Creative Sparks Grants Program
The Creative Sparks Grants Program is an arts and cultural grants program that assists artists and not-for-profit community arts, historical and cultural organisations to create and present work.
The purpose of the program is to create jobs, aid economic growth, attract tourism and improve social cohesion by supporting the creative and cultural sector in Brisbane. Through strategic investments, the program aims to build capacity and resilience of the sector to contribute to the liveability and vibrancy of Brisbane.
The grant program aims to:
- assist artists, arts workers, cultural workers, creative producers and Brisbane not-for-profit community arts, historical and cultural organisations to test, develop, and realise ideas for local products, markets, partnerships, and new work to build the city’s creative capacity;
- support a range of diverse and accessible arts experiences to grow arts audiences and participation;
- foster opportunities for the creation and promotion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island/er’ artistic endeavours;
- contribute to the creative invigoration of Brisbane.
Council strongly encourages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, artists who identify as having a disability, identify as being culturally and linguistically diverse, or who are LGBTIQA+, and/or who are under 25 to apply.
Applications for the Creative Sparks Grants Program are closed.
Funding
Applicants may apply for up to $15,000 per application for the creation and presentation of creative projects that are shared with the public (either online or at a venue/location within the Brisbane local government area).
The Creative Sparks Fund is managed by Council in partnership with the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
2024-25 funding round dates
Applications for this program will open on 18 November 2024 and close on 8 January 2025 at 3pm.
Grant Information Sessions are available, and bookings are essential.
| Date | Time | Location | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 November 2024 | 12 noon | The End Room, Brisbane Square Library, 266 George Street, Brisbane City |
|
| 20 November 2024 | 5pm | Our Meeting Place, Inala Wangara, 67 Poinsettia Street, Inala | Book now |
| 26 November 2024 | 6pm | Chermside Library, 375 Hamilton Road, Chermside | Book now |
Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by late-April 2025. Project activities must commence after 28 April 2025.
Eligibility
An applicant must:
- be an individual professional artist, arts worker, cultural worker, creative producer residing in the Brisbane Local Government Area (LGA) OR
- be a not-for-profit community arts, historical and cultural organisations based in the Brisbane LGA
- have a demonstrated history of professional arts or creative practice with a track record of public outcomes for their creative practice.
- be a permanent resident or Australian citizen
- have an active Australian Business Number (ABN) or be auspiced by an incorporated Auspice Organisation that is based in the Brisbane LGA
- have an accessible public outcome that occurs within the Brisbane LGA between 29 April 2025 and 24 February 2026
- have other sources of funding as the program will not support 100 per cent of the proposed activity or project costs.
- be 17 years of age or over at the time of submitting an application
- hold $20 million public liability insurance and other appropriate insurance (s) (including Workers Compensation, Volunteers Insurance and others) to cover artists and their work for the duration of the funded activity in the applicant’s name.
An incorporated Auspice organisations can only support a maximum of two applications per grant round.
Applicants can only submit one application for either this grant or the Lord Mayor’s Creative Fellowships and must not have any overdue Council grant acquittals or outstanding debts with Council or Arts Queensland.
Preference will be given to applicants who did not receive funding from either a Creative Sparks Grant or Lord Mayor’s Creative Fellowship Grant Program in the previous financial year. This does not apply where the organisation is acting as an auspice.
Applicants applying as an organisation must employ Brisbane independent artists and arts workers to deliver new projects.
Acquittal reports for successful applicants
If your application is successful, you will be required to complete an online acquittal form within eight weeks of the stated project completion date.
Grant recipients with overdue acquittal reports are not eligible to apply for other Council grants.
If you believe you or your organisation may have an outstanding report from a previous grant funded project, phone Council on 07 3403 8888 and ask to speak to the Grants Unit for advice.
Grant recipient stories
Brisbane City Council has produced this video where a recipient of the Creative Sparks Grants Program talks about their journey and experience applying for and receiving a Council grant and how that grant has helped their organisation.
Video transcript
Creative Sparks Grant Recipient Story – Dead Puppet Society
Hi my name is Nicholas Payne and I’m the Executive Producer of Dead Puppet Society and with our Brisbane City Council Creative Sparks Grant we produced a new theatre production called Ishmael, which was an adaptation of Moby Dick but set in space and making use of live video cameras and puppetry and miniature models to tell this story and the work premiered at Brisbane Festival in partnership with QPAC last year.
One of the things we really wanted to achieve with this project is to create a really innovative exciting theatre production but that was a little bit smaller in scale and could be more tourable across Australia.
We received a Brisbane City Council Creative Sparks Grant to create this production, Ishmael, and that was really helpful because we basically needed all types of different funding sources to make this project happen.
The seed funding for this project meant that we could pay all of our creatives, and our cast award rates for production which is something that Puppet Society always adheres to and it also assisted with providing additional materials to create all of the puppets involved in the show.
Ishmael was a really important production in Dead Puppet Society’s life. We’re always trying to push the boundaries, create really exciting brand new theatre work and Ishmael is a work that premiered here in Brisbane but will have a really long life ahead of it.
More information
For more information, read the grant guidelines and the creative and history grant application tips.
Alternatively, phone Council on 07 3403 8888 and ask to speak with a Creative Sector Development Coordinator or the Grants Unit.