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Creative Climate Leadership Program

A transformative 5-day climate leadership program for artists and arts professionals, delivered in-person at Bundanon, NSW.

Julie’s Bicycle’s Creative Climate Leadership Benelux 2023 programme, photo by Moa Karlberg

Creative Climate Leadership (CCL) empowers artists and cultural professionals to take action on the climate and ecological crisis with impact, creativity, and resilience. It was designed to mobilise and connect a creative climate movement.

CCL offers:

  • An inspiring 5 day program of learning and peer-to-peer exchange for 24 talented and motivated participants living and working in Australia.
  • A powerful opportunity to collaborate and develop creative ideas in a serene environment.
  • A space to develop and/or scale up cultural leadership on climate action and justice.
  • A supportive network of national and international CCL alumni.

Participants will:

  1. Deepen their understanding of the climate and ecological crises as an intersectional issue.
  2. Understand and develop the role of culture and creativity in responding to these challenges.
  3. Emerge with a toolbox of approaches and practical solutions for transformative action, including:
    • approaches to action and collaboration that are equitable and inclusive
    • methods for designing solutions to complex problems
    • strategies for rethinking and reorienting the cultural ecosystem towards a thriving future that prioritises the well-being of people and nature
  4. Develop insights into climate ‘leadership’ at individual and collective levels, bottom up and top down
  5. Emerge ready to translate their learning into a CCL Action project

The Australia Council is committed to increasing the diversity of leaders in our industry and encourages applications from people who identify as First Nations, from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people with disability, and people living in regional and remote areas.

We actively work with individuals to support access needs – including childcare, cultural practices, financial and/or learning access needs as required.

Find out more information about this program in a one-hour Zoom information session with Mikala Tai and Adam McGowan from the Australia Council; Farah Ahmed and Chiara Badiali (Music Lead) from Julie’s Bicycle, and Australian Facilitator Ruth Langford. Watch the recording here.


This program delivery is supported by the British Council.

Ruth has a diverse background in cultural arts, environmental, social justice, youth work and Indigenous Medicines Therapy and divides her time on projects that reflect her passion for uniting ancient traditions and contemporary innovations for optimistic action and healing for all.

As a Songwoman and Storyteller, Ruth draws upon the cultural knowledge of her Yorta Yorta lineage and the Tasmanian Aboriginal community where she was born and continues to live.

Combining over twenty years traveling the world sitting with Indigenous Elders, Senior Knowledge Keepers and World Wisdom Teachers with conscious research, Ruth Langford’s vision is to connect people to the ancient wisdom of Indigenous teachings in a contemporary and relevant context through the expression of cultural arts, ceremony and ritual.

Establishing Nayri Niara Centre for the Arts of Healing and Nayri Niara Good Spirit Festival, Ruth has gained a reputation as an expert facilitator and coordinator of effective capacity building programs, which have as their guiding principles Connection to Country, Culture, the Self and the Sacred.

Alison established Julie’s Bicycle in 2007 as a non-profit company helping the music industry reduce its environmental impacts and develop new thinking in tune with global environmental challenges. JB has since extended its remit to the full performing and visual arts communities, heritage and wider creative and cultural policy communities. JB is acknowledged as a leading organisation bridging sustainability with the arts and culture.

Originally trained as a cellist, Alison worked with seminal jazz improviser and teacher John Stevens. She worked for many years at Community Music and at Creative and Cultural Skills where she established the National Skills Academy. She has been on many advisory and awarding bodies including Observer Ethical Awards, RCA Sustainable Design Awards, D&AD White Pencil Awards. She has been on the boards of the Music Business Forum, Live Music and Sound Connections, and is on the board of Energy Revolution.

Farah Ahmed (she/they) is the Climate Justice Lead at Julie’s Bicycle. She supports the delivery of events and the Creative Climate Justice programme, developing resources, training and advocacy, connecting environmental, racial and social justice, and creative activism. Their interests lie in how art can centre stories and solutions from the frontlines of climate impacts, and how we can imagine and enact decolonial and anti-capitalist ways of being.

