Grant Writing for the Arts Workshop Series: February Program Recap!

Olivia is a highly knowledgeable and generous presenter. I found her tips to be most helpful and have so many ideas to apply to for that next grant. This was a really valuable lesson to not take grant rejection as a negative, but as a way to learn and to improve your grant and apply again. Thank you.
— Workshop Participant, Grant Writing for the Arts

Pictured: Grant Writing for the Arts Workshop underway in Murgon (South Burnett) on 15 February 2023. Image by Nancy Jayde Photography.

Last month I hit the road and visited four communities across the South Burnett and Gympie regions delivering a half-day Grant Writing for the Arts workshop - what a blast! Thank you to the 54 participants who joined me in Goomeri (1 February), Kingaroy (3 February), Gympie (14 February) and Murgon (15 February), it was a pleasure to meet you all and hear your project ideas. Workshop participants ranged from authors to musicians, visual artists to arts therapists, graphic designers, museum managers, festival volunteers and everything in between. Workshops are a fantastic way to learn new skills (or as a refresher) but also to network with other creative practitioners in and around your region. I hope you all got as much out of the workshop as I did!

It’s no secret that I live and breathe data, so I’m pleased to provide the following insights collected from the post-workshop survey:

Workshop attendees also received a two-page resource following the workshop, and development is currently underway to utilise some of this information to create a free downloadable resource that will be available to everyone once the Resources section of my website launches later in the year (watch this space!).

Pictured: Grant Writing for the Arts workshop underway at Gympie Regional Art Gallery on Tuesday 14 February 2023. With thanks to Councillor Bruce Devereaux (Gympie Regional Council) for taking this snap during the session!

This workshop provided great information and tips to help our organisation to apply for grants for both infrastructure, workshops and special events. Well done.
— Workshop Participant, Grant Writing for the Arts
Olivia provided a friendly, supportive environment and her depth of knowledge gave me confidence that this information would valuable and useful. Thank you so much.
— Workshop Participant, Grant Writing for the Arts

Although this iteration of the workshop series is now complete and the upcoming The Art of Grant Writing workshop session on the Fraser Coast is fully booked, please keep an eye on the Workshops section of my website as new workshops are announced in 2023 and into 2024!


The Regional Arts Development Fund is a partnership between the Queensland Government and Gympie Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.

The Regional Arts Development Fund is a partnership between the Queensland Government and South Burnett Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.

May Business Announcements!

As we creep closer towards the end of another financial year, the month of May - which is Queensland Small Business Month - seems like a perfect time to share a number of exciting project updates and announcements in relation to my business!

The BIG news:

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve commenced a new contract with the good folk at Blackbutt Avocado Festival, where you’ll find me riding the avo-bus as Arts Project Officer two days a week until mid-2022. This new position has been made possible with thanks to funding from FRRR’s Tackling Tough Times Together program. You’ll still catch me in my role at BIEDO (Burnett Inland Economic Development Organisation) for the next six weeks, before I’ll be hanging up my Economic Development hat to focus on my new Festival role and the completion of my Master of Business (Arts and Cultural Management). It has been a joy and a privilege to work with the BIEDO team over the last 3.5 years, including my most recent contract as Economic Development Officer.

More EXCITING stuff:

I’ll be delivering two free grant writing workshops in the month of May in my role with BIEDO, which have been kindly sponsored by the Burnett Mary Regional Group. Both workshops are suitable for small business operators, community groups, not-for-profit organisations and individuals seeking funding. Here’s everything you need to know:

  • Tuesday 18 May 10am - 12:30pm @ Blackbutt Memorial Hall: Grant Writing & Project Planning Fundamentals, register here.

  • Tuesday 25 May 10am - 12:30pm @ Wondai Regional Art Gallery (Studio): Unpacking Budgets for Grant Writing & Project Planning, register here.

Progress also continues on Stage 2 of my Cultural Resource Mapping project, ‘South Burnett Arts & Cultural Ecosystem Mapping Mentorship’ - there is much to unpack here and I will share a dedicated blog article in regards to this project shortly, with the online map anticipated to be ‘live’ in June. Watch this space!

This project was made possible by the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund, which supports the arts in regional and remote Australia.

The CHERRY on top:

This month I was also pleased to be appointed to the Pool of Peers for a three-year term by the Australia Council for the Arts. I am honoured to have this opportunity to contribute as a Peer Assessor from 2021-24.

Please note that my books are currently closed to new clients, and I look forward to sharing further announcements in regards to this at the end of the financial year. I look forward to sharing more project updates in the near future!

July Updates & Art Trail Exhibition Announced!

July has been another huge month at the desk, and I’m excited to share a number of significant announcements and highlights as we enter the new Financial Year:

  • New project announcement: As announced by Minister Enoch earlier this month, I am one of 67 Queensland artists/arts workers to be awarded funding support through the Individuals Fund. This funding will enable me to undertake a four-month mentorship and Cultural Resource Mapping project for the South Burnett region, to identify and record community and cultural facilities, arts and cultural groups, volunteers and individual artists, festivals, heritage sites and local businesses operating within the cultural or creative industries. More information coming soon!
    This project is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.

  • South Burnett Arts: At the South Burnett Arts Inc. annual general meeting at the end of June, I was thrilled to be elected President for the 2020/21 year. I’d like to thank and acknowledge outgoing President Jane Iszlaub, who has led and guided the organisation since its inception in 2009. Big shoes to fill! We also hosted the fifth South Burnett Arts Hour online event earlier this week - if you missed our chat with special guest Simon Cotton, you can view the recording here. South Burnett Arts Hour has now moved to a monthly format, with the next session to be held via Zoom on Tuesday 18 August, 12-1pm.

  • Masters progress: I completed the ‘Arts Marketing’ unit as part of my Master of Business (Arts & Cultural Management) with Deakin University, finishing with a High Distinction at 97% (!), and commenced ‘Financial Interpretation’ last week, which will keep me buried in accounting figures until exams in mid-October.

  • CQ RASN residency: As previously announced, in June I received funding support from CQ RASN to undertake a month’s residency ‘at home’, and I used this time to create a new body of work encompassing digital collage pieces. Eight of the works created as a result of the residency will be exhibited across local businesses located in Kingaroy’s CBD from next Wednesday 29 July through to Monday 31 August. Read more here and follow the art trail map below!

Kingaroy Art Trail_Map_Jpeg_RGB_Long.jpg

You can read more about what I’ve been up to in this article from South Burnett Online:
Olivia Takes Art to Heart | July 2, 2020

More to come next month
- including the launch of the new Services tab on my website!