Musician, activist and Kamilaroi elder Uncle Bob Weatherall and award-winning artist and Wardandi elder Aunty Sandra Hill are among the recipients of the 2023 First Nations Arts and Culture Awards.
The two eminent artists were awarded the prestigious Red Ochre Award for outstanding lifetime achievement in the arts and their contribution to the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts culture and community, both nationally and internationally, during a special event broadcast by National Indigenous Television (NITV).
The First Nations Arts and Culture Awards are held each year on 27 May, marking the anniversary of the 1967 referendum and the start of National Reconciliation Week.
This year also marks the 50 years of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board of the Australia Council founded in 1973, along with the first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts seminar on Aboriginal Art in Australia held the same year.
“The First Nations Arts and Culture Awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding work and achievements of First Nations artists, who contribute their unique and diverse talents across a range of artforms from music and visual arts to theatre, literature and beyond,” said Australia Council Executive Director First Nations Arts and Culture, Franchesca Cubillo.
“We can all learn from their rich cultural insights and storytelling as we mark the 50th anniversary of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board of the Australia Council.”
Two inspirational young First Nations artists were awarded the Dreaming Award, established to support the creation of a major body of work through mentoring and partnerships. The recipients of the Dreaming Award are:
- Phoebe Grainer – a Kuku Djungan, Muluridji, Wakaman, Tagalaka, Kunjen, Warrgamay and Yindinji woman from Far North Queensland, to help develop her play, Pearl Ada Elsie, in partnership with Sweatshop and Darlinghurst Theatre Company; and
- Naarah Barnes – a proud Aboriginal woman from the Gija mob in Western Australia for the development of her musical theatre project, Broadway but Blak – a cabaret concert that takes the audience through a journey of musical theatre from a First Nations’ perspective.
The First Nations Emerging Career Development Award, open to Australian First Nations artists aged 18-30 to pursue their professional development, was presented to two recipients:
- First Nations and Zimbabwean singer-songwriter, Dean Brady to help with the costs of songwriting collaborations with some of Australia’s top songwriters; and
- Proud Kamilaroi producer and playwright, Emily Wells to help with her development as a playwright and producer through cultural exchange with leading Maori creatives.
Yalanji singer-songwriter Deline Briscoe is the recipient of the First Nations Arts and Culture Fellowship.
Red Ochre Awards for Outstanding Lifetime Achievement
- Uncle Bob Weatherall
- Aunty Sandra Hill
Dreaming Awards
- Phoebe Grainer
- Naarah Barnes
First Nations Emerging Career Development Awards
- Dean Brady
- Emily Wells
First Nations Arts and Culture Fellowship
- Deline Briscoe
The awards also recognise three further exceptional artists who have received Australia Council Fellowships: Merindi Schrieber (Australia Council fellowship for Community arts and cultural development), Leah Purcell AM (Australia Council fellowship for Literature), Dr Peta Clancy (Australia Council fellowship for Visual Arts).
The Australia Council and National Indigenous Television (NITV) are proud to partner on the broadcast of The First Nations Arts and Culture Awards 2023, which aired on NITV on Saturday 27 May and is available to watch on SBS On Demand and the Australia Council’s YouTube channel.
For more information about the First Nations Arts and Culture Awards, visit: www.australiacouncil.gov.au for details.
Image: Uncle Bob Weatherall and Aunty Sandra Hill – courtesy of Australia Council