The National Folk Festival has received a partial lifeline in the form of a $900,000 government grant.
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The annual celebration of acoustic and traditional music has been cancelled in the last two years because of COVID-19.
"We're very, very grateful. The art industry has just been decimated by the Covid situation," managing director Lynne O'Brien said.
"So what this means to us is that we can do what we do best, and that is provide support and a venue for our treasured artists to be able to perform."
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She said the industry was "suffering emotionally", and that the grant was about a quarter of the money needed to keep the festival running.
"It's important that that our funding bodies and government get behind the arts, because I think we're all suffering emotionally," Ms O'Brien said.
"We're all about bringing joy. And I think it's a very important industry that needs support, and it needs it now."
As well as watch struggling artists make "hard decisions" in relation to their careers, Ms O'Brien said the folk festival had lost five workers to the pandemic.
"We're only just now starting to kind of build up our team again. So it's been devastating for not only the artists, but for our team, our producers, our storeholders, coordinators, and various people that help us put the event together," she said.
The festival is planned for April 15-18 in 2022, with music artist Katie Noonan at the fore as artistic director.
"She's certainly bringing some amazing light to the festival. We are confident at this point [it will go ahead] ... we've got nine months to go. So we are hoping that people are immunised," Ms O'Brien said.
The folk festival is the only ACT-based organisation that received funding as part of $40 million invested by the federal government.
An additional 81 organisations across the country received money, including $2.4 million for Byron Bay's Bluesfest.
Over $1 million was also given to Live Nation Australasia, a branch of a California-based events promoter, for "a national anniversary tour of an Australian Band".
It is understood Live Nation will be choosing the band.
Organisations that received funding:
ACT
- National Folk Festival Ltd; The National Folk Festival Reimagined - $900,000
NT
- NT Writers' Centre Inc; Reimagining NT Writers' Centre's Year-Round Activities - $98,451
- The Trustee for Manapan Furniture Trust; Manapan Djama Gumumandji, Putting Together Work and Enterprise - $300,000
TAS
- Roar Film Pty Ltd; Unshackled - $195,000
- City of Hobart; City Pilots - $120,000
- The Theatre Royal; The Rocky Horror Show - $180,000
NSW
- Bluesfest 2021 Pty Ltd; Bluesfest 2021 - $2,400,000
- Chugg Music Pty Ltd; The Squeeze Music Festival (2022) - $600,000
- TEDxSydney Ltd; TEDxSydney 2021-2023 Event Series - $700,000
- Squabbalogic Independent Music Theatre Incorporated; Touring and Co- production Development- $850,000
- Art Byron Ltd; Art Byron - $170,000
- Words on the Waves; Words on the Waves Writers' Festival June 2022 - $75,000
- Sydney Improvised Music Association Inc; NSW Regional Touring Network for Contemporary Music - $207,600
- Moshcam Pty Ltd; World Stage - $360,000
- CiCADA International Ltd; Australian Women in Music Concert Series - $150,000
- Handsome Tours Australia Pty Ltd; A More Perfect Union - $406,195
- Seymour Centre; Seymour Centre's Artistic Program: Sept 2021 - Nov 2022- $496,339
- Lost Paradise Glenworth Valley Pty Ltd; Recovering 'Lost Paradise': Re-Starting a sell-out Festival in Regional NSW - $496,473
- Adrian Bohm Presents Pty Ltd; Just for Laughs Comedy Festival - $350,389
- Museums & Galleries of NSW; Community Outreach for Barbara Cleveland 'Thinking Business' Regional Tour - $125,490
- Viral Ventures (Australia) Pty Ltd; The Immersive Theatre Experience - $350,000
- Australian World Orchestra; Australian World Orchestra 2022 concert series, education and upskilling program. - $485,500
- Word Travels; Story Week: Incubate - Create - Celebrate - $396,504
- Poetry In Action; Poetry in Action: Creating Art and Artists for the Future - $380,000
- Sound West Ltd; 2021 Sound West Festival - $375,000
- Illawarra Performing Arts Centre Ltd. trading as Merrigong Theatre Company; Spiegeltent Wollongong, 2022 and 2023 - $436,732
- Writing NSW; National digital hub for writers - $222,000
- The Merchants of Bollywood Pty Ltd; The Celebration of Swing - $497,250
- Love Police Touring Pty Ltd; Out On The Weekend Festival 2021 - A Celebration of Americana Music and Lifestyle - $90,000
- The Trustee for Empire Touring Trust; Empire Touring Festival Series - $1,542,000
- SIX Joint Venture; SIX The Musical - $900,000
