Fund boost for Geraldton’s Big Sky Readers & Writers Festival, Carnarvon Shire’s Gascoyne Regional Arts Plan

Geraldton’s Big Sky Readers and Writers Festival and the Shire of Carnarvon’s Gascoyne Regional Arts Plan have been boosted by an injection of State Government funds. Under the latest round of grants in the Arts Activities in Regional Communities program, the local festival will receive $27,550. The Shire of Carnarvon’s Gascoyne Regional Arts Plan has been given a $50,000 grant for creative and cultural planning. The program provides financial help — grants of up to $60,000 — for projects that encourage participation in and access to the creation of arts and culture in regional WA. In the latest round, 13 recipients will share $680,000 in funding, including the annual Big Sky festival, which has gone from strength to strength since it began as a small group gathering in 2005. Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman said the funded projects highlighted how diverse and exciting WA’s regional arts scene was. “This funding will support events which are well-loved by their communities and visitors alike, such as Geraldton’s Big Sky Readers and Writers Festival 2024, Broome’s Shinju Matsuri Festival, the Nannup Music Festival, the York Festival, and The Albany International Folk ‘N’ Shanty Festival,” he said. “Investment in the arts is essential to ensure Western Australians have ongoing access to arts and culture activities, and we remain committed to supporting the creation and presentation of events like these.”