Media Centre | Australia Council

Featured Media Releases

Australia Council welcomes additional support for creative sector

25 Mar 2021

The Australia Council for the Arts has warmly welcomed today’s announcement of an additional $135 million support for the creative sector. “The additional $125 million in funding for the RISE program and the revised guidelines will help more artists, creative workers and businesses access the support they need as our cultural and creative sector continues to recover and rebuild from the impact of COVID-19,” said Adrian Collette AM, CEO of the Australia Council.

Vale Taryn Fiebig

22 Mar 2021

The Australia Council wishes to acknowledge the passing of Australian soprano Taryn Fiebig and pay tribute to her impressive contribution to Australian music and culture. Fiebig performed regularly for Opera Australia and Pinchgut Opera, and as a soloist with a number of major Australasian orchestras.

When a picture tells a thousand words – why cartoonists and comics-makers are in increasing demand in industries ranging from health to education

17 Mar 2021

New research shows how the skills of cartoonists, illustrators and comics-makers are being applied to communicate ideas across a diverse range of industries such as health and education.

Vale Michael Gudinski AM

02 Mar 2021

The Australia Council wishes to acknowledge the passing of music industry icon Michael Gudinski AM and pay tribute to his significant contribution to Australian music. Michael Gudinski was the co-founder of Mushroom Records in 1972 and worked closely with a number of Australian artists including Jimmy Barnes and Kylie Minogue. He brought many international acts to Australia including The Police, The Eagles, Billy Joel, The Rolling Stones, Elton John and Frank Sinatra.

Australia Council welcomes Franchesca Cubillo as Executive Director, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts

17 Feb 2021

Franchesca Cubillo is a proud Yanuwa, Larrakia, Bardi, and Wardaman woman from the Top End of the Northern Territory. Ms Cubillo joins the Australia Council with more than 30 years’ experience in the museum and art gallery sector.

Vale Seaman Dan

03 Feb 2021

The Australia Council wishes to acknowledge the recent passing of Henry Gibson 'Seaman' Dan and pay tribute to his commitment and contribution to Australian music and culture. Seaman Dan was a Torres Strait Island singer and guitarist whose songs, sung in both English and Torres Strait Creole, received numerous accolades. He toured both locally and internationally, helping to build recognition of First Nations arts and culture.

Investment in First Nations arts and culture through Cherish Fund

21 Dec 2020

The Australia Council has invested $1.4m in 37 organisations through the Cherish Fund, established to invest in First Nations arts and culture during a year of extraordinary disruption.

A communique from our CEO

18 Dec 2020

We are currently facing an historic opportunity. As 2020 comes to a close, we can rethink, reset and reimagine as we rebuild. We can draw on what we have learnt from 2020’s global disruptions, personal challenges and ongoing crises, and on what has sustained us through them.

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Biographies

Thea Anamara Perkins: 2020 Dreaming Award for an Emerging Artist

Thea Anamara Perkins is an Arrernte and Kalkadoon woman. Raised and based in Sydney, she has family ties to the Redfern community and engages with the area through her painting and installation practice. In 2018 she was a lead artist participating in the restoration of the iconic 40,000 Years mural in Redfern.

SJ Norman: 2020 Emerging and Experimental Arts Fellowship

SJ Norman was born on Gadigal lands, and has a Wiradjuri and Anglo-Celtic heritage. He is a fearless experimenter, a rigorous researcher, a critically engaged maker and a formidable performer. SJ’s practice spans installation, sculpture, fiction, essays, poetry, video, sound and performance, including significant pieces of durational work. His practice is both unique and vital to contemporary Australian art and critical discourse.

Lydia Fairhall: 2020 Community Arts and Cultural Development Fellowship

Lydia Fairhall is a Woromi woman. She is a theatre and film producer, a community arts and cultural development practitioner, a writer, an artistic director, a musician and more. She has programmed and produced countless shows, for the likes of ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, Brown Cabs, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company, Footscray Community Arts Centre and more, as well as taking titles such as JACK CHARLES V. The CROWN to international audiences.

Maree Clarke: 2020 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Fellowship

Maree Clarke is a Yorta Yorta/WambaWamba/Mutti Mutti/Boonwurrung woman. She is an independent multi-disciplinary artist  and curator, with a 30 year history of working in the contemporary and cultural First Nations arts sector. Maree is a leading possum skin artist, also working with kangaroo teeth, echidna quills, glass, photography and more.

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