The Australia Council for the Arts' ArtLab initiative is for experimentation and collaboration between artists from multiple disciplines to explore new artistic practices. It supports substantial, long-term research and development projects.

The emphasis is on innovation, risk taking, artistic integrity and the creation of new ideas. ArtLab brings together artists and collaborators in new creative contexts that fuel cross-fertilisation of ideas and artforms.

The main objectives of the program are to provide significant opportunities for:

• new collaborations between artists that explore creative risk-taking and cross-artform experimentation
• promoting the importance and critical role of interdisciplinary research and development in the arts.

ArtLab proposals should present research and development projects with an artistic process that demands a very high degree of risk-taking from all involved. Artists involved in ArtLab are expected to experiment with radical creative processes and be flexible to outcomes that cannot be predicted in advance.

The project should span a significant period of time - from 1 to 2 years - with a detailed budget and research plan corresponding to this timeframe. The project may involve presentation of work in progress or peer feedback via some other public forum.

Proposals must demonstrate significant cash or in-kind support for the ArtLab to occur.

Examples of previous successful ArtLab applications can be found on the website.

Applications close 7 December, 2010.