The City of Ballarat has been successful in securing $75,000 of funding from Creative Victoria’s Co-Working and Creative Spaces program for the creation of an Arts Incubator and Collaborative Workspace.
The new Arts Incubator will be located at 36 Camp Street in the heart of Ballarat’s creative precinct, directly behind the regional gallery and opposite Federation University’s Arts Academy.
It will provide valuable opportunities for a wide range of artists to meet, collaborate and add value to each other’s works. Its focus will be on helping practitioners (whether individuals, groups or businesses) become sustainable – through collaboration, education and training, mentoring and monitoring.
Ballarat Mayor Cr Ben Taylor said that Ballarat’s rich history and thriving creative industry means it is in the perfect position to host a multifaceted creative space.
“Through the Creative City Strategy we identified there are a number of stronger creative sectors within the city, such as gaming and digital design, music, ceramics, fibres and visual arts. Many of these sectors can strengthen their own business direction by collaborating with each other, and the new Arts Incubator is designed to let this happen.”
“The Arts Incubator will support collaboration between individuals and organisations and will inspire a thriving arts and cultural industry.”
The application for the Arts Incubator is a direct response to community demand. Some 92% of people who contributed to the Creative City Strategy consultation stated that collaboration and co-working spaces were viewed by the community as important.
The funding will go towards an independent facilities manager, operational costs and property management. Spaces for artists, makers, creative industries and others will be made available on a sliding scale of fees of rental and space hire, down to providing free spaces.
The City of Ballarat has committed $50,000 for a one-year period plus in-kind support. Creative Victoria will provide $75,000.
