Lord mayor defends council grants as hundreds of arts organisations miss out
Nearly 200 arts companies and festivals were left empty-handed after Sydney’s richest council capped its latest round of cash handouts for small events and projects to just $257,000, as the mayor accused state and federal governments of draining funds and shifting responsibility to councils.
Inside single financing categoryApproximately 140 organizations and creators applied for projects worth $4.7 million, ranging from music concerts to poetry readings to street and art events. Only five projects were funded by the City of Sydney. total of $127,000.
Steven Siewert
Unsuccessful candidates described the success rate of less than 4 percent as dismal and questioned the value of the application.
“We are all aware that arts funding is extremely competitive and applying for a grant is never a guarantee,” said flutist Lamorna Nightingale, who applied. Backstage Music. “But when success rates drop to these current dismal levels, we have to ask a tough question: Is it still worth the effort?
“Preparing a worthwhile, rigorous grant application requires hours of meticulous work. The vast majority of applicants are independent artists or grassroots organizations. For them, spending a solid week writing a proposal means working for free or diverting critically scarce resources away from what really matters, like paying artists’ fees.”
“I understand that the city wants artists to continue to apply and they are doing their best to change the system, but it is no longer possible to ask the industry to absorb this huge amount of unpaid administrative labour. This is unsustainable and risks silencing the very grassroots voices that make Sydney’s culture worth investing in.”
Despite the Council’s intention to “build the social, cultural, environmental and economic life of the city” through these grants, no project-focused music concerts, workshops, residencies or visual arts shows were funded in this latest round of Creative Grants.
In the festivals and events category, 12 applicants out of 82 people Funding of $150,000 was provided and a further $131,589 was given in in-kind support such as subsidized studio and rehearsal spaces.
The lion’s share of the funding went to the Biennale of Sydney. $650,000 this fiscal year It is in the large grant category and is in line to fund the 2028 and 2030 editions in each of the next three years.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the council had since overhauled its grants system, while insisting “our level of funding remains consistent”.
“Successive federal and state governments have gutted arts funding,” Moore said. “Governments with the resources and responsibility are telling artists they need to do more with less.
“Local government is increasingly expected to take on this responsibility. The City of Sydney provides consistent funding every year because nurturing the seed beds of Sydney’s creative and cultural life could not be more important.”
The council said it had seen a 185 per cent increase in annual applications for the creative grants scheme over the last five years, rising from 52 in 2020-21 to 148 this financial year.
Community PuppiesClaire Edwardes, who applied for $28,844 for a day of musical performances and speeches at Dawes Point, called for more transparency.
“As small and medium-sized organisations, all we want is to know in advance how much of the total funding is being offered so we can make a decision,” he said.
“In my opinion, something is very, very broken in the arts funding scene in Australia at the moment, if 141 organizations and individuals are spending so much time on applications, especially with all the collaborative letters of support required and more than $4.7 million in total. All we’re asking for is transparency.”
The council opened this month New single round for 2026-27 The $1.8 million consists of three categories of creative grant opportunities: artist support, creative projects and cultural infrastructure. The redesigned program offers a year-round grant where all applications are evaluated together and funds are shared fairly among projects, communities and organizations. It also offered a longer and more streamlined application period.
Ultimately, the City of Sydney said it had committed to spending $2.4 million in creative grants for the 2026-27 financial year, consistent with previous funding.
“When the current grant round launched in February, we needed to ensure there was sufficient funding for the new directions to open in July, as well as taking into account multi-year grant agreements from previous years,” a council spokesman said. “The new program provides funding for the creative sector in line with the needs identified in the City of Sydney’s cultural strategy.”
Hayes and Griffin theatres, Sydney Eisteddfod, Red Rattler Theatre, Artspace, PACT Emerging Artists Center and Gondwana Choirs were the venues that missed out on city funding this time. Organizers of the Sydney Comedy Festival, Sydney Zombie Walk and Paddington Jacaranda Festival also left the event empty-handed.
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