Funders move beyond the edifice complex

It has always been easier to get money for a building than for performers to play in it but new funding trends are supporting people not just places.
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Philanthropic donations to a company can support artists at an individual level.

Donors are increasingly providing funds that won’t get their name on a foyer but will ensure the costs of a person or a work can be covered.

Frank and Shirley Lowy sponsor the Chief Conductor at the Sydney Symphony Orchestra while Craigmel Investment Pty Ltd puts its funds behind the Female Directors Program at the Malthouse Theatre.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts