📋 Tender Overview
The new First Nations Fashion and Textiles Accelerator Fund will support First Nations artists working with clothing and textiles design to expand production and connect to new markets. The Fund is a key initiative of the First Nations Fashion and Textiles Plan 2024-2026 recently launched by the Miles Government. The Plan supports ethical and sustainable growth of the First Nations-led fashion and textiles industry in Queensland in readiness for bigger markets including opportunities provided by the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Minister for the Arts Leeanne Enoch today announced the opening of the First Nations Fashion and Textiles Accelerator Fund, part of the Queensland Governments First Nations Fashion and Textiles Plan 2024-2026 launched in July. The new fund will support First Nations artists in Queensland who are working with fashion and textiles industry to share their stories, celebrate their cultural identity and maximise the economic potential of their art.
Established First Nations fashion and textile artists and businesses that produce wearable art, and ready to wear fashion collections, and fabrics showcasing local artists work are encouraged to apply to the Fund to increase production, enter new collaborations and expand into national and international markets.
The Plan is backed by Queensland Government investment of 800,000 over two years, with initiatives supported through the First Nations Fashion and Textiles Accelerator Fund working to grow creative practice and capability, broaden industry markets and enable scalable First Nations-led industry development.
Grants of up to 30,000 are available for projects that contribute to business growth, such as skills development, residency programs or small-scale equipment purchases. For projects that demonstrate significant commercial outcomes, such as investment in infrastructure or growth of product lines, grants of up to 60,000 are available. The Fund is a key action of the First Nations Fashion and Textiles Plan 2024-2026, to support First Nations arts and cultural practitioners and communities to realise the ambition for sustainable growth of a First Nations-led fashion and textile industry in Queensland.
A First Nations Art and Design Procurement Framework and Guidelines will prioritise and protect Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual property (ICIP) in readiness for bigger markets, ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The First Nations Fashion and Textiles Accelerator Fund is now open. Applications close at 2pm, November 18, 2024.
