Six things to know about Queensland Arts Showcase Program applications 2015-16

27 Sep 2017

The Queensland Arts Showcase Program (QASP) has been running since September 2015. QASP provides funding to support individuals, organisations or collectives to deliver vibrant and accessible arts and cultural experiences for Queensland and is a rolling fund with applications accepted at any time.

The program has three streams:

• Arts Ignite – funding of up to $60,000 for new works.
• Arts Illuminate – funding of up to $100,000 to secure acclaimed artists that will engage the community and build local capacity.
• Arts Impact – funding of up to $60,000 for diverse arts and cultural experiences for Queensland.

We’ve summarised some of the key facts from applications received between 2015 and 2016:

 Who applied?

• 234 applications were received with a total request for funding of almost $7.8 million.
• 212 applications were eligible for funding.
• Most applications were received for the Arts Ignite (122 applications) and Arts Impact (98 applications) funding categories. There were 14 Arts Illuminate applications.
• The largest number of applications came from visual arts, craft and design projects followed by theatre.

This data is also available in a table (DOCX) (12.84 KB).

 Who received funding?

• $3,519,518 was invested in 110 applicants (success rate of 47%) with an average investment of $31,996. Visual arts craft and design followed by theatre had the most approved applications.
• Successful applicants requested, on average, 31% of their total income from Arts Queensland (unsuccessful applicants requested 39% on average).
• Successful applicants received, on average, 97% of the amount they requested.
• Almost 4 in 10 successful applications were from applicants living in regional areas. Recipients also identified as belonging to the following groups below:

This data is also available in a table (DOCX) (12.89 KB).

 What are they doing?

• 60% of successful projects will be delivered in regional areas of Queensland.
• Successful applicants identified 27 overseas locations and 93 Australian locations for their projects:

The locations are also available as a list (DOCX) (19.11 KB) .

Information about specific activity for each recipient can be found on the AQ funding page.

 Who benefitted?

Successful projects targeted one or more groups:

This data is also available in a table (DOCX) (12.8 KB).

 Why were people ineligible?

Common reasons for ineligibility of applications were:

• Applicant requesting retrospective funding or application received less than 16 weeks prior to project start date.
• Applicant requested funding for ineligible items – for example capital, equipment, filmmaking projects, core business activities.
• Applicant asked for 100% of the project budget.

 What assessors said about applications

Assessors felt that the overall quality of applications being received is increasing. However, they noted there is still potential for improvement and provided the following advice to prospective applicants:

• Clearly articulate what the purpose of the project is and how you plan to achieve the outcomes.
• Clearly articulate the project outcomes and its likely legacy.
• Provide a marketing plan and strategy with sufficient detail to demonstrate how you will achieve your objectives.
• Budgets should be clear and easily interpreted. Include additional detail in notes to the budget about how amounts such as artist fees were calculated.
• Ensure that statements made within the application are evidenced with supporting material.
• Ensure your application responds to all of the assessment criteria.
• Use the support material checklist. These items are essential for a successful application.

Outcomes from QASP recipients can be seen on our case study page.