The Andrews Labor Government is backing the creative workers who power Victoria’s creative industries with the largest ever round of the ground-breaking Creators Fund.

Member for Werribee Tim Pallas announced that Fatima Measham and John McCormick were successful recipients of the 2022 round of the fund. Fatima received a $45,305 grant to support her research into human interventions in nature to develop intertextual modes of storytelling. John received a $38,500 grant to his ‘Moving With Robots’, an investigation into creatively engaging with robots, researching movement as a method for collaboration.

They are among 70 Victorian creatives and creative collectives supported through the largest ever grant pool of almost $2.7 million.

Part of the Labor Government’s Creative State strategy, the Creators Fund provides local creatives with a stable income base of up to $50,000 for up to six months, enabling them to undertake research and development, explore new ideas and hone their craft.

Since its launch in 2017, the Creators Fund has invested almost $6 million directly into the careers of Victorian creatives – from fashion designers, composers and game developers to writers, visual artists and theatre-makers.

Supporting creatives for a sustained period of up to six months, the Creators Fund provides the time and funds required for the delivery of innovative and ground-breaking new research, methods and works.

The Creators Fund was established as part of the Government’s first Creative State strategy and was extended in the Victorian Budget 2021/22. This latest round includes dedicated streams for First Peoples creatives and creatives who identify as deaf or disabled.

To find out more about the Creators Fund, recipients and their exciting projects, visit creative.vic.gov.au.

Quotes attributable to Member for Werribee Tim Pallas

“The Creators Fund enables local creatives to innovate, take their career to the next level, and make an even stronger contribution to our creative industries and cultural life – here in Werribee and beyond.”

“We’re so proud of the creative talent in Werribee and through this program we are backing them to be ambitious and pursue new, potentially career-defining ideas.”