Courage is at the core of the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships and this year; nine exceptional mid-career artists have been announced as 2019 Sidney Myer Creative Fellows.
The 2019 Sidney Myer Creative Fellows are: Lior Attar (Music – Victoria); Maxine Clarke (Writing – Victoria); Ceridwen Dovey (Writing – New South Wales); Natano Fa’anana (Performance – Queensland); Lydia Fairhall (Producing – Queensland); Alisdair Macindoe (Dance – Victoria); Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran (Visual Arts – New South Wales); Angela Tiatia (Visual Arts – New South Wales); and Emma Valente (Theatre – Victoria).
“Courage is a word that is often bandied about, but real courage, as shown by these artists displays a fearlessness in making and producing their art,” said Andrew Myer AM, Chair of the Selection Panel. “This is important to them, but also to everyone at large.”
“We need artists to be free to speak through their art-making and to open our eyes on issues that are not always visible particularly as we struggle to comprehend an increasingly complex and divided society.”
Each Fellow is awarded a generous unrestricted grant of $160,000. 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.
“The Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship is the ultimate gift for any artist and arts worker,” said Lydia Fairhall. “It is the gift of freedom and expansion and an investment into leading edge practice, both as an individual and in relation to the broader ecology.”
“In art we find alignment with the best part of ourselves, our environment and our communities. I am deeply humbled to have this opportunity and to be able to take a few deep, long breaths to reimagine my own creativity and my highest, most aspirational vision for the world I want to leave future generations and the small part I might play in manifesting it.”
Established in 2011, the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships have to date awarded over $12 million directly to 82 mid-career artists. This uniquely places the Fellows and their artistic endeavours at the centre of the Fellowships.
To be nominated for a Fellowship, artists and thought leaders must be within seven and 15 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 national Peer Review Panel for the 2019 Fellows included: Andrew Myer AM (Chair), Clare Watson, Elizabeth Walsh, Genevieve Lacey, Jo Dyer, Tarun Nagesh and Amos Gebhardt.
The Fellowship program, is one of the many initiatives of the Sidney Myer Fund that support and enrich the cultural life of Australia.
Image: Lior Attar; Maxine Clarke; Ceridwen Dovey; Natano Fa’anana; Lydia Fairhall; Alisdair Macindoe (photo by Sam Roberts); Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran (photo by Jacquie Manning); Angela Tiatia; and Emma Valente