The New South Wales Government has announced a new funding initiative open to artists and musicians to coincide with international Make Music Day, marked annually on 21 June. Musicians in NSW now have the opportunity to apply for one of six individual $15,000 grants awarded by the state, to be put towards performances from 20-21 June as part of the celebrations.

EORA College Students at the Grand Concourse at Central Station for Make Music Day 2019. Photo © Murray Harris

As Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Rob Stokes explains, the grants are intended as a lifeline to musicians still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which saw the arts industry brought to a standstill nationally.

“This is a great opportunity for local artists who have done it tough during the COVID-19 pandemic to perform in some of the State’s most popular public spaces,” said Stokes.

What began in France in 1982 as Le Fete de la Musique, a day in which the public are encouraged to engage with local musicians, has spread internationally over the last 40 years, observed in over 1000 cities annually and supported in different capacities by international governments...