Two Tasmanian arts organisations, Beaker Street and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO), have today been selected as inaugural recipients of Creative Australia’s new Creative Futures Fund (CFF).
The fund, a key initiative of the Australian Government’s National Cultural Policy Revive, is distributing $7.8 million this year across 20 projects nationwide with Tasmania securing two of these grants.
The CFF claims that these grants are an investment that “champions bold Australian works, marking a substantial boost for the state’s cultural impact on the world stage.”
In its first investment round, the Creative Futures Fund offered two funding streams to support what they are calling “ambitious Australian work.”
“Development and Delivery – 14 Australia wide 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,” said a spokesperson from CFF.
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
(Delivery)
Songs of Ceremony: Reawakening songs in palawa kani is a new work from the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, led by palawa and singer/songwriter Dewayne Everettsmith.
This significant musical work will be written and performed in palawa kani, the language of Tasmanian Aboriginal people, revived and reconstructed from the many languages that existed in Lutruwita before impacts of British colonisation and invasion.
The project includes studio recordings, a regional tour, public and community performances and educational resources for schools.
With the guidance from palawa kani specialists, and a commitment to Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) protocols, the project is a collaboration between Dewayne Everettsmith, Executive Producer Michael Hohnen from Darwin based record label Skinnyfish Music, conductor/arranger Erkki Veltheim, and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
“Songs of Ceremony” – Dewayne Everettsmith image credit Ben Raynor
Beaker Street
(Development)
Tasmania’s Beaker Street aims to build community at the intersection of art and science.
Their latest project, Hobartica, is an Antarctic outpost on the waterfront of Hobart, one of the world’s five Antarctic gateway cities.
Led by Beaker Street and arts leader Travis Tiddy, the project brief says it will fuse “real-time scientific research with immersive art experiences that bridge the vast distance between Australia and Antarctica and establish Hobart as not just a point of departure, but a place of connection.”
Project collaborators include Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) — University of Tasmania, CSIRO, the Australian Antarctic Division and the Tasmanian Polar Network.
In August 2025, during Beaker Street Festival, audiences will be able to see works in development and meet the participating artists and scientists.
Dr Margo Adler, Beaker Street Founder and Executive Director, said:
“The Creative Futures Fund is enabling us to realise Hobartica — a bold cultural embassy where art, science and public space converge.
“Hobartica is an invitation to rethink our relationship with the Antarctic through experimental performance, installation and research.
“It’s about challenging how we connect with fragile environments — not by going there, but by engaging creatively and ethically, here.”
Featured image above: Polar Plunge with Ice Landscape, image courtesy OI Studios and Beaker Street.
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