Aviva Endean will join with ensemble The Cloud Maker in November, while composer Wally Gunn and librettist Maria Zajkowski will collaborate at UKARIA in December.

The Audience Outlook Monitor predicts 78% will attend as often as they did pre-COVID-19, but only 22% will return as soon as restrictions are lifted. Smaller venues are most likely to attract audiences in the near future.

The Australia Council for the Arts has announced $5.2 million in project grants to artists, groups and small to medium arts organisations, as well as a further $1.8 million in grants through its Resilience Fund.

A number of artists are set to receive valuable grants and scholarships during this time of industry difficulty.

While new funding has been allocated for some, all companies will face cuts of 30 percent over the next 12 months.

The new fund will operate across three streams: Survive, Adapt, Create. The suspended Arts and Disability Mentorships have been reopened.

The Australia Council has suspended investment programs to free up funds to respond to the “catastrophic” impact of the health crisis on the Australian arts community.

The number of Australians engaging with the arts while exploring their own country is growing, a study by the Australia Council for the Arts has found.

Health-related projects come out on top, with a number of classical music individuals and organisations like the Four Winds Festival and Claire Edwardes also successful.

New songs by Brenda Gifford, a performance piece inspired by the life of experimental pianist Margaret Leng Tan and six new Australian operas are among the projects funded.

Composers Thomas Meadowcroft, Hilary Kleinig and Andrew Schultz are the recipients of this year’s UKARIA residencies.

Monash Art Ensemble, Aura Go, the Orava Quartet and Joseph Tawadros are among the successful recipients.