Art grants in Australia 2027

Most artists don't live off sales alone. Grants pay for the time to make new work, a residency overseas, a mentor, a course, or the travel to show what you've made. The hard part is keeping track of who funds what, and when each round closes.

This guide puts the main grants for Australian artists and makers in one place: federal, every state and territory, the capital city councils and the private trusts. We've only listed grants that individual artists can apply for themselves. For each one we've given who can apply, what it funds, how much, and the closing date. Where a funder hasn't announced its 2027 round yet, we've given last round's dates, which are usually a good guide. Check the funder's own page before you apply, because rules change every year.

Quick answers

• Closing soon: Creative Australia's International Travel Fund (10 November 2026), Brisbane's Creative Sparks (9 November) and Lord Mayor's Creative Fellowships (16 November), WA's Creative Industries Travel and Trade Program (3 December) and the NT's Arts Projects Grant (14 December).
• Biggest: Creative Australia's Visual Arts Major Commissioning Projects ($100,000), Creative Australia Fellowships ($80,000) and WA's Creative Projects (up to $80,000).
• For emerging artists: the Ian Potter Cultural Trust's Emerging Artist Grants, Create NSW's Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging), Brisbane's Lord Mayor's Creative Fellowships and Arts Tasmania's Young and Emerging program.
• For travel and residencies overseas: the Ian Potter Emerging Artist Grants, the Marten Bequest, Creative Australia's International Travel and International Engagement funds, and its residencies in London, New York, Helsinki and Paris.
• For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists: Creative Australia's First Nations panels and funds, Create NSW's Creative Nations, and First Nations streams in most states.
• For d/Deaf and disabled artists: Creative Australia's Arts and Disability Initiative ($30,000), CreateSA's Richard Llewellyn grants, and access-cost top-ups in Victoria and Queensland.
• For regional artists: the Regional Arts Fund, with project grants up to $30,000 and quick grants up to $3,000 every month.
• Small and fast: Regional Arts Fund Quick Response, artsACT's up to $5,000 stream, the City of Adelaide's Quick Response and the NT's Quick Response Grant are open all year.
• Not a grant, but useful: the Australian Cultural Fund, where you can raise tax-deductible donations for your project.

2027 closing dates at a glance

Every closing date for 2027 that a funder has confirmed so far, soonest first:

• 19 January: Ian Potter Cultural Trust Emerging Artist Grants, Round 1
• 2 February: Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships (sculpture is the visual art category in 2027)
• 8 February: CreateSA Independent Artists and Groups, Professional Development, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Projects
• 11 February: WA Creative Projects for Individuals and Groups, Round 2
• 1 March: NT Small Arts Grant, Round 2
• 2 March: Creative Australia Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups
• 8 March: Queensland Arts Project Fund, Round 4
• 11 to 16 March: Regional Arts Fund project grants in the NT, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and WA
• 15 March: NT NXT Gen ARTS grants, Round 2
• 16 March: Creative Australia International Engagement Fund
• 30 March: NT Arts Projects Grant, Round 3
• 1 April: artsACT City of Design Project Fund, smaller projects
• 3 June: WA Creative Industries Travel and Trade Program, Round 2
• 17 June: Ian Potter Cultural Trust Emerging Artist Grants, Round 2

Creative Australia

Creative Australia (formerly the Australia Council) is the federal arts funder, and the biggest source of grants for individual artists. You apply through its online system, and registering takes up to two business days, so sign up well before the closing date.

Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups

The main grant for Australian artists. Arts Projects funds almost anything that builds your practice: making new work, research, mentoring, residencies, exhibitions, touring and publishing, for up to two years.

• Who can apply: practising artists and arts workers who are Australian citizens or permanent residents, as individuals or groups. There's a First Nations panel for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants.
• Amount: $10,000 to $50,000
• Closes: 3pm AEDT, Tuesday 2 March 2027. One application per closing date.
• Last round: closed 1 September 2026

Creative Australia Fellowships

Fellowships give established artists one to two years to focus on their practice, with a First Nations Fellowship and an Arts and Disability Fellowship among them.

• Who can apply: established artists and arts workers who are Australian citizens or permanent residents, and haven't had an Australia Council or Creative Australia Fellowship since 1996 (with some exceptions)
• Amount: $80,000
• Last round: closed 2 June 2026. 2027 dates not announced yet.

Visual Arts Major Commissioning Projects

The Major Commissioning Projects grant is for visual artists and craft makers who've been invited by a gallery or institution, in Australia or overseas, to make a major new work.

