Over $700,000 will be shared amongst successful projects through round 20.

SALT on the Water, Night of the Nudibranch, Lanterns and fire murals dazzle audiences in the water, 2024, Photograph by Mikaela Frick. Funded under round 16.
Photograph by Mikaela Frick.

Regional communities will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in 18 vibrant new projects from a range of artistic mediums thanks to the latest round of the Festivals Australia program.

One of these projects Life Force, is a public art project celebrating the Bogong moth as a symbol of sustenance, survival, and interconnectedness. Led by Natimuk artist, Dave Jones and Wadawurrung artist, Dr Deanne Gilson, the large-scale illuminated installation draws on Wadawurrung ancestral knowledge, and will be on display at the Ballarat International Foto Biennale 2025.

Also receiving funding is Younger Young Writers, an outreach program, as part of the National Young Writers Festival. The program gives young regional writers the opportunity to participate in workshops and provides pathways for them to deepen their interest in the literary world and learn through intergenerational knowledge sharing.

The full list of funded projects is available on the Festivals Australia program page.

Applications for round 21 of the program are scheduled to open in September 2025.