SWF receives $460k grant in second Catalyst funding round

The Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF) has received a $461,350 Catalyst grant for its Western Sydney and regional NSW touring program to ‘boost accessibility to reading and literature’ among children of all backgrounds and abilities, as part of a funding round worth close to $12m.

SWF is the only literary organisation to receive funding in this round, which comes less than a week after the first round of Catalyst funding, worth just under $12m, was announced on 2 May. Out of the combined funding, worth more than $23m, literary organisations received a total of $601,550.

The National Library of Australia also received a $660,000 grant to develop a ‘comprehensive program around the [Ian Potter Foundation] Treasures Gallery incorporating research, curatorship and digital resources’.

Fairfax reports that the 45 funding recipients were added to the Catalyst website shortly after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called an election for 2 July.

Arts minister Mitch Fifield made no official announcement of the new funds. A spokesperson for Fifield told Fairfax that Catalyst applications were ‘always open and, as such, the assessment process is ongoing and successful recipients are announced on a rolling basis’. The spokesperson added that a number of the recipients were approved for multi-year funding.

Category: Local news