The Resilient stream provides organisations based, or delivering services, in regional and remote areas of Queensland and the Northern Territory with multi-year general operating support — the funding Australia’s for-purpose organisations need most. Resilience funding to arts and cultural organisations is delivered in partnership with the Australian Cultural Fund, through a tailored service offering for the philanthropic sector called Amplify.
In November 2024, the TFFF committed to three separate, 9-year, general operating support agreements, awarded to three of Queensland’s most important cultural organisations: Dancenorth, Camerata, and Crossroad Arts. This groundbreaking strategic investment will further support these organisations to undertake genuine, meaningful, long-term planning for themselves and the communities they serve.
new approvals
organisations supported
First Nations organisations
total Resilient funding approved and distributed
The figures in the infographics above refer only to funding approved and distributed in the 2024/25 financial year.
MusicNT is the peak body for a membership of 3,500 musicians and industry professionals from across the Northern Territory. Its vision is a thriving and connected NT music ecosystem, which it progresses through a suite of programs and events.
The TFFF first supported MusicNT from 2012-2017 to sustain the early successes of its Sista Sounds initiative, providing a range of introductory workshops to Aboriginal women and girls in Alice Springs and remote communities across the NT. Now in 2025, MusicNT is celebrating 15 years of delivering women’s music programs. MusicNT celebrated more than one major anniversary in the last year: the 20th Bush Bands program brought together 10 First Nations acts (bands and solo artists) for four days of professional development in Bush Bands Business before taking over the stage at the Telegraph Station for the Bush Bands Bash showcase concert. The National Indigenous Music Awards (affectionately known as the NIMAs) also reached its 20-year milestone, which included a rousing ‘Deadly Medley’ for the event’s closing performance.
Creative solutions and advocacy are also core to MusicNT’s long-term impact. The Remote Music Rangers pilot sees MusicNT employ a workforce of 10 rangers and coordinators across remote communities to ‘care for Music’ just as Land and Sea Rangers ‘care for Country’. The inaugural Regional & Remote Music Summit, presented by MusicNT in August 2024, increased visibility for the sector by assembling 166 music professionals, policymakers, and community leaders from across the country to foster a more inclusive and connected Australian music industry.
“This Summit has amplified the voices of those living and working in regional and remote areas, offering the visiting industry unique insights into the realities of regional music from those who live and breathe it every day.” – Mark Smith, Executive Director, MusicNT
MusicNT’s leadership and impact, particularly working alongside First Nations communities and artists, has seen it become a multi-year Delivery Partner organisation with Creative Australia.
Photos courtesy of MusicNT.
Aboriginal Art Co. is Magandjin/Brisbane’s first Indigenous Art Centre. It connects Indigenous Art Centres and independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists from predominantly regional and remote Australia to the metropolitan Queensland market. Importantly, customers know they are making ethical purchases that support First Nations artists and their communities. Beyond sales, Aboriginal Art Co. offers various professional development and engagement activities, including solo exhibitions and residence programs for emerging artists and makers, creative workshops, and walking tours for the general public.
The Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts (ACPA) is a registered training organisation providing vocational education and accreditation in contemporary performance. ACPA provides early encouragement, connection, and training for young First Nations people interested in the performing arts, many of whom pursue careers across dance, circus, theatre, film & TV, and contemporary music. Alumni have become freelance artists, core ensemble members, teaching artists and facilitators, and arts administrators.
artisan has been Queensland’s home of craft and design for over 50 years. As the leadership body representing makers across the state, it works to support vibrant and thriving communities of craft and design practice while advocating for sector recognition and promoting and supporting contemporary craft and design practices. artisan collaborates with individual artists and organisations across Queensland to ensure regional areas of the state see equal inclusion and representation.
Australian Indigenous Governance Institute (AIGI) is an independent, Indigenous-led centre working towards a future in which Indigenous peoples, communities and nations can pursue and exercise their right to self-determination and economic development through strong self-governance. AIGI connects Indigenous Australians to world-class governance practice, resources and professional development to meet their self-determined governance needs.
