A selection of publications recently supported by the Foundation

Indigenous Art Centre Alliance
Belonging / Stories from Far North Queensland, 2021

Developed by the Indigenous Art Centre Alliance in association with the National Museum of Australia. Cover: Netta Loogatha Bilmee 2019 Image courtesy of MIArt - Mornington Island Art. Collection: National Museum of Australia.

National Library of Australia
Illustrating the Antipodes: George French Angas in Australia & New Zealand 1844-1845, 2021

By Philip Jones, published in association with South Australian Museum.

Cover: George French Angas, Port Lincoln from Winter’s Hill (detail), 1845, watercolour, 24.6 x 34.1 cm, Art Gallery of South Australia, 0.621

National Gallery of Australia
Spowers & Syme, 2021

Published on the occasion of the touring exhibition Spowers & Syme by the National Gallery of Australia. Authored by Sarina Noordhuis-Fairfax. Image: Ethel Spowers Tug of War 1933 (detail), National Gallery of Australia purchased 1976.

Art Gallery of South Australia
Dušan and Voitre Marek: Surrealists at sea, 2021

Author: Elle Freak. Published to coincide with the exhibition Dušan and Voitre Marek: Surrealists at sea, 19 June - 12 September 2021. Photo: Saul Steed.

Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection of the University of Virginia
Irriṯitja Kuwarri Tjungu | Past and Present Together: Fifty Years of Papunya Tula Artists, 2021

Edited by Fred Myers and Henry Skerritt. Distributed by University of Virginia Press.

JamFactory
Kunmanara Carroll - Ngaylu nyanganyi ngura winki (I can see all those places), 2021

Co-published with Wakefield Press, texts by Belinda Briggs, Alison Milyika Carroll, and Luke Scholes.

Museums & Galleries of NSW
Just Not Australian, 2020

Co-published with Artspace, Sydney. Cover Image: Richard Lewer, No Matter how hard I try I can’t escape my past (detail), 2019. Acrylic on found map, 195 x 160cm. Courtesy the artist and Sullivan + Strumpf, Sydney and Singapore. Photo by Andrew Curtis.

Mosman Art Gallery
JUMAADI My Love is in an Island Far Away Cintaku Jauh di Pulau, 2020

Mosman Art Gallery and Galeri Nasional Indonesia

Cover image: Jumaadi, Boekan Katjoeng [Not the ‘katjoeng’ (The Savage)], 2019, Acrylic on cotton cloth primed with rice paste, 152 x 330 cm. Photo: Tim Connolly.

National Gallery of Australia
Printed: images by Australian artists 1942— 2020, 2021

First published 2021 by the National Gallery of Australia. Authored by Roger Butler AM with contributions from Yvette Dal Pozzo. Image: Jimmy Pike (Walmajarri people), Desert Designs (printer), Desert Designs (publisher), Thunderstorm, 1987, National Gallery of Australia, purchased from Gallery admission charges 1988, © Pat Lowe.

Geelong Gallery
Frederick McCubbin—Whisperings in wattle boughs, 2021

Publisher: Geelong Gallery. Authors: Foreword by Jason Smith and essay by Lisa Sullivan, Image reproductions: All works by Frederick McCubbin (1855 – 1917) unless otherwise specified. Reproduced courtesy of lenders, as noted in image captions.

Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Exhibitionists: A History of Sydney's Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2021

By Steven Miller, published by Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2021

Cover: Mieko Shiomi cello sonata 1972 performed by Charlotte Moorman on the roof of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 1976. Photograph: Kerry Dundas.

Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Lindy Lee: Moon in a Dew Drop, 2020

Image courtesy the artist and Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney, © the artist.

Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art
Unfinished Business: The Art of Gordon Bennett, 2020

Contributors: Zara Stanhope, Abigail Bernal, Simon Wright, J. Faith (Kapwa) Almiron and Tim Riley Walsh. Cover image: Gordon Bennett, Notes to Basquiat (Jackson Pollock and his Other) (detail) 2001 / Private collection / Photograph: Grant Hancock.

Aims, Guidelines and Application Procedures 2023

Aims

The Gordon Darling Foundation is a perpetual public charitable trust, established in 1991 to "support Australia-wide, activities of importance in the Visual Arts."

