2014 Sidney Myer Creative Fellows Announced

Vernon Ah Kee editorialEight talented mid-career artists from dance, literature, the visual arts, performance, film and music have been announced as the 2014 Sidney Myer Creative Fellows. Each Fellow is awarded an unrestricted grant of $160,000 over a two year period.

The 2014 Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships have been awarded to: Vernon Ah Kee – visual artist; Clare Britton – performance; Amy Gebhardt – film; Anthony Hamilton – dance; Chloe Hooper – literature; Antony Pateras – music; Emily Sexton – festival direction; and Jeff Sparrow – literature.

The Fellowships are not tied to any specific outcome, instead, they provide an income over a two year period, allowing each Fellow time to reflect and develop aspects of their creative practice without financial pressure. This uniquely places the Fellows and their artistic endeavours at the centre of the Fellowships.

“The talent and contribution of artists in our society is something we take seriously. We actively support and nurture them,” says Andy Myer, Chair, Peer Review Panel. “We want them to have the opportunity to keep working in their chosen field, to keep producing work that challenges our ideas and ways of living as a society.”

“The arts, I believe, are critical to a dynamic and thinking community and I congratulate each of the Fellows for their vision, talent and dedication to their practice.”

The national Peer Review Panel for the 2014 Fellows comprised: Andy Myer (Chair), Fran Clark, Fenella Kernebone, Angharad Wynne-Jones, Rosemary Miller, Stephen Armstrong, Gideon Obarzanek and Iain Grandage

To be nominated for a Fellowship, artists and thought leaders must be within seven and fifteen years into their creative practice and meet two criteria: outstanding talent and exceptional professional courage. They are open to artists and arts managers across the entire spectrum of the visual, performing, interdisciplinary, new media and literary arts.

The Fellowship program, which commenced in 2011, is one of the many initiatives of the Sidney Myer Fund that supports and enriches the cultural life of Australia. Since 2011, thirty seven Creative Fellowships have been awarded to a wide range of artists and thought leaders.

For more information, visit: www.myerfoundation.org.au for details.

Image: Vernon Ah Kee