Farah is also co-founder and facilitator of Diaspora Futures, a reflective space for people of colour to centre collective care in the face of the climate crisis. She was on the sounding board for Arvae, a site-specific experiment in collaborative work between artists, scientists and regional environmental experts in Arosa, Switzerland, and was on the oversight board for Art For The People, a citizen’s assembly on arts and culture in Coventry. She is an alumni of the peer-led accelerator programme Huddlecraft and is also an Arts Emergency mentor, supporting young people into careers in the arts.

Thiago Jesus is a creative producer and researcher that joined JB in 2022 to work on the Creative and Climate Leadership programme. For over ten years, he has managed wide-ranging international creative projects and interdisciplinary research at People’s Palace Projects (Queen Mary University of London) in collaboration with artists, academics, activists, and local communities in ten countries.

Since 2014, as the head of PPP’s Indigenous Exchange and Climate Action projects, Thiago has been working closely with Indigenous peoples from the Xingu Territory—in the Brazilian Amazon’s ‘arc of deforestation’—leading an exchange programme for the preservation of indigenous cultural practices as a key factor in safeguarding these communities from the climate crisis.

Thiago is doing doctoral research at Queen Mary University of London, funded by the AHRC (LAHP Collaborative Doctoral Awards). The study, ‘The Art of Creating Climates’, investigates how third-sector organisations with arts and environment at the heart of their programmes approach climate change and respond to environmental issues in distinct North and South contexts, in partnership with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and Inhotim Institute in Brazil.

Thiago holds a MA in Visual Culture (University of Westminster) and a BA in Media and Communications (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Aimee Smith is an award-winning choreographer and climate change professional working for 20 years at the intersection of these two fields.

As a choreographer Aimee has created over 15 professional productions including Borderline, Wintering, Accidental Monsters of Meaning and The Futures Project, and has an extensive community arts and cultural exchange practice. She is inspired by the capacity of art and creative experiences to hold spaces for dialogue about the issues of our time, and to imagine the kind of future(s) we want to create.

With a Masters in Sustainability and Climate Policy, Aimee has also worked as a climate change professional across government, business and academia. She has supported arts companies and festivals to develop and implement sustainability strategies and climate action plans, and co-founded Arts and Cultural Workers for Climate Action (ACWCA) to mobilise WA artists & cultural workers for the global student climate strikes.

Anna Weekes is a parent, activist & artist with a CACD practice, working both in Australia and internationally on arts projects for social and environmental justice. Anna has previously worked in Cambodia with an arts organisation, and remote Vanuatu with a women’s group.

Anna has spent the last 14 years working in the Northern Territory. Anna is one of the Creative Producers and Executive Officers at Darwin Community Arts, is a recipient of the Kirk Robson CACD Award, Future Leaders, and Australian Progress fellowship alumni.

Antonia is an arts leader living and working on Gadigal land. She has a rich knowledge of the performing arts sector and the national touring landscape, and is passionate about the transformative impact of arts experiences as well as working collaboratively to lead on change. In her current role as Executive Director of Arts on Tour, she has led on, and is deeply committed to, supporting the transition to environmentally sustainable touring, launching in 2022 the award-winning Green Touring Toolkit. In 2024 Arts on Tour will launch a carbon neutral touring service.

Antonia has held senior management roles in marketing, producing and development at companies large and small, including Urban Theatre Projects, the Australian Theatre Forum, Performing Lines, the Lyric Hammersmith in London and Sydney Dance Company. An alumna of Adaptive Leadership Australia, past Board roles include Co-Chair of PYT Fairfield and Chair of De Quincey Co.

Ari Fuller is Facilities Management Officer at the Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) in Brisbane, Queensland. With 20 years of invaluable experience at QAGOMA, Ari has emerged as a driving force for museum sustainability practices. Leading the sustainability portfolio since 2015, Ari has implemented comprehensive initiatives that have positioned QAGOMA at the leading edge of Australian museum sustainability.

Drawing on a strong background in museum operations and armed with dual arts degrees, Ari brings a unique blend of artistic sensibility, operational expertise and personal influence to his role. His commitment to institutional carbon reduction strategies has earned him recognition in and beyond the art gallery community. With a vision of carbon neutrality, Ari continues to shape the future of museum operations, leaving an indelible mark on QAGOMA’s sustainability practices and contributing to the preservation of art and culture for generations to come.