• Who can apply: practising visual artists and craft makers, Australian citizens or permanent residents living in Australia, with a confirmed invitation from an institution that pays them an artist fee
• Amount: $100,000. A set number go to each state and territory.
• Last round: closed 2 June 2026. 2027 dates not announced yet.

International Engagement Fund

The International Engagement Fund pays for collaborations and exchanges with a partner overseas.

• Who can apply: individuals (Australian citizens or permanent residents), groups and organisations, with a confirmed international partner
• Amount: $5,000 to $30,000
• Closes: 3pm, Tuesday 16 March 2027
• Last round: closed 13 October 2026

International Travel Fund: Market Development

The International Travel Fund pays for travel to international markets, fairs and key industry gatherings.

• Who can apply: Australian individuals, groups and organisations
• Amount: $5,000, $10,000, $15,000 or $20,000
• Closes: 3pm AEDT, Tuesday 10 November 2026

Arts and Disability Initiative

The Arts and Disability Initiative supports d/Deaf and disabled artists to develop new work and build their practice.

• Who can apply: artists and arts workers who identify as d/Deaf or disabled, Australian citizens or permanent residents
• Amount: $30,000, plus up to $3,000 for access costs
• Last round: closed 7 July 2026. 2027 dates not announced yet.

First Nations funds

Two Creative Australia funds are only for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists:

• Young People: First Nations Arts and Culture Project Fund: $10,000 to $20,000 for First Nations artists and arts workers aged 18 to 35. Last round closed 15 September 2026.
• First Nations Arts d/Deaf and/or Disabilities Project Fund: $5,000 to $10,000 for First Nations artists who are d/Deaf or disabled. Last round closed 13 October 2026.

International residencies

Creative Australia runs funded residencies overseas, all for Australian citizens or permanent residents. The 2027 places have been chosen, but they come around every year:

• Acme London: six months in East London for visual artists, curators and arts writers, with $30,000. Last round closed 15 September 2026.
• ISCP New York: four months in a Brooklyn studio for visual artists, with $35,000. Last round closed 15 September 2026.
• HIAP Helsinki: three months on Suomenlinna island, with $15,000. Last round closed 15 September 2026.
• Cité internationale des arts, Paris: four three-month residencies in any art form, with $15,000 each. Last round closed in June 2026.

For more residencies, in Australia and overseas, read our guide to artist residencies in Australia 2027.

Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships

The Marten Bequest pays for young Australians to travel interstate or overseas to study, train or research. The art forms rotate each year: in 2027 the visual art category is sculpture, and in 2028 it's painting.

• Who can apply: Australian citizens aged 21 to 35 (17 to 35 for ballet) who haven't had a Marten scholarship before
• Amount: $50,000, paid over two years
• Closes: 3pm AEDT, Tuesday 2 February 2027, or earlier if the application limit is reached

Matched funding

Creative Australia will also match money you raise yourself. Matched Funding for Artists matches private income dollar for dollar up to $10,000, for artists who've fundraised before (last round closed 15 September 2026). ACF Boost matches up to $5,000 raised through the Australian Cultural Fund, with 2027 campaigns running 1 February to 30 April (applications closed 19 October 2026).

Regional Arts Fund

The Regional Arts Fund is an Australian Government program for artists living in regional and remote Australia, run by a partner organisation in each state.

• Who can apply: artists, arts workers and organisations in regional or remote Australia, with an active ABN or an auspice. Apply in the state where your ABN is registered.
• Project grants: up to $30,000. 2027 rounds close 11 March (NT), 15 March (Queensland, South Australia and Victoria) and 16 March (WA). The ACT, NSW and Tasmania have no early 2027 round: their next one is in August.
• Quick Response grants: up to $3,000 for individuals. Rounds run every month from February to November, with an answer in about five business days.

Victoria

Creative Victoria's Creative Projects Fund is its main grant for independent artists.

• Who can apply: Victorian professional artists, collectives and small organisations, with an ABN or an auspice. There are First Peoples and Deaf and Disabled streams.
• Amount: $10,000 to $30,000, plus up to $3,000 for access costs in the Deaf and Disabled stream
• Last round: 19 March to 16 April 2026. The next round isn't on Creative Victoria's funding calendar yet.

City of Melbourne: Annual Arts Grants of up to $25,000 for projects with a public outcome in the City of Melbourne (you don't have to live there). The round for 2027 projects has closed. Its Quick Response Arts Grants of $5,000 have just closed too, for presentations in 2027.

