Please note: to apply you must be registered in our application management system a minimum of two business days prior to the closing date
Debra Porch Award: Visual Arts Residency
Key dates
Closing date: Tuesday 15 September 2026, 3pm AEST or 12pm Southeast Asia Standard Time.
Notification date: December 2026.
Residency dates: The 6-week residencies will take place in 2027, as negotiated with residency hosts.
Key info
Art form: Visual Arts
Residency hosts:
UNSW Galleries, Sydney Australia and SAC Gallery, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Amount:
The Australian artist participating in the residency in Thailand will receive $10,000 AUD.
The Thai artist participating in the residency in Australia will receive $13,000 AUD.
Contact
If you need advice about applying, contact:
or see our Contact Us page for other contact options.
Please note: Are you registering to use our Application Management System for the first time? Make sure you register well before the closing date. It can take two business days to process your registration.
About the opportunity
Creative Australia is continuing the Debra Porch Award through its partnership with UNSW Galleries, Sydney and SAC Gallery, Bangkok.
Artist Debra Porch’s practice focused on memory, mortality and the relationship between presence and absence. Working and teaching during art residencies in our neighbouring regions became vital in Debra’s art, work and life.
In honour of Debra Porch’s life’s work, this reciprocal award seeks to continue to ensure long term engagement and strong intercultural connections across the Asia Pacific region. In 2027 the Award will be offered to two mid-careers artists - one from Australia and one from Thailand - who demonstrate a commitment to fostering long-term artistic and cultural connections between Australia and Thailand.
One Australian visual artist will be supported to undertake a residency at SAC Gallery in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Alongside this, one mid-career Thai visual artist will also be supported to undertake a residency at UNSW Galleries in Sydney, Australia.
Nathan Beard, 1952,1215.1, 2025, Patinated bronze, silicone, wood, steel, foam.132 x 72.5 x 49.5cm. Installation view from 2025 TarraWarra Biennial: We Are Eagles. Image courtesy of TarraWarra Museum of Art and Andrew Curtis.
Support
One Australian artist and one Thai artist will be supported to undertake reciprocal residencies.
- Australian residency at UNSW Galleries: The successful Thai recipient will receive a grant of $13,000 AUD to cover artist per diems, travel and insurance costs and living expenses for their residency. Accommodation and studio access will be provided by UNSW Galleries.
- Thai residency at SAC Gallery: The successful Australian recipient will receive a grant of $10,000 AUD to cover artist per diems, travel and insurance costs and living expenses for their residency. Accommodation and studio access will be provided by SAC Gallery.
The award amounts reflect the average costs of living in the respective cities.
Host organisations will also provide in-kind curatorial care and support during the 6-week residency period, including introducing the artist to the local sector and assistance with research and network building with relevant communities. The artist will also have the option to share an artist talk or participate in a public program at the end of the residency period.
We encourage you to speak to us about any specific access needs or support you may require to participate in the residency, including support workers, interpreting and childcare requirements.
If you need advice about applying, contact international@creative.gov.au.
Eligibility
Who can apply
This opportunity is open to:
- individuals
- artists working in the Visual arts and/or interdisciplinary practice with an interest in material exploration (excluding activities associated with feature film, television, or documentary)
- Australian or Thai artists – applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of either country
- applicants must be eligible to travel internationally.
Who can’t apply
You can’t apply to this program if:
- you have an overdue report for another Creative Australia grant
- you owe money to Creative Australia
- you have received the Debra Porch Award previously
- you are a group/organisation.
Protocols
Your application must comply with the following protocols. We may contact you to request further information during the assessment process, or if successful, as a condition of your agreement.
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, provide evidence of this in their application and support material. More information on the First Nations Protocols is available here.
Commonwealth Child Safe Framework
All successful applicants are required to comply with all Australian law relating to employing or engaging people who work or volunteer with children, including working with children checks and mandatory reporting. Successful organisations who provide services directly to children, or whose investment activities involve contact with children, will additionally be required to implement the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations.
Assessment
Assessment process
Applications will be assessed by industry advisors with relevant experience, in consultation with host organisations, against the assessment criteria below. An internal moderation process will then be conducted by Creative Australia staff to ensure diversity and alignment to the aims of the program. Final decisions will be made by Creative Australia.
Assessment criteria
You must address all assessment criteria in your application.
