The Australia Council National Arts and Disability Awards 2019-21 celebrate the work and achievements of both established and emerging artists, and the significant contribution of artists with disability to the vibrancy of Australian arts.
The Council’s research has highlighted the importance of profiling, celebrating and acknowledging the achievements of trail blazers and leading lights at all stages of career development. These prestigious national awards are one of the ways we do that.
The Australia Council is now calling for nominations for the 2019 awards.
APPLY NOWAbout the Awards
These prestigious national awards recognise outstanding and sustained contributions by Australian artists in all areas of practice – music, literature, community arts and cultural development (CACD), emerging and experimental arts (EEA), visual arts, theatre, dance or a combination of any of these areas.
We welcome nominations that demonstrate the rich intersectionality across diversity areas which Australia’s arts and disability sector is known for.
The awards selection is informed by a panel of key industry advisors.
Before completing your nomination, read about our new systems and make sure you allow ample time before the closing date to register to use the Application Management System.
If you have any questions about how to nominate, please contact us.
The National Arts and Disability Award (Established Artist) celebrates the achievements of an Australian artist:
- whose outstanding and sustained contribution to their chosen field/s of arts practice has been recognised nationally and/or internationally.
The recipient of this award will receive $50,000.
The National Arts and Disability Award (Emerging Artist) recognises a young Australian artist demonstrating outstanding leadership, who:
- is 35 years of age or under (at the time of nomination)
- has made an outstanding contribution to their chosen field/s of practice.
The recipient of this award will receive $20,000.
Nomination Criteria
Nominators must:
- complete the nomination form
- provide a CV for the nominee (max of 2 x A4 pages)
- ensure the nominee identifies as an artist with disability.
Nominators may:
- provide a maximum of two letters of support for the nomination.
All nominations must be made by third parties.
Other important information:
- past recipients of the Australia Council Awards or National Indigenous Arts Awards are eligible to be nominated for the National Arts and Disability Awards
- nominators are encouraged to contact the Australia Council well in advance of the closing date if support is needed around more accessible or alternative formats for nominations or accompanying materials
- the recipients of these awards will be announced on International Day of People with Disability (3 December 2019) at an event in Canberra and promoted through a public communications campaign. It is preferred that winners attend the event to receive their award in person. The Australia Council will cover domestic travel expenses to attend.
How to submit a nomination:
To nominate log in here to our Application Management System (AMS) if you have an account. You can create an account if you do not already have one
- Select ‘Submit a Nomination’ from the left panel menu.
- Then under ‘Awards’ select ‘Start a new award nomination’
- Ensure you select the correct award from the list of options
- Complete the fields and select answers with dropdown menus
- Upload any necessary support material
- Select ‘Save’ once complete
- If you are not ready to submit your nomination you can return to it through ‘Your Draft Applications’ in the left panel menu at a later date
- Otherwise select ‘Submit’
