Creative Australia International Travel Fund 2026: Market Access for Visual and Experimental Artists
Creative Australia's International Travel Fund: Market Development closes on Tuesday 10 November 2026 at 3:00pm Australian Eastern Daylight Time. The programme helps visual artists, curators, experimental art practitioners and arts organisations build international professional markets for Australian creative work. This can include eligible digital installations and media-based visual-art practices where the purpose is market access, not the production of a new technology artwork or a standard presentation tour.
Who can apply, and what does the Australian connection mean?
Eligible applicants include Australian citizens and permanent residents based in Australia or overseas, Australian arts organisations and qualifying groups. The official rules also allow certain internationally based organisations, provided they demonstrate a clear benefit to Australian artists. Therefore this is an Australia-focused funding programme but not strictly limited to applicants residing or incorporated within Australia; it should not be counted as a one-country-only open call without qualification.
Relevant artistic practices include visual arts, emerging and experimental arts, community-based arts and multidisciplinary artistic activity. The scheme excludes screen, feature-film, television and documentary practices. Contemporary popular music also has a different export funding route under Music Australia. A digital artist producing an installation for a gallery or biennial may fit the visual or experimental arts category, while a commercial film producer generally should not treat this as film production support.
Only four grant amounts are available
Applicants must select one of exactly four support amounts: A$5,000, A$10,000, A$15,000 or A$20,000. Other amounts are not accepted. The grant may cover travel to art and design fairs, biennials, major art institutions, a significant solo-exhibition market opportunity, or meetings intended to expand the international professional audience and export prospects for an existing body of work. Eligible budget items can include airfares, lodging, travel insurance, access support, visas, related baggage/freight and the costs of attending relevant market events.
It is not a production, exhibition or residency grant
The fund is specifically for market development. It does not cover ordinary touring, exhibition production and presentation costs, creative research, artist residency participation or the development of new artwork. A curator travelling to meetings that generate new international relationships and promotion may have an eligible case; purchasing equipment for a digital installation or paying gallery installation costs does not fit its remit. The guidelines also prohibit travel from overseas to Australia for Australian market events.
Submission and activity period
Applications for this round close at 3pm AEDT on 10 November 2026. The funding notification is expected in the week of 18 January 2027. Supported travel must occur between 25 January and 31 December 2027. Applicants submit a proposal through Creative Australia's online grants portal explaining the market opportunity, planned meetings, dates, art-form relevance, expected impact, budget and, when available, letters of invitation or support. New portal accounts may take two business days to register.
Official guidelines
This article provides a summary. To avoid misunderstandings, please be sure to check the official page for full details. Information verified on 12 October 2026.
Our competitions
Aion Laboratory independently runs the Aion Digital Art Prize, an international competition for eligible digital and media artworks. The competition is unrelated to Creative Australia's travel investment programmes.