Funding for regional digitisation projects
Portable photographic studio set-up at Orange Regional Museum (ORM) shooting an object from Canowindra Historical Society & Museum collection. Courtesy Annie Stevens and ORM for M&G NSW 2018.
The NSW Government is calling for applications from Local Councils across regional NSW for cultural collections digitisation projects, with $1.7 million in funding available under the NSW Government’s Regional Cultural Fund.
The Regional Cultural Fund is a vital component of the NSW Government’s $2 billion Regional Growth Fund.
This latest round of funding is for Local Councils to apply to become a digitisation hub and partner with smaller cultural collections organisations to capture their priceless collections and showcase them to a broader audience.
While earlier rounds have focused on supporting built infrastructure, a fundamental component of the Regional Cultural Fund was to increase digitisation capabilities and access to collections across regional NSW.
Eleven individual pilot projects have so far been funded and are near completion. The NSW Government has also developed digitisation standards for regional collecting institutions and a prototype website that shows the richness and diversity of our regional collections.
Museums and Galleries of NSW will receive funding to launch the Collections & Stories website – which will showcase the highlights of the regional collections in one place, celebrating our stories and revealing the diversity and uniqueness of our regional collections.
The Regional Cultural Fund was established in 2017 by the NSW Government to enable bold, exciting and diverse arts and cultural activities.
Applications for digitisation projects will be open from 12pm (midday), Monday 14 December 2020 and will close at 12pm (midday), Friday 29 January 2021.
Visit the RCF Digitisation page for more information, guidelines and to apply.
Image: Portable photographic studio set-up at Orange Regional Museum (ORM) shooting an object from Canowindra Historical Society & Museum collection. Courtesy Annie Stevens and ORM for M&G NSW 2018.
Published: 11 December 2020