It will give priority to exhibitions of Australian, Asian, Pacific or other international art, or those of significant local importance.

It will assist with the costs of research, travel, publication, and the dissemination of knowledge and the enjoyment of all aspects of the visual arts to the widest possible audience.

The Foundation is normally prepared to support well-conceived projects of all kinds in the Visual Arts (other than capital works).

The Foundation encourages applications from all over Australia.

Who can apply?

The Foundation can only provide funding to Public Institutions in Australia. Applicant organisations must have Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status.

Individuals wishing to apply for funding for projects must partner with a Public Institution which then takes on responsibility for the project.

The Trustees will normally award only one application per organisation in any twelve-month period. Darling Travel Grants are considered a separate funding stream and do not preclude an organisation from applying for or receiving a grant.

What we do

Funding may be provided for:

  • catalogues and publications:
    • that are scholarly, preferably with well-researched new information.
    • that provide a permanent record of an exhibition, collection, or work of an artist or movement.
  • marketing or promotional costs, if they aim to reach new audiences, especially young audiences.
  • professional education initiatives, including individual professional development.
  • collection management initiatives, including database development and conservation.
  • research projects leading to the recognition and publication of material of significance.
  • internationally known speakers for symposia.

In relation to catalogue projects, preference will be given to exhibitions which will tour a cluster of venues, sharing costs, staff and experience

Applications for international travel should only be made through the Darling Travel Grant / International program - see Application Procedures below.

What we don't do

The Foundation usually does not fund:

  • capital works, acquisitions, prizes or commissions.
  • general or core operational activities.
  • retrospective funding.
  • recurrent funding of a project or exhibition.

Guidelines for publication funding applications

In assessing applications for publication funding, several key factors will be considered, in addition to well-planned, scholarly content:

  • pricing should be as accessible as possible and suited to anticipated audiences.
  • print runs should be appropriate to reasonable anticipated demand.
  • any plans for distribution beyond the applicant’s venue/s should be noted.
  • circulating a large proportion of a print run as complimentary copies is usually discouraged.

The Foundation usually does not fund:

  • publications to be given away.
  • major publications which largely replicate existing publications.
  • catalogues for commercial exhibitions.
  • "vanity publications", whether of the institution, author or subject of the application.
  • souvenir or promotional publications.

Other funding criteria

The Foundation will consider funding projects that provide new or increased audience access to the visual arts.

Projects will be expected to attract considerable public exposure (applications should include details).

The Foundation may be the sole grant provider, the lead donor, or a participant in a collaborative funding with other private and/or public donors.

The Foundation will not normally support projects that have been almost fully funded from other sources.

By publishing these guidelines, the Foundation aims to encourage a high standard of application.


Application procedures

General Grant Program

  1. Read these guidelines to ensure that your project is a good fit.
  2. Contact the Gordon Darling Foundation to request the current year's application form:
    • Email: - a brief description of your project would be advantageous.
    • Phone: 03 9820 3168
    Administrators: Sherrie Antonio / Alister Shew
  3. Applicants should phone the Foundation to discuss their proposed application prior to submission.
  4. Applications must be made using the current year's form and emailed to by the closing date. The main application form should be submitted in the original Microsoft Word format. Supporting material should be submitted in A4 PDF format.
  5. Receipt of applications will be acknowledged by email.
  6. Applicants will be advised of outcomes by phone, and then by post.

Submissions will be examined by the Trustees of the Foundation three times a year. Assessment meetings in 2023 will be held in late February, June and October.

The application closing dates for 2023 are Friday 6 January, Wednesday 31 May and Friday 29 September.



Darling Travel Grants / International

The aim of these grants is to provide visual arts professionals employed by Australian public institutions with the opportunity to undertake international travel. Travel must be for a specific purpose and deliver benefits for both the individual and the institution. Applicants should have written support from their Director or Board Chair to undertake the travel.

  1. Applications for the 2023 Darling Travel Grants / International open on Monday 14 November 2022.
  2. After this date, please email the Gordon Darling Foundation at to request an application form and guidelines.
  3. Applications must be submitted by email by 5pm on Friday 13 January 2023.
  4. Applicants will be advised of the outcome by Friday 3 March 2023.