The winners of the inaugural ARTS Impact WA grants have been announced!

Reclaim the Void, by Vivienne Robertson, and CinefestOZ Broome are the two projects that have been awarded Arts Impact WA grants of $100, 000 each. These projects were selected from six finalists, with the remaining four finalists awarded $10,000 each.

The vision of Vivienne Robertson’s cross-cultural project Reclaim the Void is to cover a decommissioned Northern Goldfields mining pit with a large-scale dot artwork made up of thousands of handmade circular rag rugs woven from discarded fabric. The project began in response to the pain of the Ngalia elders at the “gaping mining holes” left across their country. In partnership with the WA Museum Boola Bardip, the work will be featured in an exhibition in late 2023 or early 2024.

CinefestOZ Broome will be WA’s first First Nations-focused film festival. A four-day event, CinefestOZ Broome will celebrate the importance of on-screen storytelling in connecting communities and fostering reconciliation in the Kimberley, and beyond. The festival will include film screenings, community events, school and industry programs, and IndigifestOZ, CinefestOZ’s Indigenous film program. The target audience is the Broome community, with special emphasis on First Nations people, young people, seniors and visitors to Broome.

Established in 2021, ARTS Impact WA is a collaborative giving initiative, in which donors each give a minimum of $1000 annually, to contribute towards $100, 000 grants. These are open to all art disciplines and are awarded to ambitious West Australian projects that have capacity to create social impact.

Finalists for ARTS Impact WA are selected by an assessment panel of donors and industry experts. Each of the six finalists was invited to speak to donors about what they would do with the grant, and the impact it would create, at a special event held at Freo.Social, 24 May 2022. The donors then voted to choose the winners.

As well as the two winning projects, the 2022 finalists are:

The Law Bosses, The Kimberley Aboriginal Law and Culture Centre (KALACC)
This project will immerse audiences into Bookarrakarra – the Dreaming of the East Kimberley – using virtual reality, computer generated imagery, music, sound, narration and photography. Working with Marjas (Kimberley law bosses, the highest position a person can hold in that culture), the project is about conveying their wisdom, knowledge and cultural perspective, and connecting the audience with their sophisticated culture and spirituality.

The New Bachelorette, Julia Hales and Bron Batten with My Studio Collective, supported by My Place WA
Theatre project writer Julia Hales is working with My Studio Collective and My Place WA to create a new, inclusive version of popular reality television franchise The Bachelorette. Hales, who has Down Syndrome, will be dating men with and without disability, live on stage. The focus of the work is on raising awareness and promoting discourse on inclusion in every area of life. The team hope to present the work at the 2024 Perth Festival.

The Stars Descend, Annette Carmichael and Gondwana Link
Denmark-based choreographer Annette Carmichael is director of The Stars Descend, a dance work about providing climate hope. The work will be created in five chapters, with five communities, on five environmentally significant sites, all of which are part of the Gondwana Link, a natural corridor that connects Margaret River to the great Western Woodlands. Audiences will be able to experience the five performances as stand-alone pieces in single locations or take a 15-day odyssey to witness them all.

Wonderbox, Sensorium Theatre
Sensorium Theatre makes interactive, immersive, multi-sensory live theatre experiences for young people with disability and Wonderbox will be their fourth work. Bringing together traditional magic and contemporary technology, Wonderbox will invite, reward and celebrate curiosity. Sensorium hopes to present this inclusive work at Perth Festival, as well as many other venues over five to six years.

Find out more about ARTS Impact WA here.

Pictured top: Kendell Terrell, founding committee member ARTS Impact, with the winners and finalists of the inaugural ARTS Impact WA round.