Artist Lucas Proudfoot fast-tracks his career goals through Creative Business Champions
- 28 Mar 2022
High energy, multi-platform storyteller Lucas Proudfoot is achieving serious results with assistance from a Creative Business Champion.
What
As a proud member of the Tweed Coast Bundjalung/South Sea Islander Community, artist Lucas Proudfoot is dedicated to sharing his stories of heritage through books, music, performance and media appearances. He is an award-winning songwriter and musician with a background in professional surfing, music and traditional Aboriginal dance.
Lucas inspires young people to learn about First Nations culture and the diversity and vibrancy it brings to communities.
Lucas has performed to more than 500,000 kids around Australia over the last decade and has extensive national touring experience presenting between 230 – 300 shows each year.
Lucas applied for the Creative Business Champions (CBC) mentorship program to take his various business platforms to the next level.
Where
Based on the Gold Coast, Lucas has toured his shows internationally, nationally and across Queensland
Arts Queensland investment
The Creative Business Champions program, an initiative of the Regional Arts Service Network (RASN), is a free online service to connect Queensland artists and arts workers with personalised professional guidance from recognised industry leaders, helping to create meaningful professional development opportunities with strategies to grow business and establish sustainable careers in the arts.
Launched in April 2021, the Creative Business Champions provided advice and mentoring to over 800 Queensland artists and arts workers in 2021. The Creative Business Champions is funded as part of a $2.2 million skills funding package from the Queensland Government to assist arts sector recovery.
While Creative Business Champions is primarily an online program with access across the state, RASN provided some opportunities for face-to-face meetings in regional Queensland including Cooktown, Cairns, Toowoomba, Cherbourg, Ipswich, Logan, Woorabinda, and the Sunshine Coast.
Backed by an initial $6.5 million (2017-18 to 2020-21) investment by the Queensland Government, support for RASN continues with $6 million over four years from 2021-22 to 2024-25.
In March 2022, Lucas was successful in receiving funding of $50,000 from Arts Queensland through the First Nations Commissioning Fund round 2 for Proudfoot and Friends.
Outcomes
- Working with the Creative Business Champions, Lucas expanded his creative businesses and secured $15,000 in funding support through the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), a partnership between the Queensland Government and local councils.
- The Gold Coast RADF grant will help fund a new multi-platform children’s project titled PROUDFOOT & FRIENDS.
- The funding will support writing, story-world creation, character design, developing the stage-show, research into the technical pipeline and recording four tracks from the show.
Learnings and reflections
“Creative Business Champion Stuart’s vast experience in the creative industries was evident right from our very first conversation and he has always been extremely generous in sharing his knowledge.”
“After understanding where my business was positioned, Stuart suggested several clear & concise strategies which were actioned resulting in some great breakthroughs not only in my business, but for myself creatively as well.”
“Having a Creative Business Champion like Stuart has opened an exciting new chapter in my career and I’m glad to have made this valued connection.”
Tips for others
“Clarity and direction in your business is very important and should be highly prioritized. A Creative Business Champion can provide you with the tools to help achieve this.
“Try and be open to outside assistance if available. I was slightly apprehensive at first thinking I was ticking all the boxes within my business until Stuart and I started chatting. Within a short amount of time several opportunities presented themselves that I wasn’t seeing beforehand, which was reinvigorating.”
What next?
Lucas will consider his long-term project ambitions in developing PROUDFOOT & FRIENDS as a musical for kids 3-6yrs with a cast of wonderful animated characters. The characters will perform live with Lucas using state-of-the-art LED screen technology and real-time digital puppeteering. This will involve:
- Exploring possible management team
- Investigating publishing options with interest already from two key music publishers.
- Considering record labels / distributors seeking to partner with.
- Securing investment finance for PROUDFOOT & FRIENDS
In March 2022, Lucas was successful in receiving funding of $50,000 from Arts Queensland through the First Nations Commissioning Fund round 2 for Proudfoot and Friends.