One week left to submit applications for 25/26 Annual Grants Program funding

Council is reminding community organisations, individuals and local businesses that have a project, event, or great idea that there is still time to submit an application for Annual Grants Program funding.

Each financial year, Council makes funds available under the program to support projects and programs that benefit our local community.

Applications for the 2025/26 Annual Grants Program are open for 1 more week only with a total of $232,000 available across 10 categories including: Arts, Culture & Creative Industries, Community Programs & Projects, Environment, Events, Local Heritage, Neighbourhood & Rural Villages, Recreational & Community Facilities, Rural Halls, Small Business, and Youth Programs & Projects.

Council’s Cultural Officer Lauren Reynolds points to the creative transformation of laneways near Galing Place as an example of what can be achieved by successful applicants.

Local resident Judy Lewis wanted to help create a space for the community to enjoy, and was granted funding through Council’s 2024/25 Annual Grants program in the Arts, Culture and Creative Industries category for the creation of a public art mural.

Ms Reynolds says the laneway is now a vibrant space that the community can enjoy thanks to the work of Judy.

“Since the COVID pandemic, Judy has taken it upon herself to plant garden beds throughout the network of laneways behind her house,” Lauren said.

“She has achieved a lot with some help from her neighbours and made the laneways a more appealing and safer place for the community.

“The mural is the most recent addition to the laneway, helping add colour and vibrancy.”

Initially the laneways were filled with weeds and burs, and Judy Lewis believed her love for gardening could be used to liven up the common walking area.

“We worked hard getting rid of a lot of stuff,” Judy said.

“Another community member helped me with the initial planting, and it just grew from there. Once people knew what we were doing they started dropping boxes of plants off at the door.

“It’s taken many years for it to look the way it does now, and I regularly walk through with a spade in hand because I’d much rather be working in the garden.

“I thought a mural on the fence would help brighten up the laneway section where there was no dirt for me to plant anything, and I’m really grateful to Council for providing the support and funding to make it a reality.

“A lot of people living in the area walk through the laneway regularly and enjoy the space, and I’d love for more people around Wagga Wagga to know it’s here and visit.”

The mural was painted by Wagga-raised international street artist Damien Mitchell, who said the mural has been a product of almost four years of conversations between Judy and himself.

“We both talked about designs that would draw the viewer to the space and encourage them to explore the laneways. That’s when we talked about the river being consistent all the way through the design,” Damien said.

“I grew up here in Wagga Wagga and have done many works in the area. It’s great to come back to work on fun projects like this.”

The mural can be found along the fence line of the laneway that is accessed from Galing Place. The garden area that Judy Lewis has developed with help from her neighbours and friends runs continuously throughout the Galing Place laneway and other laneways running off Incarnie Crescent and Leena Place.

Applications for the 2025/26 Annual Grants Program close Monday 5 May 2025 at 11:59pm.

To learn more about the Annual Grants Program, visit our website.