BY CUTCOMMON
If you’re a composer looking for funding to help bring your project to life, the APRA AMCOS Art Music Fund should be high on your radar. Now in its ninth round, it’s one of the core commissioning opportunities available for new music, and has supplied tens of thousands of dollars to tens of creative recipients since its inception.
In 2024, Australian and New Zealand art music composers can apply by 13 February for the opportunity to be one of 11 artists who will receive $7,500 towards their dream project. It’s competitive — but it’s possible, and in this interview we chat with one of the composers who worked hard to make this dream come true.
Victorian composer and erhu player Jasmin Wing-Yin Leung was named an Art Music Fund recipient in 2023 — and it empowered her to stay true to her direction for a project she reckons “wouldn’t have fit into other funding opportunities”. Without compromising her vision, Jasmin — whose works have been presented across multiple continents — took a strategic approach to prepare for the application, valuing the relationships she’d made with other industry professionals to help her along the way.
Jasmin’s project “speculates a Chinese-Australian sonic history, using experimental archival sound technologies and historical tunings” — and here, she tells us how she made it happen.
Hi Jasmin, it’s great to chat with you! Tell us, why did you decide to give the Art Music Fund a go?
I had a project with partial funding for the production side, and was at a stand still as it needed more support for the artistic work. It’s the kind of project that wouldn’t have fit into other funding opportunities — at least, not without taking it into a whole different direction. And I thought I had a good chance — I had developed relationships with different institutions, organisations and artists who were able to advocate for the work.
So how did you begin preparing for the application? What were your first steps in making that process happen, and carving out some time to give it your best shot?
I have to admit, I often struggle to make time for my ‘best shot’ — although finding that other artists struggle with this too has been helpful in coming to peace with that. Administration is a skill I’m finding increasingly valuable!
As for the ‘first steps’ of the process, I believe that the real work happened well before reading the application overview. I spent time developing relationships with people who believed in my ideas and
abilities, and the concepts for the project are ones I’ve been engaging with for a while. It meant I wasn’t starting from scratch once the application came — I already had a clear idea of what I wanted to do, why I thought it was important, and who I would do it with.
It was helpful to talk about my project with people who weren’t musicians; it forced me to develop a better language to articulate my ideas.
Applying for funding can be a deeply personal and at times emotional process for many arts workers. How did you stay at the top of your game, maintaining your confidence to present yourself as a composer worthy of the grant?
I try to not think too much about myself, and being a composer, and being worthy — it’s too fraught! Instead, I try to be objective, focusing on the process simply as a means to bring forward the music I believe has a place in the world.
And after your efforts, you were awarded the funding! How did you make the most of it?
Most of the music I make is DIY and unfunded, so with this funding I’m being very careful and strategic, which also means it’s a game of patience.
In practical terms, having funding meant I could leverage in-kind support, and allocate more time for myself and the artistic collaborators and supporters — Sally Ann McIntyre, Mindy Meng Wang, and Speak Percussion — throughout the project, such as being able to afford a work-in-progress showing as part of the development process.
How did being recognised as an Art Music Fund-awarded composer benefit the project?
The project isn’t finished yet — watch this space! — but having this funding has given it a sense of certainty, stability, and I suppose industry approval, which can be very useful.
If you had to go through the whole process again, what would you do differently?
Start earlier!
As a composer, what projects would you like to see awarded in future Art Music Fund rounds?
There’s a lot of fascinating music happening in this country, and I would find it exciting to see projects from people who might not have huge institutional support, but have really unique and thoughtful approaches to composing music.
It’s rare to have funding that is applicable to ‘composing’, so it’s always interesting to hear music that really values that kind of musical process.
Applications are now open for the APRA AMCOS Art Music Fund. To apply for one of 11 grants of $7,500 each, visit the website before submissions close at 5pm 13 Febuary 2024 (AEDT).
Images supplied. Jasmin headshot by Jeremy Hegge; instrumental photo by Olivia Davies.
