Space to Create: First Nations Music Residency
An immersive program providing First Nations creatives at all levels with studio space, mentoring and production support.
Photo of Yil Lull studio technician and leader Will Kepa. Credit: ANU Media.
Space to Create
First Nations music industry residency
Photo of Yil Lull studio technician and leader Will Kepa. Credit: ANU Media.
About the program
This is an immersive program providing First Nations creatives at all levels with studio space, mentoring and production support that will be delivered in partnership with the Australian National University’s School of Music and the Yil Lull (‘To Sing’) recording studio.
The aim of the program is to create a dedicated space so each of the participants can take the time to sustain, grow creative ideas and collaborate including composition, voice coaching, strengthening technical skills and providing professional development opportunities for the future.
The program is open to emerging to established First Nations musicians, artists, songwriters, audio engineers, producers and those employed in the music industry.
The Program will offer 2 stages:
Stage 1: A one-week group residency at ANU between 17 and 25 March 2025
Stage 2: A one-week individual residency to complete your project between April – October 2025.
Please note: You must be available to attend residencies on scheduled dates.
Space to Create: Music Residency will provide:
- travel, accommodation, per diems, ground transport costs to and from ANU campus
- a participation fee for the attendance at the group and individual residential periods
- access to Yil Lull First Nations Recording Studio control room, software, mastering and video editing resources
- technical, studio production support from Yil Lull First Nations Recording Studio Senior Technical Officer and Producer, Will Kepa
- mentoring from selected music industry professionals
- music industry masterclasses and creative labs.
In partnership with:
Situated on Ngunnawal-Ngambri country in the heart of the nation’s capital, and on the campus of Australia’s foremost research university, the School of Music at ANU has a proud and rich history. For nearly 50 years the school has played a leading role in the cultural life of Canberra and the surrounding region.
ANU is home to the Yil Lull First Nations Recording Studio, which offers free recording and music assistance to First Nations musicians from across Australia. The studio is named after the song Yil Lull (‘To Sing’) by legendary First Nations musician Joe Geia, to honour his standing in the industry, and is used with his permission.
The Yil Lull First Nations Recording Studio was established in 2021, the studio is led by Senior Technical Officer, Torres Strait Islander musician Will Kepa. Will’s vision for the studio is to be “a place for us, our mob, to come and meet; to create and to share; to expand on our stories; to keep our culture alive and our music alive; and to just keep that fire burning”.
This new initiative is part of Creative Australia’s First Nations First industry development programs. The programs have been developed in response to extensive community consultation on priorities and needs of the sector in response to Pillar 1, First Nations First – Revive, the Australian Government’s shared vision for Australia: a place for every story and a story for every place. These new initiatives aim to elevate existing programs and deliver new funding that build on a 50-year legacy of First Nations leadership and investment at Creative Australia.
To apply 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.
Once you have logged in, follow the next steps:
- select ‘Apply for a Grant’ from the left panel menu
- from the list of opportunities select ‘Space to Create’
- 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 application, you can return to it through ‘Your Draft Applications’ in the left panel menu at a later date
- otherwise select ‘Submit’.
Space to Create: Music Residency activities can include (but are not limited to):
- album or EP concept
- engaging with a producer
- multi-disciplinary and cross sector projects
- film soundtrack and commercial jingles
- music for theatre productions
- sound engineering, production and mastering projects
- music recording projects
- informed instrumental/vocal plans of development
- cross-genre music projects
- music industry planning (workshop).
Who can apply?
- Australian First Nations artist, composers, and creators over 18 years of age
- you must be an Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident.
Please note:
You can only submit one application per year for Space to Create: Music Residency round.
Who cannot apply?
You cannot apply for this grant if:
- you are not an Australian First Nations practising artists or arts professional
- you are a group or organisation
- you are based outside Australia
- you have an overdue grant report
- you owe money to Creative Australia
- you are an artist manager or agent.
Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts
All applications involving First Nations artists, communities or subject matter must adhere to these Protocols, and provide evidence of this in their application and support material. More information on the First Nations Protocols is available here.
A First Nations Industry Advisory Panel will review eligible applications against the following assessment criteria:
- artist merit
- impact
- viability on career.
1. Artistic merit, experience, and previous works
This will include:
- vision, ideas and artistic rationale
- demonstrated ability, skills and creative thinking
- contribution to cultural expression
- quality of work previously produced.
2. Impact on artists career development
This will include:
- significance of the work and relevance to the artist’s career development
- effective use of resources
- capacity to strengthen skills and ability of the individual.
3. Viability
- relevance and timeliness of the residency to the applicant’s career
- where relevant to the project, evidence that the Protocols for using First Nations Cultural and Intellectual Property in the Arts have been adhered to.
You should submit support material with your application. The Industry Advisory Panel may review this support material to help them gain a better sense of your activity and arts practice.
We do not accept application-related support material submitted via post. Application-related material received by post will not be assessed and will be returned to the sender.
If you think you will have difficulty submitting your support material online or need advice on what type of material to submit, please contact Joseph Clarke, Project Manager, First Nations Arts and Culture.
There are three types of support material you may submit:
- artistic support material
- biographies and CVs
- letters of support
Artistic support material
This should include relevant, recent examples of your artistic or cultural work.
Types of support material we accept
Our preferred method of receiving support material is via URLs (weblinks).
You can provide up to three URLs (weblinks) that link to content that is relevant to your project activity. This may include video, audio, images, or written material.
These URLs can include a total of:
- 10 minutes of video and/or audio recording
- 10 images
- 10 pages of written material.
