Ten new creative projects underway through the Minderoo Foundation Artist Fund

Ten outstanding Western Australian artists have been named in the 2022 cohort of the Minderoo Foundation Artist Fund. The fund is a grant and residency program for mid-career artists to develop and create new work across WA.

The new projects set to be undertaken this year include a portraiture series of WA refugees, a children’s puppetry work about the dangers of overfishing, a community dance program for young people in Broome, and a theatrical development on de-stigmatising menopause.

This year, two of the recipients will also receive additional funding for childcare, in recognition of the pressures of primary caregiving, which many mid-career artists face.

The six recipients of the $25,000 grants are: Lucy Peach, Tara Gower, Yvan Karlsson, Sid Pattni, Claire Martin, and Melle Branson.

Additionally, four artists have been selected for artist residencies valued at $15,000 each. They are: Laurie Steed, Kathryn Lefroy, Mikaela Castledine, and Tineke Van der Eeken. The month-long residencies will take place across WA at Minderoo Station in the Pilbara, Forrest Hall in Perth, and at the Minderoo Foundation Exmouth Research Laboratory.

Ella McNeill, Director of Arts & Culture at Minderoo Foundation, said there was hot competition for places in the 2022 cohort, reflecting the depth and quality of WA’s arts scene.

“We received hundreds of applications for the Minderoo Foundation Artist Fund this year,” Ms McNeill said.

“Independent artists are the lifeblood of a thriving creative sector, however its extremely challenging to find the means to develop new work. This has been exacerbated by COVID and artists are being forced to exit the industry.”

“That’s why we established the Minderoo Artist Fund Award — to provide our talented WA artists with the freedom and security to push their creative practice to new depths.

“We are so excited to watch these new works come to life over the next twelve months.”

At the end of the funding year, in July 2023, one of the cohort will receive an additional $50,000 award in recognition of exceptional achievement while delivering their project, and the contribution the work has made to the community.