Regional Centre for Culture 2018 - COMMISSIONS OVERVIEW and GUIDELINES

RegionAl Centre for Culture 2018 - COMMISSIONS
OVERVIEW AND GUIDELINES

JULY 2017

Key dates

The commissioned projects may commence from 1 December 2017, and will be presented between mid-August 2018 and mid-October 2018, by negotiation.

Applications open via the Creative Victoria Grants Portal: Monday 21 August 2017

Applications close:5pm, Monday 11 September 2017

All applicants are expected to attend one Commissions briefings:

• 4pm Monday 7 August, Level 5 Theatrette, Department of Treasury and Finance Conference Centre, 121 Exhibition Street, Melbourne

(Book your place via

• 3:30pm and 5pm Tuesday 8 August, The Capital Banquet Room, 50 View Street, Bendigo (as a part of the Regional Centre for Culture 2018 Information and Discussion Sessions)

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to present their projects to the Advisory Panel in early October.

Overview

Regional Centre for Culture 2018

An initiative of the Victorian Government’s Creative State strategy, Regional Centre for Culture is a year-long festival style program that will focus on a specific geographical area, shining a spotlight on local creativity, culture and events. As well as providing an umbrella for existing creative activity in the region, the program will also include commissions, activities, events and community-based projects by local creative practitioners, artists, groups and organisations, along with work by leading Victorian creatives and organisations.

The inaugural Regional Centre for Culture in 2018 will be held in one of Victoria's key regional cultural hubs, encompassing the City of Greater Bendigo, Mount Alexander Shire, Central Goldfields Shire and Hepburn Shire. The Traditional Owners of this land are the Dja Dja Wurrung people and the Taungurung people.

For more information about the initiative and the grants program that is available to support local activities by local practitioners, please go to:

Regional Centre for Culture 2018 Commissions

Regional Centre for Culture 2018 Commissions is a one-off program that will support creative organisations or groups of creative practitioners to develop significant new works inspired by the designated region to be presented between mid-August 2018 and mid-October 2018 as part of the Regional Centre for Culture program in 2018. Three grants of $260,000 are available.

In partnership with the City of Greater Bendigo, the commissions will be publicly presented in Greater Bendigo as a part of the Regional Centre for Culture 2018 program.

Applicationsfor projects in any arts or creative practice will be considered.

Aims and Priorities

The Regional Centre for Culture 2018 Commissions aim to:

• Create significant new works inspired by the local region.
• Provide opportunities for local and visiting audiences to engage in unique high quality creative experiences as a part of Regional Centre for Culture 2018.
• Provide professional development and capacity building opportunities for the team involved in making and presenting the work.

Program Priorities

The program encourages applications which meet one or more of the following priorities:

New work:

• By applicants based in the designated region (City of Greater Bendigo, Mount Alexander Shire, Central Goldfields Shire and Hepburn Shire).
• Made for (with and/or by) children, families and/or young people.
• That reflect the rich history and contemporary presence of Victoria’s Aboriginal people.
• Developed through collaborations between companies, for example: of different sizes, kinds and artforms/creative practices

Eligibility

All applicants must be based in Victoria.

Applicants to Regional Centre for Culture 2018 Commissions may be a group of creative practitioners or one or more creative organisations working together. Any individual creative practitioner or unincorporated group must apply through an auspice organisation.

Organisations receiving funding through Creative Victoria’s Organisations Investment Program and Major Performing Arts companies in Victoria are eligible to apply.

Applicants based in the designated Regional Centre for Culture 2018 area (City of Greater Bendigo, Mount Alexander Shire, Central Goldfields Shire and Hepburn Shire) may apply to both the Regional Centre for Culture 2018 Local Grants program and the Regional Centre for Culture 2018 Commissions program, however an applicant will only be funded for one of these opportunities.

Applicants may only submit one application for this program, but may also be named as a collaborator in other Commission proposals.

Commissions Briefings

All applicants must attend a briefing by Creative Victoria and the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation - the Traditional Owners on the Country where the Regional Centre for Culture 2018 will be taking place.

