking new work.
Recipients include artist Lachlan Plain who will supercharge his career by undertaking research and development in animation and virtual reality, and jewellery designer Ella Badu who will experiment with traditional and sustainable jewellery processes.
Composer and musician Aviva Endean will assemble a team of 11 researchers from different disciplines who will undetake a joint research project to inform a new music work and First Peoples fashion designer Paul McCann will develop a new couture collection that will celebrate culture through wearable art.
Writer Jasper Peach will research themes of health in children’s literature, Deafblind artist Joe Monteleone will experiment with linocut carving, artist/film director Lilah Benetti will research Black Queer identities, and writer and podcaster Stephanie Van Schilt will explore new approaches to creative podcasting.
Since its launch in 2018, the Creators Fund has supported around 185 Victorian creatives working across a wide range of fields.
Previous recipients include actor, writer and Artistic Director of Birrarangga Film Festival Tony Briggs, and writer Maxine Beneba Clarke, who developed a children’s poetry collection that became It's The Sound of the Thing: 100 new poems for young people, to be released in June.
Creators Fund recipients
Susan Anderson, $28,950
Poet and non fiction author Susan Anderson will undertake research and development, exploring new opportunities with literary fiction and visual arts.
Ella Badu, $38,000
Jewellery designer Ella Badu will experiment with traditional and sustainable jewellery processes and undertake research into West African culture to inform future work. During this period of activity Ella will also research and develop new ways to practice storytelling through design.
Justin Balmain, $48,052
Visual/video artist Justin Balmain will undertake research, and experiment with new techniques and technologies for the monitoring, recording, and production of images.
Lilah Benetti, $47,073
Photographer and filmmaker Lilah Benetti will research Black Queer identities and the de-centralising of Western history to inform future work.
Desmond Connellan, $39,600
Video designer Desmond Connellan will undertake research and develop and experiment with motion capture technology to create a digital character that will be part of a new solo theatre work by writer, actor and director Margaret Harvey.
Zena Cumpston, $50,000
Barkandji woman and writer, curator and storyteller Zena Cumpston will research new creative ways to share plant knowledge and knowledge of Country.
Alice Dixon, $35,205
Choreographer and dancer Alice Dixon will research personal bodily experiences to challenge and expand her practice.
Kutcha Edwards, $31,000
Singer/songwriter Kutcha Edwards will develop recordings and a written text in English and Mutti Mutti languages, exploring autobiographical themes of ancestry, birth, youth, politics, love, family, culture, and Country.
Aviva Endean, $37,000
Composer and musician Aviva Endean will work alongside co-researchers across several different disciplines on a research project that will inform a new music work.
Alicia Frankovich, $49,985
Sculptor Alicia Frankovich will work with specialist metal fabricators and undertake research into the connections between human cultures and nature.
Axel Garay, $44,783
Filmmaker and Meriam man Axel Garay will research and develop an immersive narrative film that explores queer masculinity in mining culture set simultaneously in the past, present and future.
Nayuka Gorrie, $49,995
Writer and Gunai/Kurnai, Gunditjmara, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta freelance writer and screenwriter Nakuya Gorrie will research the colonial history of diabetes in Australia and the history and politics of the black and Indigenous underground music scenes.
Sam Leach, $25,000
Contemporary artist Sam Leach will research the role of Artificial Intelligence in artistic and environmental contexts and will create new work that predicts how Victorian landscapes will change in future.
Luciano, $43,782
Luciano will experiment with ways to bring together multiple artforms including textiles, audio, video and robotics to develop interconnected creative experiences that share the stories of those memorialised in the Victorian AIDS memorial quilt, with the support of Thorne Harbour Health.
Ella Mittas, $20,000
Ella Mittas will undertake an international research residency at the Ionian Centre for Arts and Culture in Kefalonia, Greece, exploring Greek, and the Greek-Australian identity. Further research in Victoria will also explore concepts of cultural identity, place and the broader migrant experience in Australia.
Paul McCann, $28,798
Fashion designer Paul McCann will undertake research and development for Dare to Dreamtime, a new couture collection that will celebrate culture through wearable art.
Joe Monteleone, $54,956
Deafblind artist Joe Monteleone will further develop skills in linocut carving skills and extend into sculpture. This period of research, development and experimentation will also explore the senses of sight and touch to communicate Deafblind experience to audiences.
Jasper Peach, $36,445
Writer, editor and broadcaster Jasper Peach will explore themes of health and body to inform the development of a children's novel.
Lachlan Plain, $36,770
Artist and author Lachlan Plain will undertake research into traditional animation techniques and virtual reality to develop works that explore themes of the bush and human interaction with the environment.
Ella Saddington, $50,000
Designer Ella Saddington will undertake research and experiment with glass and polymer and develop new design offerings.
Thembi Soddell, $39,626
Sound artist Thembi Soddell will research the impact of intergenerational trauma on mental health, informing the creation of new sound artworks with a focus on accessibility.
Zela Papageorgiou, $35,115
Contemporary percussionist and composer Zela Papageorgiou will undertake research and experiment with ways to integrate electronic and electro-acoustic music with percussion.
Stephanie Van Schilt, $50,000
Writer, editor and podcaster Stephanie Van Schilt will undertake research into the representation of women in Australian pop culture and experiment with new approaches to creative podcasting that blend elements of fiction, memoir, criticism, documentary and archival work.
Yandell Walton, $36,135
Artist Yandell Walton will undertake research, working with ecologists in Australia and in the Amazon rainforest to strengthen knowledge of of plant science and will create new works inspired by the research.
Fetle Wondimu Nega, $35,053
Sound artist Fetle Wondimu Nega will develop a code-generated sound and visual portfolio, experimenting with new interactive sound and video programs.