Restart.

Along with the 14 Regional Arts Development Organisations - Outback Arts received a one-off funding injection from Create NSW through their special Restart program. This is stimulus funding out of NSW Treasury in response to COVID-19 to boost arts activities and employment across regional NSW.

The Restart program will allow us to follow up and extend on successful well-established projects, tackle things from the ‘wish list’, and support and stimulate the local economy through performance and creative workshop delivery.

Our core program of activities include:

Outback Outloud, is an audio storytelling project involving workshops and a community story booth designed to collect stories from and about people in the Outback Arts region. Proudly designed and facilitated by Signal Creative, this project encourages full community participation and accessible events where people share their stories. The program in each Shire involves workshops where participants bring along their smartphone or use one of the iPads supplied to learn to interview and record sound. There will also be a Story Booth component where community members have their story recorded or that of a family member or friend.

Puppetry Tour
Jenny Ellis from Byron Bay is an accomplished puppeteer who will be touring the Outback Arts region this month. Targeted towards children 3-10 years, the tour will include workshops and performances and will be delivered in preschools, primary schools, childcare centres, local Bowling Clubs and Youth Centres.

The performance ‘Little Bit of Blue’ is an interactive detective show for families, told with puppetry. As well as helping to unravel a mystery, the audience will learn about the extraordinary habits of the Australian Satin Bowerbird, and why they are so fascinated by the colour blue.

 Creation and Presentation Grants
This Micro Grant funding round will be inviting artists from the Outback Arts region with a well-established visual arts practice to apply for support to produce and present their artwork ready for exhibition. The follow-up opportunities for applicants may involve a solo exhibition at the Outback Arts gallery located in Coonamble and touring shows across the Outback Arts seven Local Government Areas. 

Culture Maps Outback NSW will be a brand-new project initiated by Outback Arts to provide an interactive website promoting the cultural experiences the region has to offer and enticing potential tourists to plan their next road trip out west. With the inclusion of an interactive map, locals and tourists will be directed to the range of public art and cultural experiences available in the Outback Arts region. Maps for finding public art + heritage + galleries + shopping for handmade + Aboriginal experiences + arts and cultural events.

The Festival of Small Halls takes the best folk and contemporary acoustic artists and sends them on the road to tiny halls in communities all over Australia. It is an opportunity for music lovers from welcoming communities to invite artists from home and abroad into their towns, and a way of exploring this vast country in the spirit of hospitality and great fun. This project will bring together local communities and provide the opportunity for local musicians to be involved and experience excellent professional development.

Comedy Tour
Aboriginal Comedian Dane Simpson has a major performance history, with sold-out shows and rave reviews - we cannot wait to bring him out to the Outback! With family ties to Walgett, it’s going to be extra special bringing him out this way.
Not only will it be great to get together and have a good laugh but this tour will also provide support for the local economy through the use of local performance venues.