• 4pm Monday 7 August, Level 5 Theatrette, Department of Treasury and Finance Conference Centre, 121 Exhibition Street, Melbourne

(Book your place via

• 3:30pm and 5pm Tuesday 8 August, The Capital Banquet Room, 50 View Street, Bendigo (as a part of the Regional Centre for Culture 2018 Information and Discussion sessions).

All applicants must also speak to program staff before submitting an application.

Please note:

• Auspice bodies may apply on behalf of multiple applicants.
• For more information on auspiced applications please see

What will be funded

Three successful applicants will each receive a $260,000 grant to develop a significant new work inspired by the local region and premiere it in Greater Bendigo as part of the Regional Centre for Culture 2018 program.

The grant, and any other funding the applicant is bringing to the project, must cover all costs associated with:

• Fees to creative, management and technical personnel
• Creative development costs
• Production, materials, rights, equipment and technical costs
• Project management costs
• Production costs associated with the presentation of the work
• Marketing and publicity costs related to presenting the work

The works will be presented between mid-August 2018 and mid-October 2018. The exact timing would be negotiated by the successful applicants with the Regional Centre for Culture 2018 Producers, City of Greater Bendigo and Creative Victoria.

Commissioned works may encompass one or more artforms and/or creative practices including (but not limited to) performing and visual arts, contemporary music, literature, design, fashion, film and digital games.

What will not be funded

• Works premiering outside the designated Regional Centre for Culture 2018 area or activity taking place outside the required timeframe.
• Applicants that have an overdue Creative Victoria (or Arts Victoria) acquittal.
• Competitions, eisteddfods, awards or fundraising activities.
• Conferences, business/meetings and costs associated with these.
• Private tuition, training, study or course work. This includes work that will be used for the purposes of academic assessment.
• Business start-up costs, capital purchases or recurrent administrative, infrastructure and other organisational costs not directly associated with the commission.
• Costs for non-Victorian creative practitioners, ensembles and organisations

Support offered to the successful commissions

In partnership with the City of Greater Bendigo, the successful commissions will be offered the following support:

• A suitable space to present the work
• Inclusion in the umbrella branding, promotion and marketing of the overall Regional Centre for Culture program.

• Presenting venue and staffing support / site specific support, advice and some basic marketing, but not operating crew.

Please note that any box office (if applicable) will be retained by the presenting venue.

Funds available

Three grants of $260,000 are available to commission new works as a part of the Regional Centre for Culture 2018 program.

We encourage applicants to seek funding from other sources to cover the complete costs of their projects (eg: applicant cash contribution and/or other funding partners such as government, corporate, philanthropic, private, etc).

Applicants are also encouraged to include any in-kind support in the project budget, such as venue hire, sponsorship, volunteer time, etc.

How to apply

Applications are submitted via the online Creative Victoria Grants Portal.

Applicants are required to attend a Commissions briefing session and speak with program staff prior to submitting an application. The closing date for applications is 5pm, Monday 11 September 2017.

Preparing an Application

Applicants are asked to address the assessment criteria, respond to selection questions and submit applications via the Creative Victoria Grants Portal.

The three questions in the online form are:

1. How many Victorian artists/artistic personnel/creative practitioners are involved in this project/program?
2. How many non-artists/creatives are directly involved in this project/program (eg technicians, publicist, stage manager, etc)?
3. How many community participants from a specified community group will be directly involved in creating the work? (if applicable).

Applicants are also required to submit Proposal documentation to support their commission application. Go to the Support Material section for full documentation requirements.

To prepare your application, you should:

1. Register for access to the Creative Victoria Grants Portal.
2. Read these guidelines thoroughly.
3. Contact program staffto discuss your proposal.
4. Draft your application using the tools and templates provided on the Creative Victoria website

• Regional Centre for Culture 2018 Commissions drafting tool
• Creative Victoria Budget drafting tool

1. Prepare your Proposal Documentation.
2. Upload your completed application documents including Proposal documentation and any other support material to the online Creative Victoria Grants Portal. See the tables below for detailed information on types/limits of supporting documentation.The portal opens for applications on Monday 21 August2017.
3. Submit your completed application by 5pm, Monday 11 September, 2017via the Creative Victoria Grants Portal. You will receive an email to confirm that your application has been submitted.

