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Professional Support

A wide range of support is available for arts practitioners in the form of member-based organisations offering career advice, networks or advocacy.

Professional Development

Artshub is Australia’s largest arts network.  It is a member based organisation providing access to hundreds of jobs listed by Australia's top arts organisations as well as career advice from leading industry professionals; education and  professional development opportunities; grant and funding; industry news and rewards and exclusive member-only giveaways.

Australia Council for the Arts champion Australian arts both here and overseas and invest in artistic excellence through support for all facets of the creative process and commitment to the arts being accessible to all Australians.  Site includes access to grants, research, programs and projects.

Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) was established by the Queensland Government as a strategic initiative of the Backing Indigenous Arts program in 2009.  In order for CIAF to reach its full potential, the event transitioned to independent status outside of the auspices of the Queensland Government.  A taskforce was established and in 2013 CIAF became a corporate entity.

  • CIAF Ltd is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, governed by a Board of Directors. The membership of the skills-based Board continues to progress its focus on an increased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation.
  • CIAF 2014 was the first Art Fair delivered by CIAF Ltd. CIAF has generated strong creative and economic outcomes, both locally and nationally, since its inception. In just nine years, over 280,000 people have attended CIAF; over 1,600 Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists have been represented; over $6.8 million in Queensland Indigenous art has been sold; and approximately $22 million has been injected in to the Queensland economy.
  • CIAF is committed to strengthening and celebrating culture, creating professional development opportunities for artists, and cultural exchange between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and visitors.
  • CIAF is focused on offering an ethical art marketplace, attracting national and international collectors and curators, commissioning new work, and providing pathways for emerging visual and performance artists.

Dancenorth is an epicentre of cultural exchange, enables dancemaking and supports independent practice through residencies, secondments and creative developments. Dancenorth provides opportunities and spaces for independent artists to develop their professional practice and to create an environment for collaboration, dialogue and creative exchange through various artistic capacity and leadership development programs.

No Show offers funded choreographic opportunities for independent choreographers to work with the Dancenorth ensemble each year. Artist Residency in the Tropics (A.R.T.) invites independent Australian practitioners to base themselves at the Dancenorth studios, immersing themselves in the Tropical North Queensland environment.

The annual seven-day full time Secondment Program invites young dance artists from Australia and New Zealand to experience life in a professional company, free of charge. 4 Walls and a Floor is a free space opportunity provided to independent artists, movers and makers.

Museums and Galleries Queensland is the peak professional body for the public museum and gallery sector in Queensland.  Their website includes funding opportunities, 2020 Standards Community Directory and Industry support services.

National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) leads advocacy, policy and action for a contemporary Australian arts sector that's ambitious and fair.

Northsite Contemporary Arts is a leading experimental gallery and dynamic artspace. From an artist-driven collective to a leading contemporary arts institution, 1992 – 2020 has seen a lot of innovation and change. Now, KickArts launches NorthSite Contemporary Arts in a newly refurbished centre called Bulmba-ja.

Regional Arts Services Network A state-wide approach to increasing arts engagement in regional Queensland through building capacity, strengthening networks and celebrating stories. An initiative of the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland. Their website includes event listings, grant opportunities and a great list of key websites for arts practitioners.

Screen Australia supports the development, production, promotion and distribution of Australian narrative (drama) and documentary screen content. The agency invests directly in Australian television, film, and digital original titles, and administers the Producer Offset tax incentive for Australian screen stories.

The agency also offers sector-building programs such as Enterprise, initiatives including Gender Matters and funding through Screen Australia’s Indigenous Department.

Screen Australia represents Australia’s screen industry internationally, including at festivals, markets, and major awards. The agency also tracks and reports on industry health, maintains a database of Australian titles called The Screen Guide and provides free industry resources via Screen News.

The Copyright Agency collects fees and distributes royalties to creator members for the reuse of text and images. Their members are authors, poets and playwrights, journalists, publishers, visual artists, photographers, cartoonists and illustrators and surveyors.

They manage the educational copying schemes, the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments' copying schemes, the Resale Royalty scheme for artists, and the special provisions for institutions assisting people with print disabilities – all by appointment by the Government or by the Copyright Tribunal.

Businesses demonstrating best practice governance, secure commercial licences from us for improved compliance and seamless workflow. They also have agreements with International Affiliates to license the use of foreign content here and collect licence fees for Australian content used overseas.

Copyright Agency provides philanthropic support to Australia’s cultural community through our grants program, the Cultural Fund.

Umbrella Studio Contemporary Arts is Australia’s longest running contemporary art centre. Umbrella was established in 1986 as a working studio for a group of emerging Townsville artists as the only artist-run initiative and the first professional arts organisation north of Brisbane.

Since the early 1990s, Umbrella has been transformed from an artist collective offering practical studio-based facilities to a funded and professionally managed members-based contemporary arts organisation with an annual program of exhibitions, public programs and special events.  Umbrella is a member-based organisation with over 250 active members.