Astrid Edwards is a teacher, interviewer and critic. Her PhD at the University of Melbourne investigates potential and perceived barriers to publishing and selling climate fiction in Australia. She hosts The Garret, a podcast exploring the Australian writing and publishing industry, and teaches in the Associate Degree of Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT University. She is the former Chair of Melbourne Writers Festival and former Deputy Chair of Writers Victoria.

Beatrice is a Facilitator, Creative Producer and Climate Impact Manager. For the best part of the last decade, Bea has worked with festivals, events, arts organisations and touring musicians to reduce emissions and take action on climate.

Bea has worked with Green Music Australia, the Off-Grid Living Festival, Slingsby Theatre Company, the Adelaide Festival, Tim Minchin and Lime Cordial.

Last year Bea co-produced Climate Crisis and the Arts, a free one-day event as part of the Adelaide Festival. Bea also co-curated and produced Australia’s first Culture and Environment Roundtable, a collaboration with Julie’s Bicycle, British Arts Council and Australian Council for the Arts.

In November 2022, Bea launched Creative Climate Action, an environmental action course to build frameworks and set goals for sustainability in the live music and arts sector.

Bea is currently working with FEAT.Live, spearheading a new climate action strategy designed to reduce the emissions of live entertainment by unlocking sustainability funding through ticket sales.

In between projects, Bea leads multi-day hiking trips and outdoor adventures around Australia.

Bryony Anderson has been a maker, designer and creative director of participatory artworks for 26 years, creating high calibre works with salvaged materials for puppetry, performance and exhibition. Her work has toured nationally and internationally with many of Australia’s leading performing arts companies. Currently heading Terrapin’s workshop team in Hobart, Tasmania, she has led the company’s move towards carbon neutrality. She has held over 120 workshops in rural, desert, and urban communities and is currently training emerging makers in sustainable practice.

Bryony and her family spent 15 years living in an off-grid shed in the forests of NSW, where they experienced first-hand the upheavals of extreme climate events. Her work is dedicated to raising awareness of the preciousness of resources and ecosystems, coupled with the potential of imagination to motivate and illuminate.

Catherine Polcz is a curator and creative producer working across museums and media specialising in climate and the natural world. Drawing on her background as a botanist and ecologist, she has conceived and produced content for science festivals, events and panel discussions and has exhibited her own work at artist centres in Canada, US and Australia. Since 2018, she has been science producer at the Powerhouse Museum and Sydney Observatory. She is the curator of 100 Climate Conversations, the new Powerhouse climate solutions exhibition, program and podcast featuring 100 weekly conversations with Australian climate leaders.

Charlie Mgee is a songwriter, ukulele-player, permaculturist and founder of the world-renowned ecological funk/swing band, Formidable Vegetable. Growing up in a tin shed with a veggie garden, rainwater tank and one 100W solar panel for power in the south-west of Western Australia, Charlie lived the low-impact lifestyle from a young age, using a dunny that didn’t flush and hanging out with his chickens for entertainment, which made him realise early on that you don’t need a lot in life to be happy.

Later on, Charlie went off to study permaculture and soon after, formed Formidable Vegetable – a band based entirely around principles of regenerative living and being good to the planet, with the hope of inspiring people everywhere to grow better gardens/lives/communities and generally make the world a nicer & more ecologically just place.

His music has been acclaimed by the United Nations and the band has performed not once, not twice, but thrice at Glastonbury Festival alongside such acts as Ed Sheeran, Dolly Parton and The Rolling Stones, inspiring the creation of many a backyard, frontyard and community garden, among other things.

Eliki Reade is an Interdependent Producer and artist of kailoma-Fijian (Fijian/European) heritage. Eliki is intrigued by many forms of storytelling and the ways it is creatively embodied, engaging with work that centres the practice, creating critical connection. Centring relationships in the work that they do and not tied to form, their producing practice covers various forms across performing and visual arts including live music, parties, poetry and spoken word performance, workshops, exhibitions, experimental and digital art. Put simply, ‘they like making cool stuff with their mates’.

