Arts Grant

There were six recipients in the Arts category:

Catch Music Concert Series supporting workshops and performance for people of all ages, skills, and backgrounds.

Mohawk Music Management to present a concert supporting emerging musicians performing with established musicians.

Cool Change presents an exhibition by ceramic artist Shupiwe Chongwe as part of Perth Festival.

Filmmaker Joseph London and performance artist Mararo Wangai will make a short film with a public screening called Franco’s Hearts

Visual artist Melissa Clements painting exhibition at PS Art Space will involve public programming for the community to engage with.

Sculptors Peter Dailey and Beverley Iles exhibition at Old Customs House as part of Sculpture at Bathers.

There were four recipients in the Arts category:

Walyalup Djena Bidi is the first children’s illustration book written by Cass Lynch and Marie Taylor for the Woylie Project. The funding contributes to the printing and distribution of the book which was developed from story-sharing sessions by Elders and artists at Fremantle Primary School and has been illustrated by the children.

Red Dress Project Whadjuk Country is a series of workshops with the community for the future development of a major artwork and exhibition in Walyalup | Fremantle. First Nation female artists will work with First Nation women to collaboratively create artwork and support healing activities for women affected by violence and abuse.

Lyndon Blue’s album preview concert will debut an ambitious body of work from the Lyndon Blue band. The concert will feature a newly expanded ensemble involving local musicians from diverse musical backgrounds.

UP THERE is a devised audio walking tour created by artists Tay Conway, William Gammel and Leah Robyn that interrogates place, space and community, and questions how empty spaces could be better occupied. The funding will support further development and a public showing of the work.

Generosity Arts – Ross Vegas and Jeannette Friesen

The West End’s Dark Corners

$7,500

Ross Vegas and Jeannette Friesen will write, direct, and produce an outdoor historical walking tour, with stunning projection effects, immersive soundscapes, and mentor two emerging local performers, cast by audition, to present it. They will use this development and season as a pilot, for what will become an icon of the Fremantle night-time streetscape for years, perhaps decades, to come.

Project timeline: Between Jan and June 2024

Maybe Together – Alex Desebrock

Tree Listening

$7,500

A mix of imagination, scientific and Nyoongar understanding will provide a tree-lead perspective on our lives. Using participatory practice, with consultation from a scientist and a Nyoongar cultural holder, Alex Desebrock is creating a gentle and revealing experience for groups of 20 people responding to Booyeembara Park.

Project timeline: Between February and April 2024

Mama Kin Spender

Promises & Wild Beasts

$7,500

Danielle Caruana and Dingo Spender, together as Mama Kin Spender will develop a multi-disciplinary theatre show centered around a concept album called Promises & Wild Beasts. This creative development will engage artistic collaborators across disciplines including dance, script, theatre, puppetry, choir, lighting, costuming, projection & sound design, and supports local Fremantle artists mentees to get an insight into a significant project of scale.

Project timeline: Between January and May 2024

Nina Juniper

CURRENT Site-Specific Residencies and Public Exchange and Workshop Program

$2,500 –funding to cover one of the residencies

CURRENT is a creative and artist-run place with hosts a range of programmes that are experimental, innovative, test new ideas, extend existing artistic practices, and engage with contemporary artistic discourse. The funding will support a site-specific residency at CURRENT and the public programming and workshops associated with it.

Project timeline: December 2023 and January 2024

The Literature Centre

Storytellers Festival 2023

$7,000

Storytellers is a free family event taking place at Walyalup Koort at The Fremantle Town Hall on 29 October 2023. It will provide a cultural and creative hub for families and young people to develop their storytelling skills and gain inspiration from a range of award-winning artists from Fremantle, WA and Australia. The 2023 program will offer diverse creative learning experiences and presentations, encompassing a range of storytelling platforms including books, pod casting, visual arts workshops and Noongar language learning.

