Creative Victoria latest funding recipients

Creative Victoria has announced the latest recipients of funding from its Creative Projects Fund.

One hundred and fifteen Victorian creators have shared in $1.5m of funding which ‘Victorian artists, creative collectives and small businesses to bring their projects to life’. The latest round of the program focused on two areas:

• Uncovering Talent, dedicated to supporting applicants who have not previously received Creative Victoria funding
• Projects, for applicants with a proven track record of delivering creative projects and undertaking professional development.

The latest round of funding included ‘streams for First Peoples and Deaf and Disabled creatives, and a separate focus area for creatives who have not previously received Creative Victoria funding’.

The literary recipients of the 2025 Creative Projects Fund (Uncovering Talent) are:

• Cat Yen ($5000): to support the development of ‘Heart Constellations’, a debut memoir exploring the pursuit of contentment after disadvantage
• Ella Brissenden ($5000): to support the presentation of the exhibition ‘Love me, Eat me, Hold me’, combining graphic novel-style storytelling with ceramic tile work, to be held at Off the Kerb Gallery in 2025
• Freya Bennett ($5000): to support the production and release of a print anthology and podcast celebrating Ramona Magazine’s 10th anniversary, featuring emerging Victorian writers and artists
• Laura Louise Green on behalf of Dragonflies + Mudpies Nature Kids Collective ($6500): to support the creation of a series of monthly educational comic strip books engaging children who are unable to access nature and cultural education due to disability
• Reuben Winmar ($5000): to support the writer to undertake professional development, including workshops with Writers Victoria and engagement with a mentor for skills development
• Rich Haridy ($5000): to support the research, writing and editing of ‘Trip Reports: Dispatches from Australia’s Psychedelic Renaissance’, a nonfiction work exploring the landscape of psychedelic science, medicine and culture in Australia
• Tayla Richardson ($5000): to support the development of a manuscript for a debut poetic memoir titled ‘The String that Goes Unseen’, including a mentorship with writer Lyndel Caffrey and a manuscript assessment through Writers Victoria
• Ursula Robinson-Shaw ($5000): to support archival research on Melbourne and Victorian literary history, with a focus on small press publications
• Young Assets Foundation ($5000): to support the delivery of ‘Stories from the Block’, a storytelling and digital media workshop for young people, equipping them with skills for creative expression and careers in media and the arts.

The literary recipients of the 2025 Creative Projects Fund (Projects) are:

• Briar Rolfe ($15,600): to support the completion of the final art for the graphic novel ‘Get Your Story Straight’.
• Cinespace Diversity Writers Room ($20,000): to support the delivery of a Diversity Writers Room for emerging screenwriters from underrepresented cultural backgrounds, providing practical experience and developing original screen content
• Debris Magazine ($20,000): to support the publishing of Debris Magazine’s 6th issue, Complaint, featuring local writers focusing on barriers faced by marginalised communities
• Fayen d’Evie ($23,000): to support the development, production and distribution of ‘Art Holds A High Place’, an audiobook-as-digital-album focused on the history of artist collective DAMP
• Jennifer Down ($20,000): to support the research and development of ‘Oubliette’, a novel exploring the evolving relationships among a group of sketch comics over their lives
• Leanne Hall ($15,000): to support the development of ‘The Celestials’, a historical novel that explores the experiences of Chinese Australian women living in Melbourne during World War II
• Mathew Jones ($15,000): to support the production and publication of ‘Acceptable in the 90s’, a book documenting uncollected 1990s public art projects, with contributions from Australian and international writers
• Meg Mundell ($18,000): to support the development of ‘Home Truths: Changing Our Minds on Homelessness’, a creative nonfiction book that challenges myths and centres the voices of people who have experienced homelessness
• un Projects ($20,000): to support the commissioning and publication of writing on artistic practice, employing emerging to mid-career writers, collaborating with galleries and providing a platform for underrepresented artists.

For the full list of recipients in all categories, see the Creative Victoria website.

Category: Local news