They wear multiple creative hats including Program & Events Coordinator at MPavilion, co-instigator with Lana Nguyen for A Climate For Arts commissioned by Diasporas, Co-Creative Producer for Listening Across Faultlines, Pacific Drift—Crenulations & Oceanic Refractions with AM Kanngieser and Mere Nailatikau supported by Australia Council’s International Engagement Fund and VACS, Cultural Advisor for Museums Victoria’s Culture Makers Program, and Co-Chair with Lana Nguyen at SEVENTH Gallery, among many other personally fun and exciting projects and loves.

Eliki is a recipient of the Creative Victoria’s Unlocking Capacity grant (2022-24) and is currently developing a working methodology and manifesto, applying iTaukei / Indigenous Fijian knowledge in intercultural collaboration.

Fiona Lee (b. 1981 Vancouver) is a visual artist and the government relations advisor for Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action (BSCA). A graduate of Newcastle Art School and the University of Newcastle (with class one honours in sculpture), Fiona’s journey merges her art practice with her dedication to climate activism.

The line between protest, installation and campaigning is blurred, with a constant focus on challenging the social license of fossil fuels by highlighting the personal costs of climate change. Her involvement in grassroots social justice and climate organisations across the country spans two decades, including her recent coordination of the Gas Free Hunter Alliance.

A pivotal moment in her campaigning work was her participation in Bushfire Survivors for Climate Action’s landmark court win in 2021. The NSW Land and Environment Court ruled that the NSW Environment Protection Authority take significant action on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. This groundbreaking decision marked the first time an Australian court had directed a government agency to address climate change, setting a precedent for targeted climate policies across Australian states.

Following the devastating loss of her home in the 2019-20 bushfire crisis, Fiona embarked on a 12-month Bushfire Affected Artist residency at The Creator Incubator in Newcastle. From the remnants of her scorched home, Fiona crafted unapologetic and political artworks that addressed her personal loss and the impact of climate change on us all. Her resulting solo exhibition, Carbon Tax, toured Maitland and Manning Regional Art Galleries, CLIMARTE Gallery Melbourne, was featured on ABC Artworks TV and in The Art of Protest at Newcastle Art Gallery.

In 2024 her public artwork High Tide, a collaboration with architectural designer Aaron Crowe, is set to be installed at Yapang Sculpture Park within the Museum of Art and Culture Lake Macquarie.

Grace is a scientist and stage manager with a unique blend of expertise. Currently pursuing her PhD in social-ecological systems, Grace held a previous career as a stage manager, touring nationally and internationally. Driven by her love for both theatre and the environment, Grace has undertaken a mission to promote sustainability within Australia’s theatre industry. With a strong background in research and science communication, Grace founded Griffin Theatre Company’s Green Griffin program and Bump Out Sydney. Her current project is the creation of The Theatre Green Book Australia.

Grace firmly believes that sustainability should be accessible to all and that everyone can contribute to positive change. Her research centres on cultivating and strengthening stakeholder networks across Australia to advance sustainability in the creative and cultural sectors. By understanding the intricacies of the professional theatre industry, and the science behind climate change and sustainability, Grace combines her dual passions to help arts organisations create and maintain greener theatrical practices.

Guy Ritani (Ia/they/them) is a proud Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kahungunu & Macnamara takatāpui Māori artist, activist, designer and teacher currently living on Kombumerri Country. Co-founder of PermaQueer, Pacific Climate Warrior & community organiser, Guy’s work is within the growing edge of our systemic ecological relationships to Whenua/Country, building food systems, economic support systems and housing that aligns to our planetary limits. Guy is the President of regional arts council Tamborine Mountain Arts Collective and is passionate about social systems and climate justice. Their practice it within storytelling and uses the whatever medium is available and most appropriate to tell stories needing to be told.

Dr Jen Rae is an award-winning artist-researcher of Canadian Scottish-Métis (Indigenous) descent based in unceded Djaara Country/Castlemaine, Victoria. Jen’s practice-led expertise is situated at the intersections of art, speculative futures and climate emergency disaster adaptation + resilience – predominantly articulated through transdisciplinary collaborative methodologies and multi-platform projects, community alliances and public pedagogies. She is a Co-founder and Creative Research Lead of the Centre for Reworlding.

