Our Small Arts and Culture Grants program is open to individuals and non-profit community groups working in the local cultural and creative industry.
The program aims to support and nurture cultural and creative opportunities that provide positive outcomes for our community. This could include:
- building new skills
- developing new cultural and creative relationships
- providing opportunities for people to engage in creative activities
- showcasing artistic work, accessing professional development and nurturing emerging creatives.
The next round of applications for this program will open on 1 February 2027.
Program categories
This category supports local arts-based creative projects created by individual artists or arts organisations in the Wollongong Local Government Area.
Applicants can request up to $4,000.
Assessment criteria
Category 1 applications are assessed on how they will:
- Be creative, achievable and realistic
- Improve innovation and/or creativity in your practice or your organisation’s practice
- Be achievable against the budget and timeline
- Provide community or cultural benefit.
You will also need to meet the general program requirements described below.
This category supports local arts organisations, groups and cultural initiatives seeking support for:
- Professional and organisational development
- Marketing, promotion and audience development
- Minor capital support.
Applicants can request up to $4,000 in this category.
Category 2a applications will be assessed based on how they will:
- Improve business opportunities through marketing, capital expenditure, or professional development
- Be achievable within the budget and timeline
- Where possible, engage with other Wollongong businesses/organisations.
You will also need to meet the general program requirements described below.
This category provides seed funding for local community-focused arts organisations, groups and cultural initiatives that have been established for less than three years.
Funding is available to support for:
- Professional and organisational development
- Marketing, promotion and audience development
- Minor capital support.
Applicants can request up to $1,000 in this category.
Category 2b applications will be assessed based on how they will:
- Improve business opportunities through marketing, capital expenditure, or professional development
- Be achievable within the budget and timeline
- Where possible, engage with other Wollongong businesses/organisations.
You will also need to meet the general program requirements described below.
General program details
Our Small Cultural Grants program is open to:
- Groups, organisations or individuals seeking to organise creative projects and cultural initiatives in the City of Wollongong.
- Individuals who are residents of the Wollongong City Council area, and organisations or groups based in this area.
Applicants must also have, or seek to have, Public Liability Insurance if successful.
We encourage people from diverse cultural and language backgrounds and members of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to apply for this program.
Applications will not be accepted from:
- Government departments or agencies
- Profit-making organisations
- Anyone who has not acquitted a previous grant from Wollongong City Council.
- Applications from outside the Wollongong City Council area.
This program does not support:
- Projects that take place outside the Wollongong City Council area
- Projects that don't directly benefit Wollongong residents
- Funding towards the completion of an accredited course of study
- Activities that are mostly for fundraising purposes
- Projects that carry forward a financial deficit
- Projects that have already taken place
- Activities where a more suitable source of funding is available
- Projects submitted by government departments or agencies
- Projects that financially benefit a profit-making individual, organisation or government department
- Applications from anyone who has previously been given a grant by Council and has not acquitted that grant
- Applications received after the closing date
- Costs for insurance, lease or rent
- Festivals; however funding may be considered for activities that are an element of a festival, if appropriate.
To qualify for support through this program, projects must:
- Address issues highlighted in our Creative Wollongong strategy PDF, 3076.75 KB
- Meet the criteria for the relevant category, as described above
- Take place between July 2026 and June 2027.
If your application is successful, you will need to sign an agreement with Council, and provide a full report and acquittal after your activity takes place. Any funding provided must be used by the end of the financial year in which it is provided.
You will also need to acknowledge Council's support in any marketing or other material. Details will be included in your agreement document.
| Recipient | Project description | Amount approved |
|---|---|---|
| Eye Candy Film Productions | Film, short film, Tracey | $2,500 |
| NASA Gallery (The Servo) | Arts and ecology, Eco-lab at NASA Gallery | $4,000 |
| Project Contemporary Artspace | Pride Arts Fest at Project Contemporary Artspace | $3,228 |
| SF3 - Angela Blake | Film doco, Disability and Domestic Violence | $3,750 |
| International Women's Day Committee - Project Contemporary Artspace, The Servo, South Coast Writers | Visual art / music / writing, Brilliance - International Women's Day art and performance events | $4,000 |
| Angel Duggan | Theatre, professional development - photography for Cooked | $770 |
| Illawarra Multicultural Services | Writing / visual art, IMS Creative Expressions Writing and Art Awards Celebration | $4,000 |
| Katelyn Slyer | Visual art, Slydawg Diaries | $2,000 |
| Jeremy Player | Music, Music to the Poetry of Ben Hession | $4,000 |
| Nachle Dance School | Dance / theatre, Indian Dance Drama inspired by Midsummer Night's Dream | $2,500 |
| Malika Reese | Theatre (children), A Gentle Talk About Emotions, Change and Acceptance | $3,000 |
| Bettina Franklin | Film doco, Units of Dwelling | $4,000 |
| VanQ and Montanna Colwill | Fashion (emerging), Elegant Anarchy at VanQ | $3,000 |
| Virginia Keft | Visual arts, Between Ground and Sky: Creative Workshops on Dharawal Country | $2,000 |
| Ruby Reardon | Film doco, We Belong to the End documentary about Death Doula, Denise Love | $3,750 |
| Adam Rogan / Ambient Music Club | Music, Placid Trips Ambient Music Club at Frank's Wild Years | $2,000 |
| Katja Hand | Visual art / craft, Leather School | $1,000 |
| Shakamoto | Music, Shakamoto release campaign | $2,500 |
| Five Islands Community Arts Association | Visual art, FICAA LIVE | $2,000 |
| Stuck in the Corner Films | Film PR, The Early Bird Gets the Noise Complaint FilmFreeway | $500 |
| Holly Would Films | Film PR, Bogan Bird FilmFreeway | $500 |
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