15 June 2026

Regional Arts Fund Project Grants: National Recipients Announced #

Regional Arts Australia is proud to announce the recipients of Round 1, 2026 Regional Arts Fund Project Grants, with more than $1.08 million invested across 47 projects in regional, rural and remote communities nationwide.

The round reflects strong and growing demand for the program, with 217 applications received - a 17% increase on the same round last year. Of the 47 funded projects, 28% came from first-time successful applicants, drawn from a pool where 43% of all applicants were new to the program.

Funded projects will reach an estimated 865k+ audience members and participants, generating 600+ employment opportunities for artists and arts workers across the country.

Recognising Regional Excellence #

Australian Government Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, congratulated the recipients and acknowledged the vital role they play in shaping regional Australia’s arts landscape. “There’s a place for every story and a story for every place and our regional artists are critical in ensuring Australian stories are told across the country. Boosting the cultural infrastructure of those communities means regional arts will go from strength to strength. This funding shines a light on projects across the country, helping regional artists reach new audiences within their communities and beyond.”

Echoing this sentiment, Ros Abercrombie, Executive Director of Regional Arts Australia, praised the strength and diversity of the projects supported. "These projects are a powerful reminder of what becomes possible when creative ambition meets genuine support. Regional artists and communities aren't waiting to be discovered - they are making vital, sophisticated work right where they live, and our role is to help mobilise that energy and connect it to the resources it deserves. Round 1, 2026 is one of our strongest rounds yet, and we're proud to see that reflected in both the quality and the reach of the funded projects."

A diverse and far-reaching round #

Projects span 44 unique locations, with 55% of funded projects delivered in the applicant's home community, a marker of the program's grounding in place-based practice. The majority of investment supports communities in rural, remote and very remote Australia, with 38% of funding directed to outer regional communities, 33% to inner regional, and 29% to remote and very remote locations.

Twenty-six percent of applicants identified with a diverse community, and the funded program reflects a wide breadth of art forms: visual arts, music, theatre, dance and physical theatre, cross-artform practice, community arts, cultural heritage, opera and musical theatre, and multimedia.

Highlights Across The Country #

Across the Northern Territory, seven projects will support everything from remote First Nations musicians through MusicNT's long-running Bush Bands Program ($25,000) to the premiere of Desert Hothouse by GUTS Dance Central Australia at the Araluen Arts Centre ($29,507), and a new independent theatre season in Mparntwe/Alice Springs presented by Jasmine Story through Theatre Makers Presents ($30,000). Jacqueline Marriott's Freefall - a solo theatre work exploring neonatal intensive care and maternal mental health developed from personal journal entries after an emergency twin birth - will premiere in Alice Springs with support of $20,658.

In Queensland, highlights include the Remote Voices Australia project by Elvis Kernaghan ($24,403), bringing co-designed songwriting and recording workshops to students in some of the state's most remote schools, and Longreach P&C Association's From the Bush to the Big Stage - QPAC 2026 ($30,000), which will bring 100 rural and remote students to perform at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. Joe Geia's Sing for the Black tour ($30,000) will present his celebrated production From Rations to Wages to Treaty across the country, with both First Nations and non-Indigenous audiences calling it essential viewing.

South Australian projects include Sonya Rankine's Lakun Mi:mini - On Country Creative Development ($30,000), grounded in her Ngarrindjeri matrilineal cultural connection, and the Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Media Kungka Tjuta Music Project ($26,220), a six-week program of women-focused music residencies across six APY Lands communities. The Bowerbird Collective will tour Kaurna Yarta - The Seasons to six regional communities across SA in free outdoor performances ($25,000).

Victoria's funded projects range from Arena Theatre Co's Country & Belonging: On Country ($30,000) - an immersive exhibition developed through three years of First Nations-led residencies in Greater Bendigo primary schools - to PowerLine by (it's no) drama ($30,000), a large-scale inclusive performance work premiering at the inaugural coLAB Inclusive Arts Festival before travelling to Melbourne for International Day of People with Disabilities.

In Western Australia, Camera Story's The Next Step: A Level Up ($30,000) will support Kimberley-based First Nations artists Mary-Lou Orliyarli Divilli and Nuriah Jadai to develop new bodies of work for their first solo exhibitions, while the Wagyl Kaip Southern Noongar Aboriginal Corporation's Every Stitch Holds Country ($30,000) will honour truth-telling about the Carrolup children of the Stolen Generation through storytelling and on-Country creativity.

NB: Tasmania & NSW offer one round per year and applications open across all states/territories July 2026

Find the full list of Round 1, 2026 Regional Arts Fund recipients here

More details about the projects of the Round 1 recipients can be found here 

Round 2 of the Regional Arts Fund Project Grants opens across all states and territories in July, 2026.

The Regional Arts Fund is an Australian Government program that supports sustainable cultural development in regional and remote communities in Australia. The program is managed by Regional Arts Australia and organisations in each state and territory.

About the Regional Arts Fund

The Regional Arts Fund is an Australian Government program administered by Regional Arts Australia and delivered in partnership with state and territory regional arts organisations. It supports the development of arts and cultural activity that benefits people living in regional, rural and remote Australia.

About Regional Arts Australia

Regional Arts Australia is the national not-for-profit body for regional arts, working to mobilise the creative ambition of people and communities across regional, rural and remote Australia. Through two decades of delivering the Regional Arts Fund and building one of the country's most extensive networks of artists, organisations and communities outside major cities, Regional Arts Australia translates government and partner investment into lasting cultural impact - supporting artists to develop and present work, strengthening local creative economies, and ensuring that where you live does not limit what you can make or experience.

Media Inquiries
Ros Abercrombie. Executive Director, Regional Arts Australia
Email: ros@regionalarts.com.au