A Bundjalung-Kannakan woman (she/her) and emerging artist, Juundaal lives on Wodi Wodi land of the Dharawal nation and returned to visual arts study at the University of Wollongong in 2018. Her work functions within the discomfort of decolonisation frameworks to actively negotiate tensions, investigate strength in vulnerability and contribute to empowering the non-Indigenous and Indigenous relationship in addressing climate crisis. Healing, cultural connection and learning inextricably fuel and co-exist within her work within an intersectional environmental and Aboriginal cultural revitalisation context. As an emerging artist with a disability, her mentors and space for diverse expression in the arts, are also integral to her creative practice.

Dr Kate Scardifield is an artist and researcher living and working on Gadigal Land. Her practice is cross-disciplinary, collaborative, and focused on charting materials and material systems through states of transformation. Her works span large-scale installations, adaptable textiles, sculpture, and video. Her current projects are investigating algae-based biopolymers, designing with biomaterials for carbon capture and storage, and working with textiles as instruments for navigation, transmission and communication.

She is co-founder and Co-Director of the Material Ecologies Design Lab at the University of Technology Sydney. MEDL is a creative practice and interdisciplinary research lab committed to transforming waste and transitioning material systems for a post-petrochemical world. She is a member of the Algal Biosystems and Biotechnology group in the UTS Climate Change Cluster, working closely with marine scientists and biotechnologists on the design and development of algae-based materials for fashion, textiles and architecture.

Keg de Souza is an artist of Goan ancestry who lives and works on unceded Gadigal land in Sydney. Architecturally trained, she creates social and spatial environments, making reference to her lived experiences of squatting and organising with projects that use and food politics, temporary architecture, publishing and radical pedagogy. Keg draws from personal experiences of colonialism – from her own ancestral lands being colonised to living as a settler on other peoples unceded lands – to inform her layered projects that centre marginalised voices and lesser-known stories for learning about Place.

kelli is an artist and co-founder of boorloo based experimental art group, pvi collective. their work is renowned for being socially engaged and participatory, seeking to empower audiences to step out of their comfort zones.

kelli is a passionate advocate for experimental practice and it’s continued growth in australia. kelli is an AusCo peer, a member of #feminist educators against sexism, a climate champion for better futures australia and a trouble-maker at heart – good trouble, that is 🙂

Na’im lives and works on stolen Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Country. They’re a settler non-binary disabled queer neurodiverse radical composer, ecologist & sound artist. Their practice, identity & values are indivisible. Their work explores environmental and social justice, & personal experience using traditional notation, sonifying data, live-composing with objects, video scoring, field-recordings, hand-drawn graphic scores, & collaboration across artforms.

Na’im has been commissioned & had works performed in Australia, Aotearoa, UK, US, Hong Kong & China. They’ve had residencies at Tilde New Music Fest (Naarm, Aus) & Lijiang Studio (Yunnan, China). In 2022 they created the soundtrack to Zoë, A Good Catch Circus’s response to the climate crises.

Art is for everyone and it’s integral to growing change. Na’im wants to empower access to ecological & marginal knowledges, radical futures imagining, and weird enriching art experiences.

Noemie Huttner-Koros is a performance-maker, writer, dramaturg and community organiser based between Whajuk Noongar country and Wurundjeri country. Their practice is driven by a deep belief in the cultural and civic role of art and in engaging with sites and histories where queer culture, composting and ecological crisis occur. Shows include: Mother of Compost (M1 Singapore Fringe Festival), The Lion Never Sleeps (Australian Book Review’s Arts Highlights of 2019) & Democracy Repair Services (The Blue Room Theatre 2023).

Noemie has a Bachelor of Performing Arts, Performance Making (WAAPA) and a Master of Theatre, Dramaturgy from Victorian College of the Arts. They have worked with companies including: Mammalian Diving Reflex, Australian Theatre for Young People, DADAA, Propel Youth Arts WA and is currently the Graduate Dramaturg at Red Stitch Actors Theatre. They were the winner of the 2020 Venie Holmgren Environmental Poetry Prize & 2021 WA Young Environmentalist of the Year.

Pippa Bailey is an independent producer/director/consultant based on Wangal Land in Sydney. She is committed connecting artistic practice to plans for fairer future where Climate Justice leads.

