The Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund

Over the next two years RISE will contribute to the recovery of the Australian economy by funding around 426 projects, generating up to 161,000 jobs in arts businesses and organisations, with contributions to activities such as festivals, concerts, tours, exhibitions, productions and events. As at 26 May 2021, the Australian Government has committed A$100 million of RISE funding, going towards 242 projects and creating up to 89,000 jobs. The RISE Fund is supporting projects that showcase the diversity of Australian artistic and cultural production and is facilitating a sector response to changing modes of delivery and new technologies. For example, the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall was established as a means for Australian classical musicians to continue practising their craft during the pandemic by connecting with audiences and earning a living with streamed online recitals while performances were shut down. It is not just the benefits that this project is bringing in the era of COVID-19, feedback is indicating that initiatives like this will have a strong future, looking beyond the pandemic, with audience reporting that they are attending more concerts online than they were able to previously due to issues of distance, health or caring responsibilities. The project has generated income of A$1.25 million for Australian musicians and arts sector workers and highlights the positive outcomes that can come from forging new and creative approaches to well-loved artforms. RISE is also supporting shows to open with the lifting of restrictions in Australia. The Australian production of the acclaimed musical Hamilton, a co-production between Australian producer Michael Cassel and American theatrical producer Jeffrey Seller, has been delighting audiences and expecting to attract over 730,000 attendees. Productions like these have been an important part of the arts and culture sector’s resurrection - building confidence, engaging hundreds of personnel, and in the case of Hamilton, yielding an economic benefit of A$200 million nationally. The creativity and deep knowledge of culture and country held by Australia’s Indigenous artists are also being fostered through RISE. The Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women's Council is led by women’s law and culture and their Tjanpi artwork is renowned. By providing support for artists to expand skills, access more markets and generate increased income from their artwork, these arts enterprises are enabling women to deliver a range of social support and cultural services in the very remote NPY lands comprised of 26 desert communities in the cross-border regions of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Providing access to arts and culture for peoples across Australia’s regions is one of the RISE fund’s successes. Tourism and creative industries are important job providers in many regional communities and the pandemic has had damaging effects. With lifted restrictions RISE projects have increased visitor flow to regions that went through multiple lockdowns with music festivals that feature all-Australian performers and multi-arts festivals that are alleviating some of the impacts on local economies and improving the morale of residents.