The Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support (IVAIS) program helps fund the operations of more than 85 Indigenous-owned art centres, and a number of art fairs, regional hubs and industry service organisations that are at the heart of Australia’s world-famous Indigenous visual art movement.

Who can apply

Organisations that support professional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists to produce, promote and market their art.

When to apply

Applications for the 2025 IVAIS open competitive grant opportunity opened on Friday 31 October 2025, and will close on Friday 5 December 2025. Application dates for future open competitive grant opportunities will be advertised on this page.

Funding allocation

Funding of approximately $27 million per year is allocated directly to organisations through a closed non-competitive process. Approximately $3.5 million per year is available through an annual open competitive grant round.

About the program

The IVAIS program supports a professional, viable and ethical Indigenous visual arts industry with strong participation by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Some of Australia's most dynamic visual art is produced in Indigenous art centres, which enable artists to create new art, earn income, develop professional skills and connect to the art market.

Funding is delivered to 4 primary types of organisation including:

  1. art centres, mostly in remote and very remote locations
  2. industry service organisations
  3. art fairs
  4. arts hubs, mostly in regional or urban locations

The organisations funded through the program form the infrastructure that provides artists with studio space, materials, art development opportunities, marketing and exhibition support, as well as a range of professional support and services for artists, art centre staff and directors.

See who’s funded in 2025-26 and view previous years’ funding recipients.

The IVAIS program supports the Indigenous Art Code, an industry-led voluntary code of conduct that promotes fair and ethical trade between art dealers and Indigenous visual artists.

For more information about the IVAIS program, visit our program webpage. 

Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support grant guidelines

The IVAIS program Open Competitive Grant Guidelines and Closed Non-Competitive Grant Guidelines include eligibility criteria and information about the assessment and grant processes, including arts worker employment information.

The Guidelines are updated annually and published on the Australian Government's GrantConnect Homepage (search for Indigenous Visual Arts Industry Support under grant opportunities).

Applying for funding

Funding is offered through open competitive and closed non-competitive grant opportunities.

Applications are now open for the 2025 IVAIS Open Competitive Grant Opportunity closing Friday 5 December 2025. To apply go to GrantConnect.

Information sessions

Information sessions are a great opportunity to take you through all that you’ll need to know and do, to be considered for funding: 

  • We run through the updated IVAIS program grant guidelines
  • We show you how to register and submit information for this grant opportunity
  • Time for questions and answers.

A transcript of the information sessions will be emailed to registered participants after the session.

Open Competitive grant opportunity

Information sessions for the Open Competitive grant opportunity are scheduled for the following times:

  • 3.00-4:15pm Thursday 20 November AEDST
  • 3.30-4.45pm Monday 24 November AEDST

Please register your interest in attending by email to ivais@arts.gov.au.  

Closed Non-Competitive grant opportunity

Information sessions for the Closed Non-Competitive grant opportunity are scheduled for the following times:

  • 3:30-4:45pm Tuesday 18 November AEDST
  • 3:30-4:45pm Wednesday 19 November AEDST

This session is targeted to current IVAIS grantees with funding lapsing 30 June 2026 that are eligible for the Closed Non-Competitive opportunity and will receive a meeting invitation from the IVAIS team.

Stay up to date with news and announcements

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for program announcements. Join the conversation using #IVAIS. Organisations can tag @AusGovArts in posts about their funded programs.

Program logos

The program logos are used to acknowledge Australian Government funding.

Contact

If you have any questions about the IVAIS program, you can contact us during office hours:

Phone: 1800 006 992
Email: ivais@arts.gov.au

The four main types of funded organisations are:

Art centres—are the primary focus of the funding, are generally located in remote or very remote communities and provide a studio space, materials and marketing for artists that are from one or more local clan groups. Most art centres are stand-alone enterprises, and some are run by Aboriginal Corporations or Shires.

Arts hubs—generally located in the urban or regional centres in the south-eastern parts of Australia, and providing a range of professional support for artists in their region, including through exhibitions and workshops.

Industry service organisations—providing a range of professional development, governance, recruitment and training support for artists, directors and staff. These stand-alone organisations primarily focus on assisting remote art centres to operate.

Art fairs—regional or national marketing events that generally include a main exhibition, a market place and associated satellite exhibitions and events. These are mostly designed for, and attended by, remote and very remote art centres, and a large volume of art is sold through these events.

Funding recipients by year