Pippa started her career as an actor and reporter/producer with SBSTV. She held leading roles in the UK including The Museum Of on London’s South Bank, oh!art at Oxford House in Bethnal Green, The World Famous – company of pyrotechnicians and Total Theatre Awards at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Since 2013 Pippa has worked as Senior Producer with Performing Lines, Sydney Festival and in the First Nations team at Carriageworks. As Director/Producer for ChangeFest 2019-21, she worked in collaboration with Elders and communities to create events that imagine systems change and rehearse fairer futures.

Pippa co-convenes the Cultural Gardeners – Australian Cultural Alliance for Climate Action, is a coordinator with Culture Declares Emergency UK, member of Collaborative Futures and a board Director of IETM: International network for contemporary performing arts.
ve Futures and a board Director of IETM – International Network for the Performing Arts.

Sēini ‘SistaNative’ Taumoepeau (she/her) is a Regenerative Orator & Songwoman, Faivā practitioner (performance of space). A voice of modern Australia, Sēini is an inter-disciplinary artist, storyteller and founder of OceaniaX, Pacific Wave and LELEI Wellness.

Commissions include: Sydney Opera House, Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Museum of Contemporary Art. Sēini is a veteran of the arts, media, culture, educational and personal development sectors with an intersectional Oceanic-Pacific lens and First Nations focus.

She carries medicine in her presence, hands and voice, commanding an aesthetic in harmony and rhythm, working with the invisible and intangible.

Connecting with global communities, Sēini is known as: SistaNative, Napangardi & Cantora, with origins from Kingdom of Tonga. An Australian veteran with a career spanning more than 30+ years as a performance artist, presenter/broadcaster and creative industries professional.

Dr Tanja Beer is an ecological designer and community artist who is passionate about co-creating social gathering spaces that accentuate the interconnectedness of the more-than-human world. Originally trained as a performance designer and theatre maker, Tanja’s work increasingly crosses many disciplines, often collaborating with landscape architects and urban ecologists to inspire communication and action on environmental issues.

Her most celebrated project is The Living Stage: a global initiative that combines spatial design, permaculture and community engagement to create recyclable, biodegradable, biodiverse and edible event spaces. Tanja’s extensive career as a designer, educator and researcher builds on more than 20 years of practice. Her pioneering concept of Ecoscenography has been featured in numerous programs, exhibitions, articles and platforms around the world. Tanja is Co-director of the new Performance + Ecology Research Lab (P+ERL) and Senior Lecturer in Design at Griffith University (Brisbane). She is the author of Ecoscenography: An introduction to Ecological Design for Performance (Palgrave Macmillan, 2021).

Vika Mana is a Torres Strait Islander and Tongan storyteller that takes many forms. They are from the Zagareb and Dauareb tribes of Mer Island and the village of Fahefa in Tonga. They perform poetry, write criticism and breathe life into worlds whilst doing their best to protect this one. Vika excels in a variety of storytelling mediums, all of which centre sovereignty and justice.

This opportunity is open to:  

  • Practising artists and creative/cultural/arts professionals. 
  • Australian citizens or permanent residents. 
  • Individuals who are available to travel to Bundanon NSW to attend the program in full and in person from 11 – 16 September 2023. 

You can’t apply if: 

  • You have an overdue grant report. 
  • You owe money to the Australia Council. 
  • You are applying as a group or organisation. 

You can submit your application via our online application system 

If you have access requirements, please let us know how we can support you. Please see FAQs below for information on submitting a video application. 

Selection criteria:  

  • Nuanced understanding and reflection on what creative climate leadership means. 
  • Engagement with and awareness of climate change, environmental and/or social justice themes, issues and connections in your work to date. 
  • Ability and capacity to take action and lead change. 
  • Demonstrated ability and willingness to work collaboratively and contribute to a group. 

Applications will be reviewed by staff and industry advisors. Your application will be based on quality, response to the selection criteria above, and in line with Australia Council’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. 

Please note:   

To apply you must be registered in our application management system a minimum of two business days prior to the closing date.  

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application approximately four weeks after the closing date.

Learn more about how we assess your application.

Applicants may choose to supply up to 3 links or attachments to support your application (optional).  

