Arts events planned for January face an uncertain Christmas with NSW reporting record COVID case numbers.

What have our festivals programmed this year?

173 projects have received funding in the Australia Council's latest round of grants, including Adelaide Festival, Australian Digital Concert Hall, Katie Noonan's AVÉ and Noongar artist Gina Williams.

Features in our bumper holiday issue include the arts on offer in 2022, Deborah Cheetham's interview with Chi-chi Nwanoku, Víkingur Ólafsson, Leonardo the musician and Christopher Wheeldon's musical An American in Paris.

With the theme of 'Pole to Pole', the festival celebrates the journeys and travels humans have undertaken for millennia, and what we have learned and discovered along the way.

198 recipients will share in $9.37 million in funding, which the NSW government claims will "deliver record arts and cultural activity across NSW".

Programming the 2022 Sydney Festival felt a bit like playing Kerplunk, given the pandemic, but Olivia Ansell is still in her element as the new Director, and believes the arts can help communities recover after a tough couple of years.

The Australian National Academy of Music’s audacious commissioning project reaches its conclusion, with a festival in May to premiere 67 new works.

In 2022, Perth Festival celebrates the theme of Wardan (Ocean) across music, dance, theatre, visual arts, film and writing events.

Features this month include summer reads for music lovers, the Limelight Artists of the Year for 2021, the transformation Simone Young will bring to the SSO, and Henry Handel Richardson's love of music and her treasure trove of songs.

The 30th Anniversary WOMADelaide will be led by legendary Australian musicians Paul Kelly and Courtney Barnett, and feature Emma Donovan, Eishan Ensemble, Dancenorth, Restless Dance Theatre and Balkan Ethno Orchestra.

The 2022 Adelaide Festival program from Joint Artistic Directors Neil Armfield and Rachel Healy features 71 events including nine world premieres and six Australian premieres.