Early-career and young artists across Newcastle will have the chance to develop their creative skills thanks to support from City of Newcastle.
Tantrum Youth Arts, the National Young Writers Festival and Newcastle Youth Orchestra are among 14 recipients to receive a share of $115,000 in funding, distributed to successful arts, culture and history-based projects through City of Newcastle’s annual grants and sponsorship program.
Councillor Jenny Barrie joins members of Newcastle Youth Orchestra at Newcastle Conservatorium of Music. Chair of City of Newcastle’s Community and Culture Advisory Committee Councillor Jenny Barrie said the grants will help bolster community-based cultural projects.
“Newcastle is known for its thriving cultural community, and this funding demonstrates our commitment to nurturing grassroots creative talent and preserving our city’s rich cultural heritage,” Cr Barrie said.
“These grants will provide valuable support to a range of local projects, spanning everything from filmmaking, dance performances and music festivals to preserving cultural artefacts at Stockton and multi-disciplinary arts performances hosted at our newly upgraded Newcastle Art Gallery.”
Among the recipients is the Newcastle Youth Orchestra, who will use the funding to help deliver a series of workshop-based collaborations between emerging and established musicians.
Newcastle Youth Orchestra spokesperson Capree Gaul said the funding is essential to providing an enhanced experience for young musicians.
“This support will help alleviate costs such as tuition fees and music purchases so we can focus on presenting four exciting, themed concerts next year, which will feature collaborations between our young musicians and established local choirs and orchestras such as the award-winning dementia choir, the Unforgettables,” Mrs Gaul said.
“Our goal through this project is to deliver exciting workshops and performances that help develop the skills and inspire the next generation of musicians.”
Concert highlights will include a kids’ classics program, a concerto of music from around the world and a composition developed in partnership with First Nations artists, which will be performed at the University of Newcastle’s Wollotuka Institute.
Other projects inspiring young creators that received funding from City of Newcastle include Tantrum Youth Arts’ Cartwheel program, now in its second year. The initiative supports 10 emerging artists through a year-long schedule of professional development, including tailored masterclasses, business skills workshops and invitations to industry events.
The National Young Writers Festival received a funding boost for its free four-day event delivered in October this year. The festival, which was hosted in Newcastle, supported more than 55 emerging writers and included a targeted First Nations photography mentorship.
Newcastle & Hunter Jazz Club will collaborate with Newcastle Improvised Music Association to involve younger musicians in its 36th annual three-day festival at City Hall in 2026, which will feature more than 50 bands and 240 individual musicians.
Other funded projects include Catapult Dance Company, who will bring together six Newcastle choreographers and six visual artists from the Creator Incubator to produce a range of new collaborative works leading to a site-specific performance event at Newcastle Art Gallery in 2026.
For a full list of funded projects and details, visit newcastle.nsw.gov.au/grants. Applications for the next round of grants will open in 2026.
The potential location of the proposed Astra Street Community Energy Precinct at ShortlandThe project forms part of the draft Newcastle Climate Action Plan 2026 – 2030 (CAP 2030), which Councillors will vote to place on public exhibition at next week’s extraordinary council meeting.