Jon Cope

KMAM Single Mic Sessions

$8,000

The Single Mic Sessions (‘SMS’) is a local initiative to host regular monthly Fremantle-based acoustic music sessions and provide opportunities for inter-generational cross-pollination of Freo’s acoustic music community in a safe and supportive environment. The SMS reimagines a contemporary folk club format using the popular retro-style single-microphone production set-up, ideal for simple acoustic instrumentation. The music content will focus on acoustic genres of folk, world and roots music, incorporating trad, fusion, and contemporary interpretations, plus original compositions.

Penny Bovell

Underneath/Overlooked – Documentary Film

$5,000

To produce a short documentary about a social history/visual art project focusing on the terrazzo tiles made by Anna and Giuseppe Scolaro (1954-1973).  The documentary will:

•Include film footage of our Underneath/Overlooked exhibition held at the Moores Building Fremantle for the 2021 for the Festival of Fremantle. This extensive project included an installation, community exhibition, interactive game, forum and two workshops.

•Make a connection between the MRWA’s High Street Ring Road Upgrade public art walls based on the Scolaro tiles and designed by Penny Bovell (2021)

•It will also include new footage of ‘walking-through’ some key houses to reinforce the impact of the decorative designs and the unique aesthetic so innate to Fremantle.

•Capture footage of work in progress for the new installation required for the AotM touring exhibition.

The film will be produced to accompany the Art on the Move Touring exhibition of Underneath/Overlooked commencing in late 2023 and continuing to 2025. Aiming to be part of the AotM public Program it will be accessible to a wide audience and reach the public in regional Australia and aim to reinforce connections between the Moores Building exhibition, the MRWA public artwork and explain the new installation adapted for touring purposes

Stephen Brameld & Jay Staples

A Large Scale Exhibition of Painting, Sculpture, Video and Performance: MOD DOGS

$5,000

In June 2023, we will be presenting our 5th exhibition in collaboration, our 5th in Fremantle, our 5th on Pakenham Street; An exhibition of large scale painting, sculpture, video and performance. An act of ‘world-making’ within the field of contemporary art. As Philip K. Dick asked, ‘how do you build a universe that doesn’t fall apart two days later? Defining this structure, is essential in the collaborative arts for it allows individuals to exercise autonomy within boundaries, resulting in a composite of creative expression. We have painted all of the shows 2D works (20 in total) over the last 4 years. Our ambition is to complete the ‘world-making’ process through the creation of sculpture, gallery space transformation, video, music and performance.

Encounter Theatre

Generations

Encounter is the first resident theatre company based at Fremantle Arts Centre and the funding will support the preparation, creative development and showing of an epic new work- Generations – a work about 4 generations of an Indian-Australian family impacted by colonisation and the Indian Partition. Playing simultaneously across time, the play visits 4 different crisis points over the past 150 years.

Project timeline: June to July 2022

Grant: $8,917.50

Creative Connections

Under the Umbrella

Creative Connections has facilitated Art and Poetry exhibitions for 15 years. In 2022 we will introduce new elements to the exhibition program this year making it even more engaging, accessible, and beneficial to artists and audiences alike which sits in alignment with our core goals. ‘Under the Umbrella’ will include in addition to the usual art program; an impressive new visual art “Umbrella” installation initiated by the core Creative Connections art group to be exhibited at PS Art Space.

Project timeline: August 2022

Grant: $8,917.50

Xin Ong

i2

i-square (i2) is a live performance art installation. This early creative development bridges the gap between artist and audience by engaging members of the audience as co-creators in the improvised work. i2 incorporates dance improvisation with interactive visual and sound design. The development is taking place between June-October 2022 with support through PSAS. i2 speaks to the unspoken influence of the audience on artists making art, and offers commentary on the way technology is shaping the way we connect to art.

