THE GRID Series and First Nations Focus (FN Focus) will be accepting expressions of interest from May 16 to July 1 for a free six-month music program to support artists from Perth’s outer suburbs like Glen Forrest, where access to industry networks can be limited.
The outer Perth artist development program will provide one-on-one mentorship from industry experts, a fully produced and mastered track, live performance opportunities and a documentary film to showcase the artist’s creative journey.
GRID Series co-founder Ariel Blum said the program was inspired by his background as a music producer.
He said throughout the years, he noticed an increasing number of people in the music industry had come from an affluent background.
“I observed that the bulk of my client base were coming from either mum-and-dad money or from high social currency – coming from an immense place of privilege as a starting point,” Mr Blum said.
“This level of access to resources is less forthcoming the further away you push out from the inner-city hubs.
“I didn’t feel comfortable with that – it just felt completely inequitable.”
Mr Blum said many music makers had gone unnoticed due to a lack of access.
“When we ran our program in outer Perth in 2019, we were overwhelmed with the number of applications we received.”
FN Focus has partnered with GRID Series for the project, a First Nations-owned record label which was co-founded by Nyoongar Wongi rapper Josh Eggington, also known as Flewnt and Tani Webb.
“It was an incredibly organic process to hand the keys over to Josh, Tani and the FN Focus team to drive this year’s program,” Mr Blum said.
FN Focus director Josh Eggington said something special happens when the mic and map are handed over to First Nations creatives.
“Programs like this show that First Nations-led work isn’t just culturally important, it’s artistically exceptional and industry-leading,” he said.
In the submissions, Mr Blum said they’d be looking for authenticity, work ethic, creativity, artistic bravery and community mindedness.
“We genuinely believe that in this country, the most exciting artists are the ones chipping away under the surface.
The program activities kick off in September and run through to January 2026.