Regional Arts Fund

The Regional Arts Fund (RAF) is an Australian Government initiative managed and delivered in the Northern Territory through the Arts Grants Program.

Please note that according advice from the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA), activities funded through the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund (RAF) need be finalised by the end of this year. RAF is a lapsing program and a decision for continuation of the program has not been announced at this point.

Activities applied for under the RAF categories in the March 2008 Project Round or activities that have received RAF funding from previous funding rounds must be completed by 31 December 2008 and acquitted within 13 weeks following.

Vision

Creative and innovative regional, rural and remote communities in which participation in, and access to, cultural activities contributes to the sustainable cultural, social and economic capacity and wellbeing of individuals and communities.

Program objectives

The program has a number of broad objectives designed to benefit arts practitioners, workers and audiences:

encourage and support sustainable cultural development in regional, remote and very remote/isolated communities where possible, rather than 'one-off' events;
assist sustainable economic and social development within regional, remote and very remote communities, including a focus on Indigenous and isolated communities;
develop partnerships with local government, community groups, the private sector, state government agencies and other relevant groups which leverage financial and/or in-kind support for specific projects and encourage ongoing collaboration or support for cultural activities following the funded projects;
assist the development of cultural networks, especially in isolated areas, to facilitate information exchange and cooperative relationships;
increase employment and professional development opportunities for and raise the profile of regional and remote artists; and
increase skills development initiatives (including mentoring schemes), both for individuals and organisations in regional and remote communities. Initiatives may relate to a specific form of art or craft practice, or broader community cultural development and capacity building.