BlakDance is the national industry organisation for First Nations contemporary dancers and choreographers, undertaking advocacy and facilitating tailored professional opportunities. It is working to build a sustainable First Nations dance sector for all. BlakDance provides producing capability for independent choreographers and small companies, from creative development through to the production of new work. Through its touring services and market development, BlakDance is building the quality, reputation, and audiences for contemporary dance to be financially viable for its membership.
Developed, governed, and led by First Nations men, Brother to Another guides and empowers First Nations young people, families, and communities to heal and realise their full potential. Brother to Another is focused on keeping young people connected to culture and out of the justice system. It addresses not only the practical needs but also the emotional, mental, and social well-being of young men between eight and twenty-four years old, by providing mentoring, counselling, job training, and educational re-engagement opportunities.
Brown’s Mart is the home of Territory performing arts. Based in Darwin on Larrakia Country, Brown’s Mart is both a venue for hire and a producing organisation, supporting and connecting artists living and working in the Northern Territory with local and national opportunities. Year-round, its performance spaces hold events from play readings and theatre productions to live music, much-loved annual festivals, and community events.
Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (CIAF) is Queensland’s premier Indigenous art fair, existing to provide cultural and economic platforms for Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and Art Centres. CIAF’s centrepiece is a three-day art fair held annually in Cairns, which also includes traditional and contemporary live performance: music, song and dance; theatre and fashion; workshops, and informative talks. CIAF allocates its TFFF funding towards supporting fashion pathways and the production of the Fashion Performance, which is the centrepiece of each year’s fair.
Camerata’s primary aim is to empower artists, inspire audiences, and enrich communities through music. It provides career and performance opportunities for string players who wish to build professional, international careers from Queensland. Camerata undertakes a major concert season annually in both Brisbane and Toowoomba, and performs a variety of musical styles, often featuring a contemporary soloist or vocalist. The ensemble commits to one regional tour each year, delivering full-scale concerts, education workshops and pop-up performances for communities young and old.
Cape York Partnership is working to empower Indigenous Cape York families and communities to strive for lives of value, freedom, and prosperity via an ecosystem of interrelated organisations and initiatives. The School to Jobs (S2J) initiative is part of that ecosystem and is led by Cape York Employment. S2J aims to address the major barriers for youth transitioning to employment by promoting an aspirational culture that encourages students to strive for bright futures and become the drivers of change in their local communities. The initiative supported 200 young people in FY25 ensuring students are healthy, financially literate and maintain their cultural identity and connection to family.
Working in the Northern Territory with children, families, and communities that face the greatest exclusion and live with injustice and disadvantage every day, Children’s Ground has a vision to create a new future filled with promise, hope, and empowerment. Children’s Ground’s 25-year strategy envisages all First Nations children and families realising their aspirations for a life of opportunity, strong cultural identity, and personal wellbeing. Children’s Ground recognise the expertise of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems and integrate cultural knowledge with international leading educational practice to enable Indigenous children to walk in two worlds.
In 2022, Brisbane’s Circa Contemporary Circus launched a new regional offshoot: Circa Cairns. Circa Cairns is a proudly First Nations-led contemporary circus ensemble working on Gimuy Walubura Yidinji and Yirrganydji country. This new ensemble is focused on developing and sharing culturally engaged productions and community programs locally in Cairns, to be toured nationally and internationally, while building career pathways for First Nations circus artists. Circa Cairns values thrilling, challenging, and connected experiences, and is dedicated to creating new possibilities for circus from the nexus of place and culture.
Crossroad Arts is an inclusive arts organisation in Mackay with the vision of ‘Arts for All.’ Through facilitating high-quality inclusive arts experiences, Crossroad Arts co-creates new narratives with artists with disability that aim to change perceptions and shape the sector of the future. It runs year-round community workshops enabling social and cultural connection, and offers professional development programs for emerging and established artists to refine and expand their skills, as well as major production opportunities.
Recognised as one of Australia’s leading performing arts companies, Dancenorth balances a dynamic regional presence in Townsville with a commitment to creating compelling contemporary dance that tours the globe. Alongside its professional ensemble and touring productions sits an equally vital pillar of focus, the Community Experience Program. Driven by a dedicated team, Dancenorth works with diverse and minority communities across Queensland using dance to support, enhance, inspire, and heal.
The Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair (DAAF) provides a unique opportunity for arts industry buyers, and art and design lovers, to purchase art directly from Indigenous owned and incorporated Art Centres. In 2024 DAAF brought together a record 80 Indigenous Arts Centres across in-person and online events, represented more than 1,800 emerging and established artists, and generated $4.4M in sales — 100% of which go directly back to Art Centres and their artists.
Darwin Festival is a major international festival with a vibrant and eclectic arts and cultural program. Created to support community recovery from Cyclone Tracy, Darwin Festival now connects tens of thousands of locals and visitors annually, making it the largest in-person cultural event in the Northern Territory. The Festival reflects Darwin’s position at the Top End of Australia, its unique Indigenous and multicultural population and its close proximity to Asia, while at the same time showcasing some of Australia’s finest live performance artists.
Deadly Inspiring Youth Doing Good (DIYDG) is a youth led, First Nations governed organisation aiming to inspire, equip and empower the next generation of change makers. Founded in 2016 and based in Cairns, DIYDG provides a platform for young people to co-design and lead their own projects and values family, leadership, wellbeing, and growth. DIYDG is committed to collaboration and working in partnership to ensure a brighter future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people.
Flipside Circus is Queensland’s largest youth arts organisation, with a reputation for excellence in training and performance as well as fostering Brisbane’s renowned circus sector. Flipside's vision is to empower communities through circus, guided by values of celebration, experimentation, creativity, wellbeing, and agility. Flipside delivers training, community, and social circus programs across Queensland, including extensive remote and regional residency and touring programs.
Gunawuna Jungai (GJ) is a newly formed community-controlled organisation established as the cultural authority representing Indigenous family groups in Doomadgee. Aiming to strengthen families, communities, culture, and country, GJ is committed to reshaping service delivery models to address the compounding problems of entrenched disadvantage. GJ’s community-led principles refer to a model of development that privileges community leadership to determine the needs, aspirations, priorities, and solutions of the Gangalidda and Waanyi people.
Based at the Araluen Art Centre in Mparntwe/Alice Springs, GUTS Dance is the only contemporary dance organisation within a 1,500km radial reach. Even before GUTS was founded, its co-Artistic Directors instigated Alice Can Dance, engaging Central Australian school students in dance education and celebratory performance since 2012. GUTS believes that healthy communities dance together, and that artistic excellence and community engagement go hand in hand. Strong partnerships see GUTS represent the creativity and vitality of their desert home in other regions and cities, as well as encouraging more artists and arts workers nationally to engage with Central Australia.
Situated in the Lockyer Valley, Laidley Community Centre (LCC) is a grassroots, community-run organisation with the motto ‘everyone welcome.’ LCC’s vision is for all residents in Laidley and the surrounding areas to have access to basic necessities in order to experience quality life opportunities in a thriving and supportive community. Its Early Connections Program is well regarded in the region and aims to support families to give their children the best start in life possible.
Starting in Palm Island as the Cathy Freeman Foundation in 2007, Murrup is now an Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation that partners with four remote communities in Queensland and the NT. Murrup strives to create a future in which young First Nations people in remote areas are free to create the future of their dreams and applies a “life-course” approach. Utilising a place-based approach, Murrup co-designs its program with local communities to support children and young people, and their families, through their early years, school journey and beyond. Murrup is committed to a local employment model aligned with Priority Reform Two of the National Closing the Gap Agreement.
MusicNT is the peak body for contemporary music in the Northern Territory. With offices in Darwin and Alice Springs, it supports a membership of 3,500 individual musicians and bands annually. MusicNT delivers a suite of development programs and platform opportunities for NT musicians, as well as growing other vital skill sets for a strong industry. Its flagship event is the National Indigenous Music Awards, which celebrated 20 years in 2024. MusicNT pioneered the All Good Project creating safer venues and festivals, and its advocacy efforts have increased gender equality in the music industry.
