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Creative Australia is investing in an array of ambitious boundary-pushing projects with highlights including drone storytelling above desert skies; older Australians strutting catwalks; and puppets from the Pilbara roaming our capital cities..

The Creative Futures Fund supports extraordinary works that bring distinctly Australian stories to audiences across Australia and around the world. It will invest $7.8 million this year to support 20 ambitious, large-scale creative projects, spanning every state and territory.

An initiative of the Australian Government's National Cultural Policy Revive, the Creative Futures Fund supports the creation and sharing of Australian stories, and new ways for people to engage with them.

Executive Director Arts Investment Alice Nash notes "this is an investment in imagination. It will support the telling of unique Australian stories that cross generations, industries, and borders, while remaining deeply local."

A key aim of the Fund is to leverage cross-sector partnerships to deliver ambitious works. The projects will intersect with fields from education, sport, science, agriculture, tourism and fashion through partnerships and collaborations.

Director of the Creative Futures Fund, Wendy Martin added "this extraordinary collection of work will take audiences on imaginative journeys under the sea with sharks, onto football fields and into the wild, wonderful world of roller derby. Collaborations between artists and scientists will investigate Hobart as gateway to Antarctica and explore the Murray Darling River system as a life force that runs through our country. This first round of projects offers a glimpse of what is possible through investment in our creative future."

Among the highlights:

• Strong Is the New Pretty: A bold new play written by internationally acclaimed playwright Suzie Miller. Delivered by Brisbane Festival in partnership with Sydney Theatre company and Trish Wadley Productions this work reimagines Australia's identity as a sporting nation, through the story of the AFL Women's league.
• An adaptation of Shaun Tan's Tales of the Inner City: A reflection on the nature of humans and animals, and our urban coexistence, brought to life by Perth Festival as an urban adventure across Perth's CBD.
• Hobartica: Reimagining Hobart as the gateway to Antarctica. This project by Beaker Street blends art, science, climate and tourism in partnership with CSIRO and the University of Tasmania.
• Songs and Stories of Iutruwita/Tasmania: The first major musical work in palawa language featuring palawa artist Dewayne Everettsmith in collaboration with the artistic team who took Yolngu artist Gurrumul to international success. This project from the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra includes community performances and a statewide language program, culminating in a landmark outdoor event for Ten Days on the Island Festival.
• The Pageant: A celebration of older Australians at high-fashion runway shows taking place across the country, delivered by All The Queens Men in partnership with Harper's Bazaar and Perth Festival.
• When the World Was Soft | Yindjibarndi stories of creation for the nation: Giant puppets created in the remote Pilbara community of Ngurrawaana in collaboration with puppet master Peter Wilson telling ancient stories which will roam across Australian cities in arts festivals. A project from Juluwarlu Group Aboriginal Corporation.
• Night Rise: A project from Fremantle Biennale will activate dark night sky tourism sites in remote Western Australia.

The investment will support:

• Six major outdoor experiences in public spaces, including projects that invite audiences to connect with nature through innovative dark night sky tourism experiences.
• Five new First Nations-led projects that celebrate cultural knowledge and leadership.
• Interactive works for families and young people, fostering creativity across generations.
• New works across music, visual art, theatre and exceptional artist lead projects, responding to our times, made with and for communities.

In its first investment round, the Creative Futures Fund offered two funding streams to support ambitious Australian work, Delivery and Development. 14 organisations received Development investment to explore new ideas, adapt existing works, and test market potential, while six organisations received Delivery investment to realise bold new works, build partnerships and co-investment and deliver lasting impact.

Via the Consortium of Australian State Theatres (CAST) and other organisations that form part of the National Performing Arts Partnership Framework, the Creative Futures Fund will also invest in a three-day gathering, later this year, of subsidised and commercial theatre producers to support the development of ambitious new theatre and cross sector collaboration.

More information on the Creative Futures Fund  

Image top. Creative Futures Fund The Coming Back Out Salon by All The Queens Men, Sydney World Pride 2023. Image by Bryony Jackson; Image below: Creative Futures Fund Perth Festival MOONFISH Shaun Tan's Tales from the Inner City

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