A costume designer, a ballet dancer and two young actors who started their own theatre company have been named among the recipients of this year’s Ballarat Arts Foundation grants.
The foundation has been distributing grants since 2000 to emerging artists who have lived, worked or studied in Ballarat.
Foundation chair Paula Nicholson said more than $15,000 was distributed this year, a huge increase from 2015.
“The grants committee were very pleased with the standard of applications received and were thrilled to present the award winners, from a diverse cross-section of the arts,” she said.
“(The winners are) people who have done all the background work and gotten to a certain point. It’s looking to support excellence in their field.”
This year’s winners were Sarah Perkins, who is studying ballet at the Queensland Ballet Academy and is planning an audition circuit in Australia and in Europe. She was granted funds to purchase a Eurorail pass.
Costume designer Kelly Ryan, who now lives in England, was awarded to help her purchase sewing equipment and calico.
Louis Stevens, who was recently commissioned by Ballarat Grammar to compose music for their string ensemble, has been given a grant to purchase a new computer for his studies in the USA.
Saxophonist Joshua Woods was supported to buy a mid-20th century Selmer Mark VI Alto instrument for jazz playing.
Thirteen-year-old Mio Bayley was given support to move to Melbourne to study with the Australian Ballet School on a full-time basis.
Jewellery-maker Claire McArdle won the Rotary Award to mount exhibitions at The Lost Ones Gallery in Ballarat and Bus Projects in Collingwood.
Matchstick Theatre Co, run by actors Charlie Mycroft and Michael Argus, was given the BLOC Award to help them with production, publicity and marketing expenses for the play True West.