New South Wales

Create NSW funds individual artists through its Arts and Cultural Funding Program. You need to be 18 or over and have lived in NSW for at least 12 months. Create NSW hasn't announced dates for its next rounds yet, so the dates below are last round's.

• Creative Steps: New Work: $10,000 to $75,000 to develop and present new work. Last round closed 25 May 2026 (44 of 284 applications were funded).
• Professional Development: Next Steps: $2,000 to $10,000 for courses, workshops, conferences and skills. Last round closed 25 May 2026.
• Creative Nations: $10,000 to $75,000 for First Nations artists and groups. Last round closed 25 May 2026.
• Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging): with Artspace. Up to six emerging NSW visual artists are shortlisted for a show at Artspace in July 2027, and one wins $30,000. Last round closed 14 September 2026.
• Creative Western Sydney Micro-Grants: $3,000 to $5,000 for artists living in Western Sydney. Closes 2pm, 2 November 2026.

City of Sydney: the Artist Support Grant gives $25,000 to 40 professional artists from priority communities living in Greater Sydney, for a year. Creative Projects grants go up to $50,000. Both open once a year, in late July.

Queensland

The Queensland Arts Project Fund is Arts Queensland's grant for artists and organisations.

• Who can apply: Queensland-based artists over 18 who are Australian citizens or permanent residents, with an ABN or an auspice
• Amount: up to $20,000 in the Individuals stream, or up to $70,000 in the General and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander streams, plus up to $10,000 for disability access costs
• Round 4: opens 22 January 2027, closes 2pm, 8 March 2027

Brisbane City Council: Creative Sparks grants of up to $15,000 for professional artists in Brisbane close at 3pm, Monday 9 November 2026. The Lord Mayor's Creative Fellowships, up to $10,000 for professional development for emerging Brisbane artists, close at 3pm, Monday 16 November 2026.

South Australia

CreateSA (formerly Arts South Australia) funds artists who are Australian citizens or permanent residents living in South Australia for at least six months a year. Its February 2027 round opens 16 December 2026 and closes at 5pm, 8 February 2027.

• Independent Artists and Groups: for developing, producing, presenting and touring new work. CreateSA doesn't publish an amount: talk to a grants officer.
• Professional Development: up to $15,000 for mentoring, courses, masterclasses, conferences and residencies
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Projects: up to $25,000
• Fellowships: $50,000 for artists based in South Australia for at least three years. Last round closed 28 September 2026.
• Richard Llewellyn Deaf and Disability Grants: up to $10,000 for individual artists who are Deaf or have a disability. Runs once a year: last round was 1 April to 11 May 2026.

City of Adelaide: Community Grants fund arts projects with a free or low-cost public outcome in the city. Quick Response grants of $2,000 to $5,000 are open all year (apply at least five weeks before you start). The major round, $5,000 to $20,000 for 2027 projects, closed 23 October 2026.

Western Australia

The Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport (formerly DLGSC) funds WA artists who are Australian citizens or permanent residents.

• Creative Projects for Individuals and Groups: $5,000 to $80,000 for creative development, business development and Aboriginal arts. Round 2 opens 9am, 5 January 2027 and closes 4pm, 11 February 2027.
• Creative WA Fellowships: $26,000 for artists aged 18 to 25, or $50,000 for artists with at least five years of professional practice. Last round closed 10 September 2026.
• Creative Industries Travel and Trade Program: up to $10,000 for international travel or $5,000 for national and regional, covering travel, accommodation and freight. Round 1 closes 4pm, 3 December 2026; Round 2 runs 5 January to 3 June 2027.

Tasmania

Arts Tasmania hasn't published its 2027 dates yet. Last round's:

• Individuals and groups: up to $30,000 for artists who've lived in Tasmania for six of the last 12 months. Last round 23 February to 15 June 2026.
• Young and Emerging Artist Professional Development: ten grants of $8,000 for artists aged 25 or under, or in their first five years of practice. Last round 12 January to 16 March 2026.
• Aboriginal Arts Program: up to $15,000 for Tasmanian Aboriginal artists. Last round 19 January to 23 March 2026.
• Artsbridge: up to $3,000 per artist for travel. The program is under review.