Examples include: 

  • online links to documentation (blogs, news articles, other multimedia content) 
  • past projects and reports 
  • links to video files should be between one to ten minutes in .mp3, .mp4, .mov or .wmv formats 

The CCL Australia programme includes: 

A five-day residential course for arts and cultural professionals who want to take a lead on climate change. Participants will arrive on Monday and leave the following Saturday, with full days of workshops, discussions and talks in between. 

The training sessions will: 

• Explore the role of culture and creativity in responding to climate change and environmental challenges. 

• Share case studies, research, approaches and practical solutions for environmental sustainability in the cultural sector. 

• Enable each participant to develop their leadership and ideas. 

• Prepare participants to apply their learning and new skills when they return home. 

• Support ongoing learning and exchange through an alumni network. 

Themes will include: 

• Approaches to organisational change. 

• Engaging people with new narratives and shifting values through art and design. 

• Encouraging behaviour change through communications and advocacy. 

•  Collaborative ways of working to maximise impact in civic society and policy making. 

A full programme will be released to participants in advance of the course. 

After the course, participants will become members of the CCL Alumni network, which will facilitate ongoing communications. 

CCL Australia is open to practising artists and creative/cultural/arts professionals based in and/or working in Australia. We encourage creatives and leaders that want to challenge the status quo and conventional ways of thinking. 

Previous applicants and/or alumni from Australia Council leadership programs are eligible to apply.

The CCL Australia will take place between 11 – 16 September 2023, at Bundanon NSW, therefore you need to ensure you are available to participate fully, in person, for the full duration. 

​Dates: 

Monday 11 September 2023 – Participants arrive at Bundanon 

Monday 11 to Saturday 16 September 2023 – Training course 

Saturday 16 September 2023 – Participants depart Bundanon. 

The new Bridge and Art Museum are wheelchair accessible. There are designated accessible parking spaces available outside the Bridge and Art Museum. Guide dogs and assistance animals are allowed on Bundanon properties. 

Arthur Boyd’s Studio and the ground floor of the Homestead are wheelchair accessible. There is a staircase inside the Homestead and uneven ground in the visitor carpark and throughout the site. 

We are committed to ensure to remove all possible barriers to participation. If you have any access requirements please let us know in advance so we can make the necessary adjustments. Please contact HOPadmin@creative.gov.au

Participants do not need to do any work prior to attending the course. However, an important part of this CCL is active participation. All participants will be given space to share their skills, knowledge or experience with the other participants. All participants will become members of the CCL Alumni network, which will facilitate ongoing communications. 

Yes, CCL Australia will be held in person at Bundanon, NSW. Applicants must be able to travel and participate in person for the full duration of the course. 

Yes, if you would prefer to submit a video application instead of a written application, please record a video of max 5 minutes addressing the questions in the application form. For further information on how to submit a video application, or if you would like to discuss submitting an application in another format, please email HOPadmin@australicouncil.gov.au.

The Australia Council will cover the costs of accommodation and all meals at Bundanon, NSW during the course. 

Bus travel between Sydney and Bundanon will be provided by the Australia Council. Successful applicants can make their own preferred travel arrangements to Bundanon from other locations at their own cost.

There is an optional question for those seeking to apply for a stipend to support costs. Australia Council will pay a stipend to successful applicants who are self-employed and/or freelancers, and need support to cover costs such as interstate travel, course participation and other expenses. We suggest applicants include a breakdown of the costs you anticipate needing to cover when answering this question.

We are closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation, and the appropriate protocols will be put in place. We will remain in close communication with all successful applicants to chart the best course of action. 

We ask all participants to take a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) within 24 hours before the programme starts and recommend wearing wear masks when travelling to the event on public transport. Masks and RAT tests will be made available on-site. 

Spaces will be ventilated with regular opening of windows where possible (please bring layers in case of cooler temperatures), and some sessions will be held outside weather permitting. 

All participants who, prior to the event, have symptoms of a respiratory infection, have a high temperature or do not feel well enough to carry out normal activities will be asked to stay at home. Any participants and facilitators who present symptoms during the programme will be asked to self-isolate until they have had a negative RAT test and will be asked to wear masks and maintain a distance to other participants if re-joining the group. 

Creative Climate Leadership Program Information Session

Download the transcript.