Cultivating a healthy creative sector with Creative Inspiration Grants 

The City of Ballarat is encouraging artists, makers and creators living, working or studying in Ballarat to apply for the latest round of Creative Inspiration Grants, which are returning in 2024/25 bigger and better than ever.  

The Creative Inspiration Grant will now provide nine successful applicants with $5,000 (having increased from $1,000) to support a new creative initiative, project, event or assist a creative business or practice. The new Creative Inspiration Grant program will have one round each financial year.  

Past recipients have produced live music events showcasing local music acts and created the beginnings of new theatre performances. Artists have created new exhibitions, funded new jewellery lines, and held creative workshops for the wider Ballarat community to participate in.  

The Creative Inspiration Grants program aligns with the City of Ballarat’s Creative Strategy, which is focused on the cultivation of a healthy creative sector in Ballarat. Resilient artistic and creative practitioners can withstand economic changes, deliver new ideas, drive business growth and deliver greater community cohesion and wellbeing.  

Through the Creative Strategy, Ballarat is transforming its creative sector into a powerful economic engine that contributed $658.4 million to the local economy in 2022/23.  

City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Tracey Hargreaves said the Creative Inspiration Grants were one of many ways the City of Ballarat is working to foster a resilient creative sector.  

“We know the creative sector is crucial to our prosperity, helping to make Ballarat a better place to live, work and study,” she said.  

“I am pleased to see the expansion of the Creative Inspiration Grants program, and would encourage artists, creatives, producers, performers, creative industries, makers and artisans who are living, working or studying in the City of Ballarat to consider applying.”  

Applications for the 2024/25 Creative Inspiration Grants close 10pm, Sunday 1 June 2025.

For more information or to apply, visit the Creative Ballarat website.