Artists around the country are reeling from the news that the Federal Government has removed them from the political agenda. As of 1 February 2020 the arts will no longer be represented as a department name as the former Department of Communications and the Arts has been rolled into a newly formed Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications.

The applications the companies submitted this week are crucial because their success – or otherwise – will lock in the small-to-medium funding landscape well into the next decade. 2020 marks the end of four years of federal funding for 124 companies. The next round, which starts in 2021, will dispense more than $110m until 2024.