On Tuesday evening, Arts Impact WA awarded Reclaim the Void and CinefestOz with the inaugural Arts Impact WA High Impact Grants for 2022. The grants are worth $100,000 each and will support the winners with their regionally based proposals.

CinefestOZ - Broome Festival will be WA’s first Indigenous-focused film festival, co-delivered by WA's only Indigenous-owned film company, Goolarri Media Enterprises. It will be a flamboyant 4-day celebration of national significance, curated for the unique social landscape of Broome. Film screenings, community events, and school and industry programs will ensure something for everyone.

During the event, students will be immersed in film through curriculum-linked activities that grow industry-ready talent on both sides of the camera. The event will employ two local Indigenous film officers, engage 12 media professionals and attract 3,000+ attendees.

Set to launch in November 2022, CinefestOZ Broome will celebrate the importance of on-screen storytelling in connecting communities and fostering reconciliation in the Kimberley and beyond.

Reclaim the Void is a bold cross-cultural project that will cover a mining pit in northern Goldfields with an enormous textile artwork depicting the story of country. Based on Ngalia elders expressing grief over the ‘gaping mining holes’ on their country, the artwork will be created by stitching together thousands of rag-rugs made from discarded fabric by people from all walks of life.

This project, created by Vivienne Robertson in collaboration with Ngalia Heritage Research Council, is already deeply resonating across Australia and the world, as people, schools and organisations respond to the call for rugs. Forty artists, cultural leaders and an ever-expanding group of collaborators will co-create this shared act of healing and reconciliation.

In late 2023, the WA Museum will exhibit cultural and artistic outcomes, including stunning aerial images of the installation.

Four addional finalists including Sensorium Theatre Inc, Annette Carmichael, Verity Leach and Simone Flavelle walked away with $10,000 to kick start their projects.

The Fogarty Foundation is a founding member of Arts Impact WA, supporting excellence in the arts in Western Australia.

“We can build a more resilient and exciting WA through supporting a wide range of small and emerging arts organisations. Now is the time to be supporting creators of the arts and we look forward to doing so through Arts Impact WA.”

Annie Fogarty AM

Find out more about Arts Impact WA and how they are coming together to ignite the arts here.