Wollongong parking meter revenue to help struggling Illawarra musicians

Parking meters in Wollongong CBD are set to help revive the city's night-time economy and assist creatives dashed for income during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than $2.3 million in net revenue from the meters is to be redirected by Wollongong City Council into "activation activities" in the CBD with live and streamed concerts by local artists.

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A council spokeswoman revealed to the Mercury plans are in development for a weekly digital stream series showcasing venues and musicians, a live music concert series matching businesses with musicians (intimate indoor and outdoor concerts), and offering a live music program in the Crown Street Mall Creative Container.

"The pandemic has hit many hard in our community and council's focus throughout this time has been on having measures in place to support local residents and businesses," the spokeswoman said.

"This funding will support events, marketing and business initiatives to facilitate regional and local recovery, stimulate the night-time economy and enhance CBD activation.

"We appreciate the essential role all of our local creatives - whether they're musicians, artists, performers or those employed in roles that facilitate creative endeavours - play in making Wollongong an enviable place to live and socialise."

It comes after calls last week for council to "stand up" and offer more money for grants funding, with research from Queensland University of Technology and the University of Newcastle showing state and federal governments invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant assistance for Illawarra creatives, though local government fell quite short.

Spunk Records owner Aaron Curnow was part of the Australian Cultural and Creative Activity: A Population and Hotspot Analysis, and said while many industries were hurting during the pandemic, creative industries was one of those hit hardest.

"I feel we need more support than other industries and really, only certain industries have been affected and the arts is one of the major ones," he said.

In response, Council's spokewoman noted the launch of $50,000 in new grants in April, providing financial assistance to eligible artists affected by COVID-19 with a streamlined application process.

The Creative Wollongong Quick Response Grants offered help to projects from kids' music workshops, tutorials on paper stop-motion animation and drag performances.

"We're focused on providing support to our creative community and have facilitated a number of opportunities and initiatives this year to provide paid opportunities at a challenging time," the spokeswoman said.

"We also got behind Make Music Day, which built on our Quick Response grants, and funded the development of a new song and video by local artists."

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