2022 Sidney Myer Creative Fellows Announced

The prestigious Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships have been awarded to nine exceptional and courageous artists from across Australia.

This year marks the significant milestone of 100 Fellowships having been awarded since 2011. This is an extraordinary alumni of outstanding talent and an enormous commitment to Australian creativity, arts and culture.

To date, $16 million has been invested in this program since its inception, all of which has gone to individuals. These creative thinkers and doers are the life blood of arts and culture in this country and Sidney Myer Fund values their immense contribution to our nation.

The Fellowships are not tied to any particular outcomes. The Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships value the contribution that artists and cultural leaders make to strengthening, enlivening and shaping our community and recognise the importance of financially rewarding that contribution.

The 2022 Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships have been awarded to:

Dr Alethea Beetson, cultural leadership (QLD); Ghenoa Gela, storytelling / dance / theatre (QLD), Nam Le, literature (VIC); Fred Leone, music (traditional & contemporary) / dance / songlines / animation (VIC); Eugenia Lim, visual arts (VIC); Vincent Namatjira, visual arts, (SA); Rachel Arianne Ogle, dance, (WA); Carly Sheppard, performance / dance / theatre (VIC); Mindy Meng Wang, music (VIC).

‘More than ever, we need artists to tell our stories. This year, we have selected artists and cultural leaders who are at the forefront of storytelling across many different artforms. They share their many different narratives, posing questions and asking us to see ourselves and our country anew. I am proud that we have been able to support these artists’, says Andrew Myer AM, Chair of the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship Selection Panel.

The national Selection Panel for the 2022 Fellows comprised: Amos Gebhardt, Amrit Gill, Brian Ritchie, Cara Kirkwood, Jo Dyer, Sarah Goodes and Stephanie Lake.

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

The Fellowship program, which commenced in 2011, is one of the many initiatives of the Sidney Myer Fund that support and enrich the cultural life of Australia.