Arts House is a creative home nourishing artists’ agency and ambition. We develop and present new work in all forms.
Expressions of Interest (EOI) submissions for CultureLAB residencies between July 2024 and June 2025 are open until Tuesday 23 January 2024.
CultureLAB is our creative development program that supports independent artists, collectives, and small-medium organisations to create new work. CultureLAB is one of the pathways through which Arts House commissions work for our presentation seasons.
We work with mid-career and/or established artists from across a range of disciplines – music, theatre, performance, dance, visual art, digital art, experimental practice, relational projects, and anything between or beyond these mediums. Projects can be at any stage of development, and we can support in-person, hybrid, and digital proposals.
Read about the artists and projects we have worked with across CultureLAB in 2019/2020 , 2022/2023 and the current cohort for 2023/2024.
To learn more about what drives our programming and curatorial decisions, read about our commitments to inclusion via our Disability Inclusion Action Plan 2023-2028 and Equity—Builder.
Selected projects receive fees, studio time, technical equipment and expertise to support the development of new work.
Key Dates
- EOIs open: Thursday 16 November 2023, 9am
- Online information session: Thursday 30 November 2023, 5.30pm
- Venue tour and morning tea: Thursday 7 December 2023, 11am
- EOI’s close: Tuesday 23 January 2024, 3pm
- Notifications: Friday 22 March 2024
All dates and times are AEDT.
Information sessions and EOI support
Arts House EOI Info Session – on Zoom
Thursday 30 November, 5.30pm – 6.30pm AEDT
Morning Tea and Venue Tour – in person at Arts House
Thursday 7 December, 11am – 1pm AEDT
Click here for more information and to register.
EOI Support with Arts Access Victoria
Arts Access Victoria is available to provide EOI support to Deaf and Disabled artists from 16 – 23 January 2024. Contact Phil Noack PNoack@artsaccess.com.au or phone 03 8640 6027 (voice only) to arrange a time to meet and discuss your EOI.
Key Downloads
- Frequently Asked Questions in PDF | in Word
- Easy English Program Guide
- Download budget template in Excel
- Creative Venue Information in PDF | in Word
- Audio about CultureLAB
Selected projects receive:
- Up to $20,000 fee contribution
- Dedicated studio time between 2 and 4 weeks duration
- Access to Arts House technical equipment, and expertise support from Arts House producers and production staff
Arts House has a variety of spaces, suitable for a variety of purposes: research, rehearsal, technical experimentation and more. CultureLABs have a process-led, and flexible format.
We want you to apply in the format that is easiest for you. You can submit these formats through the SmartyGrants EOI system:
- Written
- Video
- Auslan (we can arrange interpretation of your video if needed)
- Audio
Please note that a proposed budget must be included to assess project viability. The budget template will be available in Excel.
Click here to apply through SmartyGrants.
Please contact us prior to the closing date to submit your EOI outside of the SmartyGrants system or via a recorded Zoom for access reasons.
Arts House makes decisions in consultation with a panel of local, national and international artistic peers:
- Kate ten Buuren
- Kath Duncan
- Harrison Hall
- Bernadette Fam
- Indrajan Banerjee
Selection criteria:
Artistic concept
- A well-thought through and exciting idea in subject matter, form and approach
Embrace risk-taking and experimentation
- New and experimental approaches within the artists’ own practice, the artform, and/or a new approach to making work
- Arts House’s support will make a difference to the trajectory of the project, and the artists’ career(s)
Alignment to Arts House Vision
- The project reflects Arts House’s vision
- The support material demonstrates the artist or group’s history of delivering creative projects
Read about the artists and projects supported in the 2023/2024 call out.
If you have read our documents and attended the Info Session but still have questions, please contact:
Olivia Anderson
Program Manager
olivia.anderson@melbourne.vic.gov.au
0447 570 178 (text only) 03 9322 3720 (voice only) during business hours Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm AEST.
Please note Arts House will be closed from Friday 22 December until 8 January 2024.
National Relay Service (NRS)
TTY users: phone 13 36 77 – then ask for – 03 9322 3720
Speak and Listen users: phone 1300 555 727 – then ask for – 03 9322 3720
Internet relay users: connect to the NRS (www.internet-relay.nrscall.gov.au) – then type in – 03 9322 3720
Image credit: MOHINI by Raina Peterson, presented as part of FRAME: A Biennial of Dance 2023. Photo by Gregory Lorenzutti
Image description: In the foreground, a performer with a shaved head beckons to the audience, seated beyond the frame of the shot. In the background, a musician with long black hair stands in the shadows at a guitar.
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