Project timeline: June to August

Grant: $9,985.45

Design Freo

Fremantle Design Week

Fremantle Design Week is presented by DesignFreo, a platform that celebrates design and designers in Fremantle /Walyalup and beyond. Fremantle Design Week will take place in and around the City of Fremantle across 10 days from 26 October – 6 November 2022. The core program will be presented at the Design Week Hub at PS Art Space, a centrally located and accessible venue in Fremantle’s West End. The hub will host an exhibition ‘HyperSext City’ and series of talks, panel discussions and workshops. Satellite events will be curated events run by external presenters in and around the city including site visits, exhibitions, tours and workshops.

Project timeline: October and November

Grant: $8,000

Two art projects were awarded funding in the City of Fremantle’s Arts and Community Grants September 2021 round. These grants are designed to incubate, support and develop Fremantle’s arts community.

Claire Martin

Foto Freo – A Biennial Festival of Photography in Fremantle

Redesigning and delivering a new Foto Freo Festival of Photography. Foto Freo ran biennially across the City of Fremantle between 2002 and 2012. It was an internationally recognised event and was pivotal to invigorating the photographic community in WA. Foto Freo will be relaunched with curated exhibitions as well as ‘open by invitation’ shows between 9 May and 10 June 2022. Foto Freo will also host artist talks, panel discussions, projection evenings and workshops. Curated exhibitions will address intersectional representation of artists and exhibition content and will challenge colonial bias through recontextualising historical photography.

Project timeline: May 2022 to June 2022

Grant: $6160

Undercurrent Theatre Company

Common Ground Creative Development

A four-week creative development of Undercurrent Theatre Company’s next work Common Ground which explores their relationship to landscape through the lens of a diverse group of performers that live on Whadjuk Nyoongar Boodjar. The work has a particular focus on the way their backgrounds, culture and upbringing have been and continues to be shaped by the land.

Project timeline: January 2022 to March 2022

Grant: $8020

Five art projects were awarded funding in the City of Fremantle’s Arts and Community Grants March 2021 round. These grants are designed to incubate, support and develop Fremantle’s arts community.

Dutch Australian Foundation

Wooden Boat Building History WA and Duyfken Replica 25 Year Anniversary

An exhibition at Western Australian Museum’s Shipwreck Gallery, celebrating the history of wooden boat building in our state. The event additionally marks the Duyfken Replica’s 25-year anniversary and broadly encompasses lectures, workshops, a wooden boat parade and sea shanty weekend. Visit WA Shipwrecks Museum’s website for more information.

Project timeline: November 2021 to May 2022

Grant: $5000

Pascale Giorgi

Fremantle Mulberry Festival

Drawing on traditions from Southern Europe and animated by a commitment to community, the Fremantle Mulberry Festival is a small-scale, local event rooted in ideas of local produce, seasonality, cooking and sharing. A theatrical foot procession of people, music and colour will be led from tree to tree, harvesting mulberries from suburban trees. Participants will converge on a fair at White Gum Valley Community Orchard to clean, cook and dye with the produce plus enjoy the festivities. Visit the Facebook page for more information.

Project timeline: October 2021

Grant: $5000

Creative Connections Exhibition Program

Creative Connections

A two-week exhibition at the Moores Building displaying art and poetry produced in response to the other. This collaboration between artists with complex disabilities and poets from WA Poet Inc. encompasses a series of talks, workshops, readings and interviews. The project celebrates ability and creativity and encourages community participation and connection. Visit Creative Connections’ website for more information.

Project timeline: August 2021

Grant: $5000

Friends of the Arts Inclusive in partnership with FremantleMind

Reflections on Resilience 2021

An inclusive exhibition at the Fibonacci Centre; over 100 artworks from 25 artists, including David Giles and a broad range of art forms. Positioned within Mental Health week, the event reflects upon the resilience of Western Australians over the past year and returns profits to artists. Performing artists will welcome and entertain guests at the ticketed gala opening night, with visitors able to access an artist talk, children’s workshops and a closing sundowner over the course of the week.