Opera Queensland is the state opera company for Queensland, bringing the joy of opera to all Queenslanders. Soon celebrating its 45th anniversary, Opera Queensland has been central to the evolution of the art form in Queensland and nurtured the careers of some of the country’s most renowned artists. Through its Learning, Regional and Community department, the organisation delivers a coordinated program of education and community workshops, schools shows, and touring productions, all built on reciprocal relationships and local investment. The centre piece of Opera Queensland’s annual programming is the Festival of Outback Opera, created and presented in collaboration with communities in Winton and Longreach.
Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is Queensland’s flagship symphony orchestra, and the second oldest professional symphony in the country. QSO’s relationship with regional Queensland commenced only two months after its formation and continues to this day. The 2024-2028 Regional Touring Strategy charts the QSO’s path back to the regions after pandemic interruption and includes a roster of full symphony concerts and in-schools education offerings. QSO’s vision is to be a great orchestra on and off the stage that entertains, inspires, and educates Queensland.
Storyfest grew its reputation as the leading children’s literary festival for the Gold Coast and surrounds, through its origins with Somerset College. With the TFFF’s support, Storyfest has expanded to deliver three regional festivals annually in partnership with schools and communities. After two outstanding years in Longreach piloting Storyfest Out West, the festival is now also delivered in St George and Emerald, ensuring children, youth, families, and teachers across Queensland can experience Storyfest in their own backyards.
Topology is an award-winning arts organisation, encompassing a professional quintet of musicians, a ‘Creative Academy’ arts education program, and its ‘Creative Communities’ community and cultural development service. Topology identifies its role as fostering cultural connections, creating pathways to greater community resilience and agency. Creative Communities reaches schools, towns, festivals, and stations across Queensland, from Normanton to Mount Isa to Texas, developing and celebrating regional artistic expression.
Umbrella Studio is an independent contemporary and experimental arts organisation in Gurambilbarra (Townsville). Founded almost 40 years ago as an artist collective, Umbrella Studio works to express and amplify distinctive and authentic North Queensland voices, while connecting regional perspectives across Australia and the world. It achieves this through onsite and touring exhibitions, new commissions and residencies for the region’s artists makers, professional development programs, creative studio access, and a biennial place-making festival, Pop Up North Queensland (PUNQ).
Wilya Janta, meaning ‘standing strong’, is a housing collaboration in Tennant Creek. The organisation is creating houses that reflect cultural practices, improve health outcomes, and are climate appropriate, cost effective, and scalable. Wilya Janta provides employment opportunities and leadership development within the local community and has received invitations to work with other remote communities in the future. The organisation is playing a critical role in shaping housing policy at a territory and federal level.
Women of the World (WOW) is an international movement that advocates for gender equality through storytelling, art, performance, and community cultural gatherings. WOW Australia is run by the organisation Of One Mind, which creates and invests in cultural activities that deliver social outcomes. Through festivals and events, WOW Australia advocates for and brings together people from all walks of life to work together in their own communities to effect change.
Since 2005, Yalari has been providing boarding school secondary education scholarships for Indigenous children from regional and remote communities across Australia, supporting students to maintain cultural and family connection in their journey towards cultural competency. Yalari’s Pathways Program begins in Year 10 and is designed to support Alumni in leadership, professional and personal development, and to empower civic contribution upon graduation.
Yiliyapinya was founded in response to the observation that the adverse impact of toxic stress and adversity on brain development was contributing to declining brain health among Indigenous communities. Yiliyapinya delivers culturally responsive neuroplasticity programs to break the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage, prevent youth crime, and help First Nations people live healthy, meaningful lives.
Youth Insearch is Australia’s leading peer-led youth trauma recovery organisation, dedicated to supporting at-risk youth aged 12-25. Youth Insearch provide wrap-around, trauma informed support, advocacy, leadership training, and employment opportunities for young people through multidisciplinary teams embedded within communities.
Operating since 1990 as a response to youth homelessness, Youth Link provides a ‘One Stop Shop’ of services that support at-risk young people from 12-24 years of age. These services include the Youth Cre8 Kuranda Initiative (Cre8). Established in 2013, Cre8 is a place-based program on the Atherton Tablelands delivering a range of activities to empower young people towards a positive future.
1Co-administered through the Australian Cultural Fund’s Amplify Program. Applications approved in previous financial years are not included in total FY25 Resilience funding approved and distributed.
