Thirteen artists and arts groups will share in more than $415,000 in funding through the first round of the ACT government’s 2025 Arts Activities ($5000 to $50,000) program, formerly known as project funding.
Among the successful recipients, artist and senior Ngambri-Ngunnawal custodian Paul Girrawah House has received support to create a multi-media installation for the National Gallery of Victoria’s Country Road Biennale in 2026, while internationally-known choreographer James Batchelor will present his new dance work Resonance at the Canberra Theatre Centre.
The full list of recipients is as follows:
| Josie Alexandra | To expand skills as a producer by collaborating with emerging director Rhavin Banda on the short film Meth Monk | $47,625 | Screen |
| James Batchelor | To support the presentation of a new dance work Resonance at the Canberra Theatre Centre | $24,137 | Dance |
| Sarah Chalmers | To train in voice coaching methodologies in vocal expression, resilience, and sustainability | $18,668 | Theatre |
| Sugar Kaye Grefaldeo | To stage Fortūna, a dance/theatre work | $22,200 | Dance |
| Paul House | To create a multi-media installation for National Gallery of Victoria Country Road Biennale 2026 | $50,000 | Visual Art |
| Zora Kerr | To prototype the digital game I Am This Castle | $44,547 | Digital Games |
| Blame the Shadows | To develop MOTHER, a five-screen moving-image work | $29,500 | Visual Art |
| Marissa McDowell | To develop the imagiNATION project, imagining a future through First Nation storytellers, poets and animators | $50,000 | Literature |
| Jessica Sousa Ornelas | To complete the novel Birds of Paradise | $16,820 | Literature |
| Somesh Putcha | To support a promotional tour of her upcoming album Ever Playful | $10,741 | Music |
| Shadows of the Undertow | To create and produce the band’s debut studio album | $49,183 | Music |
| Shwa Shwa Theatre | To support a creative development reimagining The Hairy Ape | $26,594 | Theatre |
| Miriam Slater | To support the one-year anniversary showcase of The Noosh in Canberra | $25,000 | Theatre |
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