Project timeline: October 2021

Grant: $5000

GreenScreen Fest Ltd

GreenScreen Film Fest

An opportunity for filmmakers of all ages and abilities utilising technology-driven online platforms to have some fun and grow their love of SFX (special effects). The Film Fest delivers online and live workshops and screenings in November. Visit GreenScreen Film Fest’s website for more information.

Project timeline: July to November 2021

Grant: $5000

Five art projects were awarded funding in the City of Fremantle’s Arts and Community Grants September 2020 round. These grants are designed to incubate, support and develop Fremantle’s arts community. The next grant round will be held in March 2021.

Ross Vegas

Dark Corners; A Spooky Heritage Tour

An illumination of the past, bringing the dead to life; sourcing stories from Fremantle’s archives Vegas will produce three 40-minute immersive performances, integrating digital technologies, historical footage and live performance. This project explores our heritage, architecture, and the ever-popular genre of ghost stories; with narratives interpreted as a subconscious reflection of guilt, sorrow and unfinished business.
Project timeline: June 2021
Grant: $5000

Ted Snell

Ross Seaton: Walking Man Exhibition

For many Western Australians Ross Seaton was the ‘Walking Man’. A feature of the local landscape for decades, Ross pushed his wheelbarrow along Stirling Highway towards Fremantle. Collecting cardboard and other treasures on his way, he returned to his front yard in Nedlands to create extraordinary drawings and paintings. Ross Seaton: Walking Man will be a major survey exhibition of the work of an extraordinary Western Australian character.
Project timeline: December 2020
Grant: $5000

Tineke Van der Eecken

BRINK Festival

A new, artist-led Freo-based festival for those wanting a cleaner, greener, fossil-fuel-free world. This five-day, multi-arts event aligns with the City’s declaration of a climate emergency and its stand on reducing pollution and protecting our community from harm. Shaped by ideas and stories celebrating connection and respect for the natural world, this is a festival with a conscience.
Project timeline: March 2021
Grant: $5000

Ralf Rauker

The Handover

An intergenerational performance project facilitating knowledge sharing and the forging friendships. The Handover is a series of workshops culminating in a theatre production that navigates the way forward in a community looking to place blame for the state of our planet on the other generation. Project timeline: February/March 2021
Grant: $5000

AbMusic: Chelsy Loveridge

Boodjar Beats

A series of four musical installations, with music composed by artists Kim Batty and Jaydan Ahmat. Everyone will be welcomed into Art on the Move’s Beach St Gallery to celebrate original Indigenous music, with performances also accessible via livestream. Boodjar Beats seeks to broaden demographics and bring cultures together as we all step into the future.
Project timeline: February/April/June/August 2021
Grant: $5000

Kelsey Ashe Giambazi

Project: Pearls and Blackbirds

A film exploring the history of WA’s pearling industry; the lives and stories of female Aboriginal divers and Japanese migrants that traversed Fremantle and Northern WA ports in the late 1880s. The work will be projected onto the sails of the Pearl Lugger boat ‘Rose F’ in Fremantle’s Fishing Boat Harbour in a free, public event accompanied by dance, music and a Japanese tea ceremony.

Held: 22 November 2019

Pippa Hurst

Project: Design_Freo

An expanding community of talented and award-winning designers call Freo home. Design_Freo is an organisation and online platform that celebrates and shares great design and launches in 2020 with the inaugural Freo Design Week.

Proposed date: 22 November 2019–7 February 2020

The Watercolour Society of WA Inc.

Project: The International Watercolour Exhibition Fremantle

A meeting of local, national and overseas watercolour societies and artists in Fremantle, plus showcase for the diversity and versatility of the medium. This four-week exhibition in the Moore Building will additionally encompass a plein air watercolour competition, demonstrations and workshops delivered by held by world-renowned watercolourists Joseph Zbukvic, Amit Kapoor and Herman Pekel.

