About the awards
The Creative Australia National Arts and Disability Awards celebrate the work and achievements of d/Deaf artists and artists with disability. The Awards acknowledge the contribution these artists have made to the creative arts and cultural life of the nation.
Award categories
- The National Arts and Disability Award (Established) celebrates the achievements of an established Australian artist whose outstanding and sustained contribution to their chosen field of arts practice over many years has been recognised nationally or internationally. The recipient of this award will receive $50,000.
- The National Arts and Disability Award (Early Career) recognises an Australian artist early in their practice who has made an outstanding contribution to their chosen field of practice. The recipients of this award will receive $20,000.
We will offer a second Early Career Award in 2024, with thanks to Creative Australia and its employees through the Workplace Giving program.
The Awards are decided by the Australia Council (the governing Board of Creative Australia), informed by key industry advisors.
The nominee must be an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident, and a practising artist.
Past recipients of the Creative Australia Awards or National Indigenous Arts Awards are eligible to be nominated for the National Arts and Disability Awards.
Nominations must be made by someone other than the nominee.
Nominators must complete an online nomination form using our Application Management System. You must register an account if you do not already have one. It may take up to two business days for us to process your registration.
You may nominate more than one artist. However, each nomination must be submitted on a separate nomination form.
Once you have logged in:
- Select ‘Submit a Nomination’ from the left panel menu.
- 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 using the 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.
- When you are ready to submit your nomination, select ‘Submit’.
You must submit a CV or extended bio for the nominee (approx. 2 x A4 pages, or a link to a CV or bio on the nominee’s website).
You may submit up to two letters or statements of support (approx. 2 x A4 pages, or up to 5 minutes of audio / video).
Types of support material we accept
Our preferred method of receiving support material is via URLs (weblinks).
You can provide up to two URLs that link to content that is relevant to your nomination.
Please note:
- Do not supply any URLs that require users to log in or sign up to a platform.
- Do not provide links to applications that require users to log in or pay for access.
- If you are linking to media files that are private or password protected, please provide the password in the password field on the nomination form.
Other accepted file formats
If you cannot supply support material via URLs, you may upload support material to your nomination in other formats, for example:
- video (MP4 and Windows Media)
- audio (MP3 and Windows Media)
- images (JPEG and PowerPoint)
- written material (Word and PDF).
We do not accept application-related support material submitted via post unless you have contacted us in advance to discuss your access needs. If you think you will have difficulty submitting your support material online, or need advice on what type of material to submit, please contact Artists Services.
- with any questions about this Award
- to submit a nomination in a different format, or in a language other than English
- to make arrangements for a conference call, or to use an Auslan interpreter service
- if you have any other access or support needs.
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- Julia Hales is an actress, writer and creative theatre maker with Down syndrome living in Perth. In 2015, she participated in the Australia Council’s Sync Leadership Program. In 2017, she secured project funding for FINDING LOVE, exploring love’s meaning for her and other people with Down syndrome. This project led to the production You Know We Belong Together.Co-commissioned by Perth Festival, Black Swan State Theatre Company and DADAA, it premiered at the Perth Festival in 2018, later remounted by Black Swan in 2019. The production’s success extended globally, with presentations at the London’s South Bank Centre, the Edinburgh International Festival, and Sydney Opera House in 2022.
As a passionate advocate and leader in the arts, Julia wants to share as many disabled voices with the world as possible. “I want audiences to hear people with disability and what they want, to really listen to their life experiences.” Watch her recipient video here, and read more about her journey as a professional artist here.
- Julia Hales is an actress, writer and creative theatre maker with Down syndrome living in Perth. In 2015, she participated in the Australia Council’s Sync Leadership Program. In 2017, she secured project funding for FINDING LOVE, exploring love’s meaning for her and other people with Down syndrome. This project led to the production You Know We Belong Together.Co-commissioned by Perth Festival, Black Swan State Theatre Company and DADAA, it premiered at the Perth Festival in 2018, later remounted by Black Swan in 2019. The production’s success extended globally, with presentations at the London’s South Bank Centre, the Edinburgh International Festival, and Sydney Opera House in 2022.
- Solomon Kammer (she/they) (b. 1991, Australia) is a Tarndanya/Adelaide-based artist who works predominantly in painting. Kammer draws on her own experiences of chronic illness, medical science and gender biases to expose the prejudices, challenges and abuses faced by many women and gender minorities today.While Kammer’s work is intensely personal, it also speaks to broader experiences of emotional and bodily mistreatment. The bold and confronting compositions Kammer creates speak to underrepresented communities: people living with disability, illness and trauma.
Kammer is a self-taught artist, with no formal training, tertiary education or mentorship. Kammer has been a finalist for numerous awards including the prestigious Archibald Prize, Ramsay Prize, Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award, Mosman Art Prize and has won the People’s Choice category in multiple prizes.
Kammer’s works have been included in notable art fairs, such as Art Basel Hong Kong OVR, Asia Now Paris and Sydney Contemporary Australia. Currently represented by Yavuz Gallery, she presented her debut international solo exhibition with the Singapore gallery in October of 2022.Kammer’s commitment to disability rights goes beyond her artistic practice. The artist dedicates her time to raising awareness and challenging the stigma surrounding illness.
For several years, Kammer served as a champion for endometriosis awareness in collaboration with Endometriosis Australia. She continues to advocate for medical patient rights, safety, and inclusivity by voluntarily conducting formal peer reviews on research manuscripts for the Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing, screening them for bias, prejudice and contributing a perspective of lived experience.
Join us in congratulating the awards recipients:
- Melbourne-based performance artist Roya A (who performs as ‘Roya the Destroya’) was the recipient of the award for an Established Artist. Roya is internationally acclaimed for her work spanning physical theatre, circus and dance. Find out more.
- Madeleine Little, a Brisbane-based actor, theatre and festival director received the award for an Early Career artist, recognising her work as an artist, advocate and mentor for artists with disability. Find out more.
- The 2022 Arts Access Australia National Leadership Award was awarded to Rafeif Ismail, an award winning emerging multilingual writer based in WA. Find out more.
YouTube
National Arts and Disability Awards 2022
National Arts and Disability Awards 2022
Maddie Little – recipient of the 2022 National Arts and Disability Award for Early Career Artist
roya the destroya – recipient of the 2022 National Arts and Disability Award for Established Artist
Announcement of the 2022 AAA National Leadership Award | National Arts & Disability Awards
Eliza Hull: Arts Access Australia’s National Leadership Award, made possible through the support of the Feilman Foundation
Georgia Scott: Australia Council for the Arts National Arts and Disability Award for a Young Artist
Timothy Cook: Australia Council for the Arts National Arts and Disability Award for an Established Artist
Watch the full event below:
- Emily Crockford, Australia Council National Arts and Disability Award (Emerging Artist)
- Gaelle Mellis, Australia Council National Arts and Disability Award (Established Artist)
- Abbie Madden, Arts Access Australia’s National Leadership Award
- Dion Beasly, Australia Council National Arts and Disability Award (Emerging Artist)
- Janice Florence, Australia Council National Arts and Disability Award (Established Artist)
- Madeleine Little, Arts Access Australia’s National Leadership Award