Arts and Cultural Development grants amended at Council meeting

THE City of Coffs Harbour is celebrating the announcement of funding through its Arts and Cultural Development Grants Program, but the late addition of two applicants not recommended by the Grants Committee has resulted in two of the applicants on the original list being awarded substantially less money than the committee had intended.

At the July 23 Council meeting Mayor Nikki Williams told the meeting that she was moving an alternate motion that councillors had received that afternoon.

Her motion added the Sawtell Chilli Festival and Heart Farm Rural Project to the grants, resulting in two of the recommended recipients receiving less funding.

“I felt it was important that the record number of applications resulted in funding reaching as broad a cross-section of our community as possible,” said Mayor Williams.

“The Community Donations Grant was spread across a broad range of recipients, while this program was more concentrated, so I supported reducing two allocations to allow more groups to benefit.

“The Chilli Festival is a much-loved, growing event that attracted a record 6,000 people this year, and its new focus on celebrating our diverse cultures is important.
“I was also keen to see dance represented, as it is an area that has been underrepresented in our arts funding.

“Ultimately, councillors have a responsibility to ensure public money delivers the broadest possible community benefit.”

Councillors Judge and Cassell spoke against the motion, both pointing out that councillors interfering in committee processes undermined the work of committees even though, as pointed out by the General Manager, it is legitimate.

Jade Symons was initially slated to receive $7000, for ‘Somewhere on Gumbaynggirr Country’, a storytelling and interview series to document and share the diverse lived experiences of people in Coffs Harbour, including refugees, migrants, long-term locals, Gumbaynggirr community members, and other culturally diverse residents.

So was Arran Saunders, for ‘Clay Connections’, a community arts project which will bring together women from refugee and culturally diverse backgrounds to explore memory, identity and connection through clay and storytelling.

Because of the Mayor’s motion, which allocated $3500 to the Chilli Festival and $4000 to the Heart Farm Rural project, Ms Symons will now receive $2500 and Mr Saunders $2000.

The other, unchanged, recommended grants were to Coffs Harbour Musical Comedy Company, which will receive $6,000 for ‘Breaking Barriers Accessible Theatre for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Audiences’, and the Woolgoolga and Northern Beaches Chamber of Commerce, which will receive $5,900 for ‘20th year Curryfest’.

Taranta Arts Inc received $7,000 for ‘Taranta Festival Opening Night at Jetty Theatre’, showcasing traditional Southern Italian folk music.

Woolgoolga Art Group Inc received $3,540 for ‘Let’s Face It’, a portraiture exhibition preceded by two professional artist-led portraiture workshops to coincide with the Archibald Prize 2025 exhibition at Yarrila Arts and Museum, and the Sawtell Art Gallery gains $3,500 for ‘Bridging Worlds Intergenerational Art Studio’, connecting young people (aged 9-15) and older community members (65+) through a series of facilitated art sessions.

Ms Symons said, “I’m so happy to be given the chance to bring this joint project with Coffs Coast Multicultural Society alive.

“It’s something I see that will add great value, discussion and important visibility of our diverse local community.

“I do worry about our capacity to deliver the project to its full ability as our total funding received was considerably lower than that which was recommended by the panel.

“The process was not super-clear to me, however we are overall happy to have the chance to move forward with the support of the grant.”

Councillor Judge said, “I was among a group of Councillors who did not see the new motion until less than a minute before the commencement of debate.

“That lack of notice did not give us sufficient time to consider whether there was merit in the new list of grants.

“Councillors are being increasingly presented with new motions and significant amendments with little or no notice.

“It deprives Councillors of time to research and consider the proposed changes, leading to the risk of rushed, poorly informed decisions.

It is not a positive development for Council.”

By Andrew VIVIAN