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Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival has opened applications for two programs aimed at supporting LGBTQIA+ arts and culture across Australia, while running a matched donation campaign through the end of the financial year.
The festival is accepting expressions of interest for the Victoria’s Pride Regional Activation Program, which offers funding of up to $10,000 for LGBTQIA+ community projects in regional and rural Victoria. It has also opened entries for the Homophonic! Pride Prize 2027, a national composition prize for LGBTQIA+ composers carrying a $2,500 cash prize and a guaranteed festival performance.
Regional Activation Program Accepting Expressions Of Interest
The Victoria’s Pride Regional Activation Program (RAP) provides funding of up to $10,000 (excluding GST) to support locally led arts, cultural and community initiatives in regional and rural parts of the state.
Delivered by Midsumma as part of Victoria’s Pride, the program is designed to help bring more LGBTQIA+ events and cultural programming to communities outside metropolitan Melbourne.
Applications open on 15 June 2026 and close on 3 August 2026. Outcomes will be advised by 31 August 2026, with funded projects expected to be delivered between 1 November 2026 and 7 February 2027.
An online information session for prospective applicants is scheduled for Monday 29 June 2026 from 6:00pm to 7:00pm AEST.
Homophonic! Pride Prize Returns For 2027
The Homophonic! Pride Prize 2027 is open to LGBTQIA+ composers from across Australia. The prize is intended to recognise creative achievement in composition within the queer community.
The winning composer will receive $2,500 in prize money, a guaranteed performance at Homophonic! during Midsumma Festival 2027 and professional documentation of the performance.
The theme for the 2027 edition is “JOY.”
This year’s featured performer is Niki Johnson, a composer-performer and percussionist whose experimental practice involves transforming materials including glass, wood, concrete, water and mycelium into musical instruments.
Matched Donation Mondays Running Through June
Alongside the two program openings, Midsumma is running an end-of-financial-year fundraising campaign with a matched donation component.
Every Monday in June, donations to Midsumma are being matched dollar-for-dollar by Midsumma Patrons David Marantelli and Carol Nichols, up to $500 each Monday. Three matched Mondays remain in the month.
Midsumma is a not-for-profit organisation. It says around 70 per cent of its annual funding comes from community support, with more than 5,000 artists, producers, culture makers and community members relying on that support each year.
Donors can direct their contributions to one of two areas. The first supports LGBTQIA+ artists in creating new work year-round. The second goes toward keeping Midsumma Carnival free and open to the public.
Donations over $2 are tax-deductible, and contributions made before 30 June can be claimed in the 2025-26 tax return.
Midsumma Festival is based at Level 6, 168 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.
