The Queensland Arts Minister Leenne Enoch has announced $8 million of funding relief for the Queensland arts sector, to help small to medium arts organisations survive the challenges ahead as a result of the coronavirus, COVID-19.

This support from the Palaszczuk Government will include funding extensions, changes to funding application timeframes, and rent relief for tenants based in Queensland Government Arts infrastructure.

Queensland Arts Minister Leeanne Enoch. Photograph © Benny Doyle

Minister Enoch said these measure were a recognition of the wide-reaching impacts of the current restrictions on mass gatherings, and the flow-on effect that this will have on the ability of arts sector employees to work.

“To provide certainty for the sector, companies that are current recipients of the 2017-2020 Organisations Fund, will be guaranteed a further twelve months’ funding at current levels to December 2021. And in addition, Arts Queensland is also suspending applications for the next four-year funding round, in order to take pressure off organisations to do long-term planning,” said Enoch.

“Arts Queensland will also waive rental payments for tenants based in Queensland Government Arts facilities through to December 2020.”

Enoch said that the measures are designed to “help many small-to-medium arts organisations...