Under each criterion are bullet points indicating what industry advisors may consider when assessing your application. You do not need to respond to every bullet point listed.
Quality
Industry advisors will assess the quality of the artistic and/or cultural development activities proposed in your application.
They may consider:
- your artistic practice and quality of your previous artistic works
- the vision, ideas and artistic rationale for your proposed residency
- your level of motivation and approach to personal learning, collaboration and development.
Viability
Industry advisors will assess the viability of the proposed activities.
They may consider:
- feasibility and relevance of proposed activity in the context of the residency context
- realistic and achievable planning within the residency period.
Impact
Industry advisors will assess the expected impact of the proposed activities on your career.
They may consider:
- how the residency will contribute to the development of your artistic practice, including relevance and timeliness
- how the residency will strengthen your professional networks, international engagement and future opportunities for collaboration.
Applications
Applications must be submitted via Creative Australia’s Application Management System.
If you are registering to use the System for the first time, make sure you register well before the closing date. It can take up to two business days to process your registration.
The types of questions we ask in the application form include:
- response to the assessment criteria
- a proposed schedule for your residency activities
- supporting material as relevant to your project, including examples of your work.
Support material
Additional material must be submitted to support your application. We will review support material to understand your artistic practice and the viability and impact of your proposal. Do not assume that those who are reading your submission, know your work or experience, and consider this when deciding what should be included.
We strongly recommend you curate your support material to be relevant, targeted and easily accessible.
Our preferred method of receiving support material is via URLs (weblinks) that link to content that is targeted and relevant to your submission.
Creative Australia and Industry Advisors will not view any URLs that require log in or to sign up to a platform. Please do not provide links to applications or documents that require users to log in or pay for access.
If you are linking to sites or files that are private or password protected, please provide the password in the password field on the application form.
We do not accept support material submitted via post. Support 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 international@creative.gov.au.
Learn more about support material via the Creative Australia website.
You can provide up to 3 URLs.
You can include a maximum of:
- 10 minutes of video and/or audio recording, and/or
- 10 images, and/or
- 10 pages of written material (for example, excerpts of writing, scripts and letters of support/confirmation).
If you provide material that exceeds these limits it may not be reviewed as a part of the assessment process.
If you cannot supply support material via URLs, you may upload support material to your application in the following formats:
- video (MP4, Windows Media)
- audio (MP3, Windows Media)
- images (JPEG, PowerPoint)
- written material (Word, PDF).
- Creative/artistic and cultural support material
This should include relevant, recent examples of your creative or cultural work and/or the services you provide using the formats identified above.
- Biographies and CVs
You can include a brief bio or curriculum vitae (CV).
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.
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 5 letters of support, with each letter not exceeding 1 A4 page.
Access and Inclusion
We strongly encourage applicants who identify as First Nations, from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds, people with disability, and people living in regional and remote areas to apply for this opportunity.
Our programs and processes are designed for accessibility and best use by a diverse demographic. Please contact us at least 2 weeks prior to the closing date to discuss your specific access and support requirements.
Alternative support material formats
You may wish to respond to the assessment criteria question via a video option. Please upload a video file of no more than 10 minutes to respond to the questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to provide a budget?
No. You are not required to provide a budget with your application.
If successful, what resources will I have access to during the residency?
For the Australian artist, SAC gallery, Thailand is providing access to their ceramics, painting, and printmaking studios. They will provide connection to technicians and artisans, along with local curators and artists.
For the successful Thai artist, UNSW Galleries in Sydney, Australia is providing access to the nine workshops in The Making Centre, including access to screen printing, textiles, ceramics, print making, jewellery facilities and more.
Do I have to provide a timetable of activities in my application?
Yes. You will need to provide an outline of your plans for the residency period and what you hope to achieve.
Do I need travel insurance?
Yes. If successful, you are required to take out travel insurance for the duration of your residency. It is recommended you pay for this from your grant.
When will my residency take place?
The 6-week residency will take place in 2027. There is flexibility for the successful applicants to negotiate the exact start and end dates with their residency host organisation.
If successful, am I able to extend my stay abroad?
Yes, but this will be at your own cost and we will not be able to provide additional funds towards the extension.
How can I get assistance with my application?
Our staff are available to assist you in understanding the purpose of the grant, application requirements and submitting your application. Creative Australia staff can assist over email, phone and video calls. We cannot review application drafts.