ACT

• Arts Activities Funding: artsACT's grants of $500 to $5,000 are open all year (apply at least six weeks before you start). Grants of $5,000 to $50,000 run in two rounds a year: Round One opens 1 December and closes 28 February, and Round Two runs 1 June to 31 July.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Arts Program: $3,000 to $15,000. Expressions of interest close 12pm, 2 December 2026; shortlisted artists submit full applications by 5 March 2027.
• City of Design Project Fund: up to $5,000 for Canberra artists, designers and creative businesses. Closes 1 April 2027.

Northern Territory

• Arts Projects Grant: up to $30,000. Round 2 runs 2 November to 2pm, 14 December 2026, and Round 3 runs 15 February to 30 March 2027.
• Small Arts Grant: up to $5,000 a financial year. Round 1 closes 2 November 2026, and Round 2 runs 1 February to 1 March 2027.
• Quick Response Grant: up to $1,000 for materials or travel, or $2,000 for professional development. Open until 31 May 2027 or until the money runs out.
• NXT Gen ARTS: $10,000 for artists aged 17 to 25 to do a three-month placement with an NT arts organisation. Round 1 closes 2 November 2026, and Round 2 runs 15 February to 15 March 2027.

Private trusts and funds

Ian Potter Cultural Trust Emerging Artist Grants

The Ian Potter Cultural Trust is one of the best-known funders of emerging artists going overseas.

• Who can apply: emerging and early-career artists aged 18 and over (as a guide, within ten years of your first formal arts qualification), Australian citizens or permanent residents, who'll put in some of their own money
• What it funds: structured professional development, mostly overseas: residencies, mentorships, masterclasses, conferences and some postgraduate study. Not projects that are only an exhibition or making a work.
• Amount: up to $15,000
• Round 1: opens 24 November 2026, closes 5pm AEDT, Tuesday 19 January 2027, for travel after 1 April 2027
• Round 2: opens 22 April 2027, closes 5pm AEST, Thursday 17 June 2027, for travel after 23 September 2027

Copyright Agency Cultural Fund Create Grants

The Create Grants are a living allowance so established artists can make new work.

• Who can apply: visual artists who've had three solo exhibitions in Australia, and are Australian citizens or permanent residents
• Amount: $20,000. Up to five were given in 2026.
• 2027 round: the Copyright Agency says it will close in early March 2027, to be confirmed. Last round closed 9 March 2026.

Australian Cultural Fund

The Australian Cultural Fund isn't a grant: it's Creative Australia's fundraising platform for artists. You set up a project and run your own campaign, and because the fund has tax-deductible status, donations over $2 are tax deductible for your supporters. It charges no fees, and all the money goes to you.

Not open to applications

A few well-known funds aren't open to direct applications:

• Nomination only: the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships and the Ian Potter Creative Fellowships
• Suspended or closed: the Freedman Foundation Travelling Scholarship (suspended), and NAVA's Artists' Benevolent Fund (closed after its funds ran out)
• For institutions or by invitation: the Gordon Darling Foundation (public institutions) and the Besen Family Foundation (by invitation)

Before you apply

• Get an ABN. Many state and council grants ask for one, or for an auspice (an organisation that takes the grant on your behalf).
• Register early. Creative Australia's application system takes up to two business days to set up.
• Read last year's results. Most funders publish who they funded. It's the best guide to what they're looking for.
• Plan for the report. Almost every grant asks for an acquittal: a short report on what you did and what you spent.

Grants pay for the time to make work. Prizes reward the work once it's made. Read our guide to art prizes in Australia 2027 for entry dates, fees and prize money.

Questions people ask

How do I get an art grant in Australia? Start with Creative Australia's Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups ($10,000 to $50,000, next closing 2 March 2027) and your state arts body. Read the guidelines, talk to a grants officer if you can, and apply well before the closing date.

Can emerging artists get grants? Yes. The Ian Potter Emerging Artist Grants, Create NSW's Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging), Brisbane's Lord Mayor's Creative Fellowships, Arts Tasmania's Young and Emerging program and WA's Fellowships for Young People are all for artists early in their career.

Do I need an ABN to apply for an art grant? Not always, but many state and council grants ask for one, or let you use an auspice instead. Check each grant's guidelines.

Are there grants to travel overseas? Yes: the Ian Potter Emerging Artist Grants, the Marten Bequest, Creative Australia's International Travel Fund and International Engagement Fund, WA's Travel and Trade Program and Arts Tasmania's Artsbridge.

Know a grant we've missed? Tell us.

Image credits

Featured image: Ordinary Giants, from our film with Rhys Viorr. Every other image is the funder's own, from its website, credited under each image.