Two out of the eight annual Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships awarded this year have gone to dance artists: Nick Power, a Sydney-based B*boy and choreographer, and Merindah Donnelly, the Executive Producer of Blak Dance in Brisbane. They are among eight mid-career artists to be awarded the annual fellowship, which provides an unrestricted and tax-free grant of $160,000 over a two-year period to each recipient.
The other recipients are: Sarah Blasko, Vic, Music; Nicola Gunn, Vic, Theatre; Jonathan Jones, NSW, Visual Arts; Anna Krien, Vic, Writing; James Mangohig, NT, Music & Community and Cultural Development; and S.J Norman, Vic, Live Art.
Established in 2011, the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships have to date awarded over $11 million directly to 73 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 2018 Fellows comprised: Kate Fell, Jeff Khan, Sean Pardy, Elizabeth Walsh, and Clare Watson.
Congratulations to all!