Creative Learning

This program partners schools, creatives, and organisations to embed creativity into students' learning and understanding across curriculum areas.

The Creative Learning program offers funding to support creative learning projects and the development of creative learning practices in schools. The program invites Western Australian schools, creatives, and organisations to partner, connect and learn about creative processes.

Creative learning encourages the use of insight, imagination, intuition, connection, questioning, immersive practice, reflection, process driven practice, design, research, fieldwork and observation.

The 3 program categories, Partnerships, Collaborations and Residencies, support activities utilising arts-based practice to engage students in their learning beyond arts curriculum areas. These activities do not replace the learning in the arts curriculum subject areas.

Projects will support access, participation and overall engagement for students (K to 12) and develop educators’ capacity to use creative pedagogy through professional learning with creative practitioners.

The funded project should be designed as a series of transformative creative learning experiences that is inclusive of multiple curriculum areas and demonstrates deep learning through creativity.

Objectives

The Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport (CITS) recognises that the following five (5) program objectives are interdependent.

Primary objective

Enhance students’ and educators’ creative learning capabilities to increase engagement and support success across Western Australian curriculum areas and beyond.

Supporting objectives

  • Build the pedagogical and partnership capacities of arts organisations, creative practitioners, education leaders and teachers.
  • Foster creativity in schools by increasing access to, and participation in, arts, cultural and/or creative activities.
  • Improve the engagement of disadvantaged students in schools, particularly in low-socioeconomic, such as low Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage (ICSEA) schools and/or in regional areas.
  • Enhance the health and wellbeing (for example mental, social, and/or physical) of students.

Key program priorities

  • low socioeconomic index and geographically disadvantaged schools
  • programs exposing students’ to enriching arts experiences instilling curiosity, creativity, imagination and empathy
  • programs engaging with students’ and their educators in school years K–12
  • programs that demonstrate cross curriculum links beyond the arts
  • programs that incorporate element/s of co-design with schools ensuring student and educator agency
  • programs that incorporate creative learning capacity building for creative practitioners
  • programs that incorporate creative learning capacity building for education leaders and/or teachers
  • programs that provide a legacy for school communities.

As part of the assessment process, CITS may provide information on prioritising funding to schools that need it most upon advice from the Department of Education.


Categories

Partnerships

Grants between $80,000 and $120,000 per annum to deliver 2-year creative learning programs that enhance students’ and educators’ creative learning capabilities in and through the arts.

Eligibility

Open to Western Australian local governments, Western Australian based not-for-profit arts and/or cultural organisations or institutions with a demonstrated history working in creative learning.

This funding cannot support core activity of Arts Organisation Investment Program (AOIP) funded recipients and Major Performing Arts companies.

Please note: this program excludes state operated arts and cultural institutions.

Collaborations

Grants of up to $60,000 for projects and/or programs designed to connect Western Australian arts organisations and creative practitioners with schools.

Eligibility

Open to Western Australian-based arts and culture organisations, teaching artists and creative practitioners, local government authorities, schools, not-for-profit community organisations and/or not-for-profit community services organisations.

Residencies

Grants of up to $20,000 for projects involving artists-in-residence in school environments, with the activity including approximately 25 days of engagement per school, of which a minimum of 15 days must include direct engagement with students.

Eligibility

Open to all Western Australian-based primary and secondary government and non-government schools, including Catholic and independent schools, teaching artists and creative practitioners, groups including unincorporated bodies, individuals informally collaborating, arts and/or cultural organisations, local government authorities, not-for-profit community organisations and/or not-for-profit community service organisations.

More information

If you are applying for any of these grants on behalf of Aboriginal people you must provide evidence of significant Aboriginal involvement in the conception, development of and participation in the activity.

If you are unsure which category your project is best suited to please refer to the Application Support Document or contact a project officer at creativelearning@cits.wa.gov.au or call 61 8 6552 7400.

Funding overview

Term 3 2026 (Residencies)

item.Fields.OpenDate: 7/28/2026 9:00:00 AM

Opening 28 July 2026

Opening soon

Collaborations – Round 1 (Collaborations)

Opening 8 September 2026

Closed, opening later

Term 4 2026 (Residencies)

Opening 20 October 2026

Closed, opening later

Term 1 2027 (Residencies)

Opening 9 February 2027

Closed, opening later

Term 2 2027 (Residencies)

Opening 4 May 2027

Closed, opening later

Who can apply

Amount available

  • Partnerships: Grants of $80,000 to $120,000 per annum for 2 year projects
  • Collaborations: Grants of up to $60,000
  • Residencies: Grants of up to $20,000

Guidelines

You must read the guidelines before submitting an application as they provide essential information.

Partnerships guidelines Collaborations guidelines Residencies guidelines

Funding rounds

Round Open Draft review Close Projects beginning after Notification Category
Collaborations – Round 2 9:00am 14 April 2026 4:00pm 7 May 2026 4:00pm 21 May 2026 1 September 2026 Approximately 12 weeks after round closing date Collaborations
Term 2 2026 9:00am 28 April 2026 4:00pm 28 May 2026 4:00pm 11 June 2026 15 September 2026 Approximately 12 weeks after round closing date Residencies
Term 3 2026 9:00am 28 July 2026 Not applicable 4:00pm 10 September 2026 15 January 2027 Approximately 12 weeks after round closing date Residencies
Collaborations – Round 1 9:00am 8 September 2026 4:00pm 1 October 2026 4:00pm 15 October 2026 15 January 2027 Approximately 12 weeks after round closing date Collaborations
Term 4 2026 9:00am 20 October 2026 4:00pm 19 November 2026 4:00pm 3 December 2026 15 March 2027 Approximately 12 weeks after round closing date Residencies
Term 1 2027 9:00am 9 February 2027 4:00pm 11 March 2027 4:00pm 25 March 2027 15 July 2027 Approximately 12 weeks after round closing date Residencies
Term 2 2027 9:00am 4 May 2027 4:00pm 3 June 2027 4:00pm 17 June 2027 15 September 2027 Approximately 12 weeks after round closing date Residencies

Learn more about Creative Learning

Collaboration project at Curtin Primary School

Residency project at Waddington Primary School
Residency Project at Broome Primary School

Successful applications

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Page reviewed 23 July 2026
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