Mitch Fifield dumps Brandis’ NPEA, creates Catalyst Fund

In a triumph of sorts for the Australian arts and media sector, Federal Arts Minister Mitch Fifield has dumped his predecessor George Brandis’ National Program for Excellence in the Arts (NPEA).

It has been given the new name of Catalyst (Australian Arts and Cultural Fund) and will change some of its focus.

Brandis announced the NPEA the Federal budget without consultation with the creative community in May. He said it was an alternative funding strategy to help projects that were seemingly ignored by the “closed shop” Australia Council.

The arts sector argued that Brandis’ plan to pull $104.8 million over four years from the Council to fund the NPEA would decimate the small to medium arts sector and open funding to Government patronage. A Senate inquiry initiated by Labor and the Greens drew 2,200 submissions, most asking for the monies to be returned to the Australia Council.

The arts community kept up a relentless six-month campaign, not only to drop the contentious program (which had not been launched yet) but to get rid of Brandis himself from the arts portfolio.

It achieved both. His replacement Fifield took a more conciliatory approach in his consultations with the creative community.

Overnight, he announced he will return $8 million a year to the Australia Council, and that the new Catalyst will only distribute $12 million worth of funding per year instead of the $20 million that Brandis had envisaged.

“The program aims to forge new creative partnerships and stimulate novel ways to build participation by Australians in our cultural life,” Fifield said.

It promises to give priority to innovative projects from small to medium organisations, especially in regional areas. Individual artists still cannot apply to Catalyst but some of the $8 million returned to the Australia Council will be available to them.

There will be three funding streams: partnerships and collaborations, international & cultural diplomacy, and innovation & participation.

“The new Catalyst fund is open to small, medium and large arts organisations at a national, regional and community level,” he emphasised. “It will support projects that demonstrate innovation, increase access and participation in the regions and enhance our international reputation.”

The guidelines for Catalyst are released today by the Arts Minister.

It will open for applications on Friday 27 November 2015. ​