Proposed date: 1 March–14 April 2020

Mitch Harvey

Project: Lies Within

A new contemporary dance work exploring femininity and masculinity. Choreographer Mitch Harvey, musician Kieran O’Regan and Sydney based dancers Zachary Lopez and Tiana Lung will bring this art form to a broad audience in the Fremantle Street Arts Festival.

Proposed date: 10–13 April 2020

SHAC (Sustainable Housing for Artists & Creatives)

Project: SHAC Incubate

The development and delivery of SHAC Incubate, a mentorship program that pairs experienced practitioners with emerging artists to challenge, extend and collaborate across art forms. The program will culminate with public performances, workshops and an exhibition at SHAC.

Leah Vlatko

Project: Doggo Fashion Show

A unique fashion show celebrating dogs, local artists and Fremantle. ‘Out of space’ themed dog coats were paraded by our canine friends and then auctioned off. All money from the garments sold was given to their makers and profit from entry fees went to a local dog shelter.

Held: 25 May 2019

Georgia Kennedy: WAM (West Australian Music)

Project: Song of the Year

WAM Song of the Year is an annual, original song writing competition, promoting the talents of songwriters residing in Western Australia. The event was held at Freo.Social and embraced contemporary music of all genres, including school age, indigenous and regional categories.

Held: 26 June 2019

Teresa Izzard: Feet First Collective

Project: S-27

A dystopia theatre piece which asks how far you would go and who you would betray to save yourself? The story follows May, a photographer who must document dissenters who have rebelled against an authoritarian regime. This WA premiere featured in 10 Nights in Port and was presented at the Fremantle Art Centre.

Held: 12–21 July 2019

Melissa Cantwell

Project: The Elders Projects

This storytelling encounter featured a diverse cast of Fremantle seniors, delivered through multiple art forms. The Elders Project opens up a broad range of perspectives on our shared histories and deepens our relationship with the past. Delivered by a team of artists including Nathan Beard and Nalda Searles, the exhibition and performances were presented at Beach Street Gallery as part of 10 Nights in Port.

Held: 13–21 July 2019

Rachel Riggs

Project: Round and Round – Early Years Children’s Theatre Tour

A highly visual, non-verbal and interactive production with development based on research of young children and creative play. Round and Round is designed for children under 5 years of age and will be presented to six childcare centres in Fremantle plus SHAC CoLab 1, a new community venue in White Gum Valley.

Proposed date: 4 November – 1 Dec 2019

Alex Desebrock

Project: What does my street need to hear?

Working with 15 households from one Fremantle suburb, Desebrock will work with neighbours to create and hang 15 banners, culminating in a suburban, walking gallery. The project will amplify citizen voices and connect community as locals consider ‘what does my street need to hear?’

Fenians, Fremantle and Freedom Inc.

Project: O’Reilly’s Escape

A three day Festival in February 2019, honouring the life and works of John Boyle O’Reilly. This community event promotes the message that support for others and connection to culture, builds resilience.

Proposed date: February 2019

Kerry Bowden – The Strawboat Collective

Project: Whisper White

A new piece of theatre set on Australia Day. Three young couples with diverse views on topic issues share dinner together. The play explores some of the challenging aspects of the changing face of Australian society.

Proposed date: November  2019

Sam Bloor 

Project: Inside Outside

A series of installations, site-specific typographic paintings placed throughout Fremantle, mapping a virtual path connecting the Fremantle’s cultural institutions.

Proposed date: April 2019

SHAC Co. Labs

Project: Activate

A series of activities designed to kick start the creative spaces in the new Sustainable Housing for Artists Cooperative, White Gum Valley. The program includes an inaugural exhibition of resident artists plus workshops and masterclasses.

Yirra Yaakin Theatre Company

Project: Kaarla Kaatijin

The play Kaarla Kaatijin meaning ‘knowledge about fire’ in Nyoongar language, explores the importance of Kaarla (Fire) and unpacks what it means to be a strong, centred individual, learning about the world. Audiences will experience the stories How the Magpie and Crow Got Their Colour and Songs, and How We Made Fire, performed as part of the City of Fremantle NAIDOC Week Celebrations at Hilton PCYC on July 8th at 3pm.

