Supporting Australia’s creative future: $650,000 in grants for writers, artists and organisations
August 8, 2025
Copyright Agency has announced $650,000 in grants through its Cultural Fund to support Australian writers, visual artists and creative organisations. This latest funding round includes Create Grants for individual writers and artists to develop new work, and grants to organisations for audience development and sector leadership projects. This investment underscores the Cultural Fund’s commitment to fostering creativity, building audiences for Australian work and strengthening the creative ecosystem.
Create Grants provide vital support for writers and visual artists at key stages of their career. Writers can apply for funding to complete their second book, while visual artists with only three solo exhibitions can seek funding to create new work for exhibition.
The 2025 round was highly competitive, with 49 eligible applicants seeking one of five $20,000 grants. A panel of writers and visual artists selected the following three writers and two visual artists:
Visual artist Tiyan Baker: to tangle together like coursing water
Poet Alison J Barton: Murrigal Reise (working title)
Visual artist Leon Russell Black: Bush Holliday Dreaming (working title)
Author Eda Gunaydin: This Is Where I Leave You: Essays on Polycrisis
Author Jordan Prosser: Blue Giant
Tiyan-Baker photographed by Alfonse Chiu
Artist Tiyan Baker works with installation, photography, video and sculpture. “With the 2025 Copyright Agency Create Grant, I’ll be producing new, large scale video and sculptural works for my first institutional solo show. It means a lot to be able to take on this project at this stage of my career with such generous support,” said Tiyan.
Jordan Prosser photographed by Sarah Walker
Jordan Prosser is a writer, filmmaker and performer. His debut novel, Big Time, was published in 2024 by the University of Queensland Press. On being awarded a Create Grant, Jordan said, “For perhaps the first time ever, it has allowed me to treat my creative work as “real” work, providing me with time, headspace, and a living wage while I focus on the completion of my second novel.”
Eda Gunaydin photographed by Paul Jones
Eda Gunaydin, a Turkish-Australian essayist and critic, said on receiving a Create Grant “I’m honoured and humbled to have been awarded a Create Grant this year. This is a unique creative development opportunity that will allow me to complete work on my second essay collection, This is Where I Leave You: Essays on Polycrisis. The Copyright Agency’s support is extremely precious, and I’ve never been more excited to expand my creative practice.”
31 creative organisations were awarded a total of $551,413 in funding. The Stella Prize welcomed increased funding which will see 2026 longlisted authors receiving $2,000 each in prize money (doubled from 2025) as well as increased fees for judges. WestWords received funding for their Writers in Western Sydney Schools program. Local and Independent News Association (LINA)’s grant will provide commissions for member publishers to publish new writing, and the Roderick Centre for Australian Literature and Creative Writing’s grant will support their Writers on the Reef Residency in 2026.
Leon Russell Black courtesy of the Artist & Munupi Arts & Crafts Association
RMIT University’s non/fictionLab has also received funding for the first Graphic Storyteller Fellowship.
Grants to organisations within the visual arts sector include recipients Passage Gallery – to commission a site-responsive installation by Brook Andrew, and Linden New Art for the upcoming exhibition Maree Clarke: The Long Journey Home. See the full list of grant recipients here.
“These grants make a real difference in helping creators and organisations bring their ideas to life and connect with audiences. We can’t wait to see the new writing, art and projects that will emerge from this round of funding” said Copyright Agency CEO Josephine Johnston.
Last month, Copyright Agency announced this year’s Reading Australia Fellowship, awarded to ACT teacher librarian, Libby Baker.
Copyright Agency’s Cultural Fund is excited to launch the newly created Publishing Fellowship, designed to provide career-enhancing opportunities for professionals in the Australian book publishing industry. Applications for the next round of grants for organisations and the new Publishing Fellowship close 15 September 2025.
Learn more about these opportunities on the Copyright Agency website.
Read more about the Create grant recipients and their projects here.
For media enquiries or interview contact:
Karen Tinman ktinman@copyright.com.au
About Copyright Agency
Copyright Agency is an Australian not-for-profit representing over 40,000 creators, including publishers, authors, and visual artists. It provides licensing solutions that allow businesses to legally copy, share and store content while ensuring creators are fairly paid.