Federal Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton has welcomed the announcement of more than $3 million of Commonwealth Government funding to support Indigenous languages and art in communities throughout Australia.
Minister for the Arts, Senator the Hon Mitch Fifield this week announced 59 projects that will help keep Indigenous languages alive and showcase Australia’s traditional and contemporary Indigenous cultural and artistic expressions.
Mr Coulton is very pleased that five of the 59 projects will be undertaken across his electorate of Parkes.
“Indigenous communities in and around Baradine, Bourke, Walgett, Warren, Dubbo and Condobolin will benefit from this funding with almost $230,000 being shared across five projects,” Mr Coulton said.
“The projects will use a range of art forms to share stories from Indigenous communities across Australia passing traditions down to new generations.”
Minister Fifield believes that the funding will increase audience engagement with a diverse range of Indigenous art forms, contribute to a strong sense of cultural identity and pride in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and support new forms of Indigenous cultural expression through art.
“Art is essential to any culture, creating a sense of cultural identity and pride. These projects play an important role in helping to sustain and strengthen our Indigenous communities,” Minister Fifield said.
“In 2015-16, the projects stream of the Indigenous Languages and Arts program will provide funding of up to $100,000 per project to develop, produce, present, exhibit or perform Australia’s traditional and contemporary Indigenous arts projects.”
More information about the Indigenous Languages and Arts program and a full list of funding recipients can be found on the Ministry for the Arts website http://arts.gov.au/topics/indigenous-arts-languages-and-culture/indigenous-languages-and-arts