We encourage you to use the application drafting tools before submitting your application.

For information on Creative Victoria’s Privacy Information and Freedom of Information policies go to:

Please note:

Any applications received after the closing time and date will not be considered.

All applicants must discuss their proposal with program staff prior to submitting an application

Support Material

Proposal Documentation

As a guide, Proposal documentation is to be no more than 15 pages (excluding relevant attachments).

Proposals submitted as part of your applicationmust respond to the following headings and should be presented in a format consistent with the following outline:

1. Project Description and Creative Rationale

• An explanation of the artistic concept/idea and rationale.
• Who is the audience for your work?
• The form the work is expected to take.
• Creative and technical personnel required to make the work.
• The scope and scale of the project.
• How the content relates to the local region.
• How the work will appeal to an audience in Greater Bendigo and beyond.
• In making the work, how you will consider the potential for tour-ability and transfer to other markets following the premiere.

• Your expected process to develop the work to presentation stage.
• A production schedule including a timeline outlining the key dates and milestones of the project.
• Your project management arrangements.

• How an audience will experience the work.
• The kind of space in which you expect to present the work.
• Technical and creative personnel required to present the work.
• What you could offer the presenter of the work to support it reaching audiences

1. Applicant’s Experience and Capacity to Realise the Project

1. Professional Development and Capacity Building Opportunities

1. Insurance and Risk Management

1. References

• Name, title
• Company name
• Contact details (phone, mobile, email)

1. A Full List of Documents Submitted

Additional Support Material

Providing relevantsupport material is crucial to your application and will strengthen your proposal.

Please ensure that you select material that is most relevant to your application and best supports your proposal.For more information about the kinds of support documents and artistic support material you can provide, refer to the tables below.

• 10 pages of writing
• 10 minutes of audio tracks
• 10 minutes of moving image excerpts
• 10 images with annotation

Assessment

Assessment criteria

Applicants will be assessed against the Aims, Program Priorities and the Assessment Criteria outlined in the table below:

• If the project demonstrates an appropriate level of artistic/creative merit and clear artistic/creative rationale.
• If the proposed work demonstrates potential to engage local and visitor audiences, and any stated target audience.
• If the application demonstrates benefit and relevance to the local community.
• The capability and suitability of the creative practitioners.
• If the project contributes to and enhances the quality and reputation of the designated Regional Centre for Culture 2018 region.
• If the content of the proposed work demonstrates relevance to the local area.
• If the proposed work has the future potential to transfer to additional markets after its premiere.
• Appropriate artistic support material.

• If the application demonstrates appropriate opportunities for creative practitioners to develop their practice and careers through the project.
• The potential for the project to develop new networks and partnerships for the practitioners / organisations involved in the work.

• If the budget is viable and realistic.

• The budget reflects appropriate industry standard fees to artists/creative practitioners.
• If the project schedule demonstrates appropriate timing and resources for the project to be fully realised.
• The inclusion of relevant and appropriate support materials.
• The inclusion of a viable timeline.
• If the application demonstrates the level of planning and individual/organisational capacity required to deliver the project.

• The potential tour-ability or portability of the proposed work.

Assessment process

Members of the Creative Victoria Advisory Panel Register, comprising creative professionals, Regional Centre for Culture 2018 key stakeholders and community representatives, will assist with the assessment of applications. Advisory Panel members and Creative Victoria staff assess and rank each application against the program aims and priorities, and assessment criteria.

Shortlisted applicants will be invited to present their proposals to the Advisory Panel. Following the presentations, the Advisory Panel will recommend a proposal for approval by the Minister for Creative Industries.

Contact

For further information about the program, or to discuss your proposal prior to submitting an application, please contact:

Rohini Sharma – (03) 8683 3157 –

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