- TEG Live Pty Ltd; TEG LIVE Summer Series - $900,000
- Pride In The Parkland Pty Ltd; Pride In The Parkland - $397,328
- National Institute of Dramatic Art; NIDA Connect -$690,024
- Century Venues Pty Ltd; Sydney Guitar Festival and Metro Weekly Music Program - $674,800
VIC
- There Is A Free Lunch Pty Ltd; Good Things Festival - $889,599
- Gumball Enterprises Unit Trust Trustee Gumball Enterprises Pty Ltd; Cosentino Deception NSW/QLD/TAS 2021 Tour - $523,700
- Lorne Sculpture Exhibition Inc; 2021 Lorne Sculpture Biennale - $131,910
- The Australian Ballet School; Butterfly Tour - The Australian Ballet School - $200,000
- Creative Production Services Group Pty Ltd; Kaleidoscope - $650,714
- The Archie Roach Foundation; The Archie Roach Foundation Stage at Port Fairy Folk Festival - $400,000
- TEG Dainty Pty Ltd; Guns N' Roses - $750,000
- Imagination Workshop Pty Ltd; Rescheduled tour of Roald Dahl and The Imagination Seekers - $178,637
- Sensible Antixx; Sensible Antixx Presents; Sensible Soiree's - $82,700
- Museum Of Play and Art Melbourne Pty Ltd; Museum of Play and Art (MoPA) Melbourne - $277,578
- MMF Pty Ltd; Reactivating the Meredith Music Festival and Golden Plains Festival 2021/22 - $651,000
- One World Entertainment Pty Ltd; Under The Southern Stars - $1,000,000
- Wangaratta Festival of Jazz Inc; Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues Artistic Program - $121,421
- Red Hill Entertainment Pty Ltd; UNIFY Gathering 2022 - $557,500
- PSV Enterprises (Aust) Pty Ltd as trustee for Finders Keeper Entertainment Group Unit Trust; Ultra Music Week - Australia - $500,000
- The trustee for Seventh Tipple Trust; The Tote Rocks 40 - $274,576
- Casino Promotions Pty Ltd; Shake Rattle 'n' Roll - $208,600
- Illusive Presents Pty Ltd; Immersive Cinema - $451,446
- The Hills Are Alive Group Pty Ltd; NYE on the Hill 2021 - $178,200
- Australian National Academy Of Music Ltd; The ANAM Set Weekend - $73,700
- Live Nation Australasia Pty Ltd; A national anniversary tour of an Australian Band - $1,092,760
- Memetica; Giant Steps in Far North Queensland - $44,704
- Wildlands Music Festival Pty Ltd; Future-proofing Wildlands: Queensland's largest contemporary youth music festival - $459,160
- Festival X Pty Ltd; FestivalX - $1,037,690
WA
- Perth International Jazz Festival Inc; Perth International Jazz Festival - $612,813
- Fremantle Biennale Inc; First Lights - $965,055
- The Trustee for Sloan Family Trust; Wave Rock Weekender, Edition 16 (2021) and 17 (2022) - $350,000
- Origin Fields; Origin Fields 2021/2022 - $672,556
- The Trustee for the Factory Festival Trust; Factory Summer Festival - $800,000
- Awesome Arts Australia Ltd; 25 Years of Pure Awesome! - $87,000
- Gascoyne in May Inc; CREALITY/ CRE8/Gascoyne Travelling Arts Festival - $195,000
QLD
- Capricorn Film Festival Inc; film+art=#capfilmfest 2022 - $83,910
- Sound Australia (Qld) Pty Ltd; Savannah in the Round - $625,350
- Brisbane Philharmonic Association Inc; A concert series and regional tours featuring acclaimed harpist Emily Granger performing with Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra and Queensland Youth Orchestra - $102,000
- Circa Contemporary Circus Ltd; Circa Cairns - $600,000
- Dead Puppet Society Ltd; The Wider Earth - $238,635
- Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC; QUAMPI Arts and Culture Centre Opening program development - $610,000
- Vast Yonder Pty Ltd; Yonder - $150,000
- Jungle Love Festival Pty Ltd; Jungle Love 2022: Queensland Artists in Focus - $260,200
- Metro Arts Ltd; MAVA Program: A catalyst to transform the careers of contemporary visual artists post-COVID - $400,000
- Ash Sounds Pty Ltd; Falls Music and Arts Festival 2021/22 - $1,475,000
- Jet Black Cat Music; Nine Lives Festival - $74,163
SA
- Gravity & Other Myths Pty Ltd; Develop, Diversify, Endure - A collaboration and audience diversification initiative - $800,000
- WOMADelaide Foundation Ltd; WOMADelaide 2022 - $1,200,000
- Rural City of Murray Bridge + Murray Bridge Regional Gallery; Murray Bridge Silo Art - $88,500
- State Opera South Australia; Major Opera Production - $369,000
- Adelaide Fringe; Adelaide Fringe 2022 - $1,000,000
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Lanie Tindale
I am City reporter at The Canberra Times. I previously covered health for the masthead, and was a trainee before that. I have written on courts, federal politics, breaking news, features and opinion. lanie.tindale@canberratimes.com.au.
I am City reporter at The Canberra Times. I previously covered health for the masthead, and was a trainee before that. I have written on courts, federal politics, breaking news, features and opinion. lanie.tindale@canberratimes.com.au.
