Three prestigious public events will be expanded to give them a greater presence on a national and international stage, following an injection of State Government funding.
Tourism Minister Sheila McHale today announced that the Perth Fashion Festival, Sculpture by the Sea Cottesloe and the Fremantle Street Arts Festival would share in the first round of funding from Eventscorp’s new $1.5million Arts and Cultural Event (ACE) Scheme.
“This funding will allow these events to grow and be elevated to a higher level, gaining a more significant profile on our events calendar and contributing to the vibrancy of Western Australia,” Ms McHale said.
“The benefits of supporting these events are wide-reaching and provide great opportunities for the tourism and arts industries to work alongside each other.”
The Minister said the Perth Fashion Festival would increase its national and international profile through expanded events, greatly increased marketing and attraction of key international identities as well as national and international fashion media.
The popular Sculpture by the Sea, which had exhibited on Cottesloe Beach for the past four years, would be extended to three weeks and increase in size.
“This provides more opportunities for the community to attend and high calibre artists to exhibit,” Ms McHale said.
“The profile of the event will grow through increased cross promotion with the original Bondi showcase,”
The three-day annual outdoor Fremantle Street Arts Festival will use its funding to secure several national and international artists, to complement the festival’s quality home-grown artists.
An evaluation panel comprised representatives from the Events Industry Association, Department of Culture and the Arts, Tourism Western Australia and Eventscorp.
Applications for the 2009-10 round of the ACE Scheme will open later this year.
For more information, visit http://www.eventscorp.com.au
Minister's office - 9213 6900 
