Accelerate: Create

Accelerate: Create are grants of $15,000 (plus $5,000 access costs) for artists or disability-led collectives.

Accelerate: Create funding can be used for creative development or presenting new work. It is for individual artists or collectives. There are four grants available.

The funding is to support you for short period of time to undertake a creative burst of work on a new project or idea. We are especially interested in ideas for new artworks that tell authentic stories, or use access in interesting and creative ways.

We will ask you to present what you have made in March 2022 (first round) or May 2022 (second round). This does not have to be a public presentation, and you don’t have to have completed a finished work. You can send us photos, videos, audio files or other material to show us what you have made.

If you would like to present your work to an audience, we can provide opportunities for you to do so.

Please note you can only apply for one Accelerate Funding Stream. Check out Accelerate Nurture to see which one is best for you.

Accelerate funding is for:

• Victorian based Deaf and Disabled artists (including and not limited to- visible and invisible disabilities, chronic illness, neurodiversity and lived experience of mental health issues)
• 18 years and older
• Individual artists or disability-led collectives (see FAQs)
• Artists working in any artform
• Artists who are not a core employee of Arts Access Victoria or Creative Victoria

There will be three rounds of funding applications.

Applications opens: Midday, Wednesday 29 September 2021
Round one is closed.
Round two closes: 5 pm, Monday 6 December 2021

Please note there is a 3-week turnaround from applications closing to funding results becoming available.

Need help or would like to talk with someone?

Contact Ayse via phone 03 9699 8299 (voice only), 0477 860 955 (text or voice) or email us at info@artsaccess.com.au

You can apply via our website. Click here to visit the Accelerate: Create Application: Online Form

You can download the application as a Word Document. Click here to download the Accelerate: Create Application: Word Document [65 KB]

We accept applications in a range of formats. You can submit a written, video or audio application. You can also schedule a phone or video chat with AAV.

you can send your application via email info@artsaccess.com.au or via our website application from above.

You will receive an email receipt of the application. If you do not receive a receipt of your application by the end of Tuesday 7 December, please contact us.

Schedule a phone or video chat with AAV

In this chat, we will ask you the application questions, which we will record and give to the assessment panel. Access support workers to assist you are welcome. AAV can provide Auslan or other services for the application process too.

To book or request an application chat you can book in at Trybooking, contact us via email or phone Ayse via phone 03 9699 8299 (voice only), 0477 860 955 (text or voice).

Accelerate: Create

Applications will be assessed by three criteria:

• Creative potential – Platforming new ideas or voices. Potential for the idea to have a future outcome.
• Impact – the impact this funding will have on your career as an artist or collective. How this project could support your future sustainability or build legacy.
• Access – How authentic storytelling or aesthetic access is used in the project.

Applications will be assessed by an external panel of three independent artists representing a range of artform knowledge and lived experience.

First-time applicants or people who have not received significant funding recently will be prioritized.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application no more than 3 weeks after the deadline. We can provide feedback on unsuccessful applications, which you may find useful if you are applying to other funding programs.

Accelerate: Create are for around 2 -3 months. We will ask you to show us what you have made in that time, even if it isn’t finished. We will have a chat to talk about your experience with the funding. We will pay any remaining money from the grant by this time too.

We will ask you to show us what you have been working on. You can send us examples of the work you have made or we can arrange a presentation to a public or private audience.

We will also ask you to help us evaluate your funding experience.

In March 2022 (first round) or May 2022 (second round), we will schedule a chat with you to discuss how you used the funding, what worked or didn’t work, and how the funding has impacted you and your work.

Yes, however, you must be a disability-led collective.

No, you can only apply for one of the grant programs or rounds. Unfortunately we can only accept applications once.

Accelerate: Nurture is for anything you want to do for your practice. That could include doing some training or new learning, artistic research, buying some new materials or equipment you need for your work, or working on a project.

Accelerate: Create is for starting new projects that have access as part of the work. This means the content of the artwork is about disability, or the work uses access in a creative way.

There will be two Accelerate: Create grants available in two rounds, with a total of four grants over the course of the program.

No, unfortunately you cannot use the grant money for previous purchases or projects. This is for new projects and purchases starting from the time you are successful with the grant.

No. If successful, we will ask you to send us an invoice for the grant. You can include your ABN on the invoice if you have one, but if you don’t have an ABN, we will offer an alternative.

You can choose how you will receive the money. We can pay the full amount at any stage of the project (start, middle, end), or we can pay the funding in smaller amounts. We can also hold the money for you and pay bills and expenses for the project directly to that supplier.

Access costs can be used for whatever you need to make your project/funding time accessible for you. This may include;

• Access support workers
• Admin support
• Assistance animal resources
• Assistive Listening
• Audio description services
• Auslan
• Braille
• Captioning (open/closed)
• Comfort items
• Digital software or technical support
• Easy Read Transcribing
• Ergonomic equipment
• Hiring or purchasing access aids and equipment
• Mental health counselling or support
• Sensory supports
• Therapy

These are just some examples of access costs. Please do not limit what you spend your access costs to these examples, as access is individual to you.

A creative development involves thinking about an idea and trying out ways to show it. You could be working on sketches, paintings, collages, storyboards, scripts, movement or circus routines, videos, memes, sound recordings or journal pages. We accept any form of creative material you have to show us.

We are aware that COVID-19 makes it difficult to plan for many art events at the moment. We can provide opportunities to present artworks at our monthly online event, The Gathering. We can also provide opportunities to present performance or other live events at our portable art space, Nebula, if restrictions allow. We think it’s best you plan for an online showing of your work if you would like to present your work to the public. We can also arrange to present your work to a small audience of artists if you would prefer a private presentation.