Jessee Lee Johns

Project: CIOMA (Contemporary Institute of Modern Art)

CIOMA is a cultural institution, built inside PSAS (Pakenham Street Arts Space) and open from 21 May to 19 July, 2018. It will stage an exhibition to be curated by Gemma Weston, host a performance by Art in Process, and put on a concert by WA musician Jacob Diamond. Additionally CIOMA will operate a residency where the artist will live inside the work for the duration of the program.

Amy Perejuan-Capone

Project: This is How We Walk on the Moon

Open to the public between 14-29 July, 2018 in the Atrium at Old Customs House, Thursday – Sunday 11am-5pm, join artist, Amy Perejuan-Capone as she explores earnest human endeavour and hope amid uncertainty. An exhibition inspired by her recent travels and artist residency in the Arctic.

Circus WA

Project: Street of Life

In partnership with the National Hotel, this immersive performance will be presented on High Street as a part of the Fremantle Long Table Dinner. Held on November 29, 2018, Street of Life will entertain whilst also examining issues around homelessness and connection to place in a colourful outdoor spectacle.

MOMA (Museum of Moving Objects)

Project: Museum in My Pocket

Museum in My Pocket is a mobile museum and performance piece consisting of a Polaroid camera, whiteboard and a museum curator. Roaming the streets as part of Fremantle Heritage Festival 2018, the curator will examine, contemplate and document the contents of passer-by’s pockets, presenting the discoveries on the board for all to see.

Kelsey Ashe Giambazi (Curator)

Project: Dark Swan; Contemporary Tales of the Gothic Antipodes

This exhibition investigates Fremantle’s colonial history, architecture, characters and landscapes; exploring the ‘Australian Gothic’ aesthetic and investigating the romanticism of the Victorian age in which WA’s identity emerged. Exhibition opens September 7, 2018, open to the public until October 5 at PSAS (Pakenham Street Art Space).

Organisation: Paper Bird

Project: Indigenous Australian Kids Story Festival

Description: The Indigenous Kids Story Festival is a free event scheduled for March/April 2018.  It will showcase a rich spectrum of indigenous stories through book displays, writer and illustrator presentations, exhibitions of artwork, oral storytelling, dance, song, and film.

Organisation: Imaginary Leaps

Project: Cloud Child

Description: Cloud Child is an interactive theatre performance for young children and their families. Employing a child-centred approach, it uses the elemental nature of clouds to stimulate the imagination and emotional development of young children. Cloud Child is a highly visual, non-verbal show about belonging and love. It has shown in Iran, Europe and the UK, now returning home to tour the early learning facilities of Fremantle.

Organisation: Ross Vegas

Project: Ageless

Description: Ageless will be a theatrical performance, featuring the talents of the Sliders Youth Circus, Starlight Hotel Community Choir, and the Perth Discovery Singers. It will bring together a diverse cast with ages ranging from 15 to 95 of varying social and economic backgrounds to combine the power of over sixty voices plus accompanying aerial acts and acrobats.

Organisation: Art of Freo

Project: Emerging Artist Support Fund

Description: The Emerging Artist Support Fund will offer financial and administrative support for local emerging artists wishing to produce their first solo exhibition. The grants will be available for eligible artists, covering essential exhibition costs and providing them with a strong understanding of the process, associated costs and relevant skills to exhibit independently in the future.

Organisation: Fenians, Fremantle and Freedom Inc

Project: Fenians, Fremantle and Freedom Festival

Description: The 10 day Irish cultural festival celebrates the arrival of the last convict ship to arrive in Australia (in Fremantle) 150 years ago. The festival will inspire and mobilise many diverse communities such as the descendants, the Irish community, students at Notre Dame, local musicians, dancers, visual artists and film makers through a series of curated events exploring heritage and culture.