Please note: The Advisory Panel will not access any URLs that require them to log in or sign up to a platform. Please do not provide links to Spotify or other applications that require users to log in or pay for access. If you are linking to media files that are private or password protected like Vimeo, please provide the password in the password field on the application form.
Other accepted file formats:
If you cannot supply support material via URLs, you may upload support material to your application in the following formats:
- video (MP4, QuickTime, and Windows Media)
- audio (MP3 and Windows Media)
- images (JPEG and PowerPoint)
- written material (Word and PDF).
Biographies and CVs
You can include your current brief bio or curriculum vitae (CV) that is relevant to your application.
Please note: Brief bios or CV information should be presented as a single document no longer than two A4 pages in total.
Letters of support
Individuals, groups or organisations can write letters in support of your project. A support letter should explain how the project or activity will benefit you, other artists or arts professionals, participants or the broader community. It can also detail the support or involvement of key project partners, or evidence of consultation.
If relevant to your activity, letters of support must provide evidence of appropriate permissions and support from First Nations organisations, communities, and Elders. Please refer to the First Nations Protocols for more information.
You can include up to five letters of support, with each letter not exceeding one A4 page.
2024 recipients
Nidala Barker is a Jabirr-Jabirr /Djugun singer-songwriter, public speaker, and custodianship educator. She is also the co-founder of an alternative education program which centres Indigenous practices at the core of the curriculum and delivery method. In 2021 she released a carbon-neutral EP titled ‘Colours of my people’ which led to the planting of over 20,000 native plants. She currently sits on the board of Green Music Australia and The Returning Indigenous Corporation.
Award winning singer songwriter Lilly Gogos is a Greek Noongar woman from Minang Goreng country in the Great Southern Region of WA. Lilly comes from a musical family and started singing in church. She studied music in Brisbane and Perth and gained industry recognition, when she won Best Aboriginal/TSI song at the 2003 MUSICOZ Awards. A seasoned singer, songwriter and performer Lilly has toured remote and regional Western Australia, with Award winning band The Yabu Band.
Norman Johnson, also known by my stage/artist name Normey Jay. I am a (Yidinji/Gungangji/Thanawith) young Indigenous Cultural hip hop/RNB singer-songwriter and music producer.
I was born in Townsville FNQ. My childhood upbringing was on Palm Island and Yarrabah with my parents, grandparents and siblings. Since the age of eight I always had a passion for music, especially singing as I am from a musical family of musicians, my first guitar was given to me by the age of eight.
One of my biggest successes I have produced was 40 Tribes Of Bwgcolman. Since the hit I have been recognised by having the opportunity to take gigs allowing me to perform throughout Cape York and Central Queensland. Music has the power to break down the walls that separate us as human beings. My main goal as a performer is to inspire and bring people together in the spirit of love, culture and pride. I feel very strongly about making the world a better place by sharing the healing power of music with others.
I have also gained inspiration from: Yothu Yindi, Coloured Stone Band, Baker Boy, Archie Roach, Barry Cedric, Lajamanu Teenage Band, the Eagles, Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, country music and many others.
My music also took its globe into Indigenous communities/cities of Australia not to mention international listeners in Brazil, New York, and South Africa.
I now live in Yarrabah with a family of my own striving with my passion for music and continuing to inspire our people worldwide.
Georgia Llewellyn, Bundjalung, Kuungkari, South Sea Islander woman is a singer, songwriter based on the island of Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island), Australia. Her musical style could best be described as acoustic island, soul. She is fortunate to have performed internationally and nationally with a handful of the best in the industry – some of them are Xavier Rudd, Emma Donovan, Deline Briscoe, Katie Noonan and Fred Leone.
Music helps her navigate her journey through life, relationships and reconnections back to country. Georgia’s feet are planted deep in the heart of the sand and her music is as strong & beautiful as the currents that guided her ancestors home.
Pitjantjatjara man Russell Smith’s music career has taken him around Australia and to all parts of the globe, working with some of the world’s most recognised musicians.
Russell has played Didgeridoo/Yidaki with everyone from the late Uncle Archie Roach, Paul Kelly, Rodriguez and Guy Sebastian to Tommy Emmanuel, the Dandy Warhols and Jane’s Addiction.
From the AFL Grand Final stage to the Lorient Festival in France, he has also had personal audiences with Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali and Richard Branson.
As a charismatic frontman, Russell aims to connect people with his music, and as the late Archie Roach stated, “As a Pitjantjatjara singer/ songwriter Russell Smith has important stories to tell for all Australians to hear.”
Cloe Terare is a Gurreng Gurreng woman from Toowoomba, QLD with a uniquely bold sound. Blending pop, rap and trap, exploring new sounds and pushing the boundaries lyrically, Cloe’s sound encapsulates a certain confidence and energy.
Cloe’s love for music began young, inspired by her grandfather, Garth Terare, who was an artist, cultural performance co-ordinator and music manager for band ‘Aim-4-More’. She most recently performed at Wildlands Festival, came in as the 29th most played artist on Triple J Unearthed and scored a spot ad on Triple J for her latest release “Yuck!”, featuring iconic Australian band Short Stack.
Key dates
Applications close: Tuesday 12 November 2024 at 3pm (AEDT)
Residency dates
Stage 1: A one-week group residency at ANU between 17 and 25 March 2025
Stage 2: A one-week individual residency to complete your project between April–October 2025.
Please note: To apply you must be registered in our Application Management System a minimum of two business days prior to the closing date.
Apply now
Contact
Joseph Clarke
Project Manager
First Nations Arts and Culture
Email: joseph.clarke@creative.gov.au
If you need help with your application, please call or email us.