Additional support can be discussed where needed. Where the additional support is beyond the scope of what staff can provide, we may recommend speaking to an appropriate organisation for further assistance.
If I am successful, am I able to take my partner, child or both?
You will need to check this can be accommodated with the residency host.
Is the grant I receive as part of my residency considered taxable income?
Yes, for Australian applicants, the grant to an individual that accompanies a residency is considered income and taxable. Please visit the Australian Taxation Office website for more information. We cannot advise about taxable income in Thailand.
Will the same residencies be offered every year?
Our International Residency suite is dynamic and responsive and the programs on offer may vary from year to year.
Can I still apply to Arts Projects Grants for Individuals for a self-organised residency?
Yes. Please refer to the Arts Projects for Individuals and Groups guidelines for details on applying.
I have already received a Creative Australia residency, am I eligible for another residency?
If you have received a different Creative Australia residency – i.e. not the Debra Porch Award Residency – you re eligible, as long as you have satisfactorily acquitted the previous residency grant.
Can I apply to this residency with a film project?
In general, film projects are not eligible to Creative Australia funding. Applicants who use filming in their practice or include video work associated with a visual, digital or multi artform project may apply to this opportunity. We encourage artists who primarily use filmmaking in their practice to reach out to the Creative Australia team before starting their application to ensure the eligibility of their projects.
If I have to take time off from my job to do a residency, what sort of compensation will I receive?
The grant is not intended to cover lost income or rent at home and applicants will need to consider their capacity to undertake the residency prior to applying.
What information, resources and contacts will Creative Australia provide if I am successful?
We partner with established and reputable residency providers and each program is unique. Successful applicants will be provided with detailed information about each residency and introductions to the residency providers who will assist artists with making local connections. Our staff are able to provide further advice and contacts, as requested. Artists are also expected to have their own resources, contacts and project plans for the residency.
What can I use the grant for?
The grant is a contribution from Creative Australia toward your travel (including airfares and travel insurance) and living costs during the residency period. Applicants are expected to research the cost of living in the residency location they are travelling to. You may need to supplement the grant with your own funds depending on your projected costs for the residency period.
Can you provide assistance with applying for international visas?
We cannot provide any advice on visa or immigration matters. You must contact the relevant country’s visa service to get current information. We suggest you allow plenty of time to apply for all international visas.
Is this residency accessible to artists with disability?
Additional access requirements during a residency may be accommodated upon request.
Do I need an ABN to apply for a grant?
All individual or organisation grant application based in Australia must have an active Australian Business Number (ABN). Individual applicants without an ABN may have their grant administered by an individual or organisation with an ABN. Organisation operating outside of Australia do not need an ABN to apply, depending on their circumstances, (please check with your accountant or tax advisor).
The name of the applicant must match the name of the ABN and the name of the bank account we pay the grant into. If you cannot provide an ABN and bank account that are in the same name as the applicant, you will need to nominate an administrator for your grant.
For more information about this, please contact international@creative.gov.au.
Will receiving a grant affect my Centrelink payment?
Grants can be considered income by Centrelink. The amount is generally assessed as a lump sum and could affect your Centrelink payment for the financial year. Artists who are running a business (even on a small scale) may have their grant treated differently. It is possible to have your grant paid to an administering body if you wish.
Applicants should contact Centrelink on 13 28 50 for advice. Additionally, Centrelink’s Financial Information Service (FIS) is an education and information service available to everyone in the community and may be of benefit to applicants who also receive assistance through the social security system. To contact FIS phone 13 23 00.
If I receive a grant, will my tax be affected?
Grants may be considered part of your income in a financial year and may be subject to tax. You must determine your own taxation liabilities. We suggest you consult your financial advisor or contact the Australian Taxation Office.
Successful applicants
Once all applications have been assessed, you will be contacted about the outcome of your application.
If your application is successful, you will be sent a funding agreement. This outlines the conditions of the funding, how you will be paid and your grant reporting requirements.
You may be asked to participate in evaluation activities with Creative Australia staff and external evaluators at various times throughout your project.
Feedback on applications
Due to the number of applications we process, we are unable to provide personalised feedback on applications. To see general feedback provided by the industry advisors for the previous Debra Porch Award assessment please visit the International Engagement page.
Award recipients
2026 residents
Photo: Kai Wasikowki
Elyas Alavi is an Afghanistan born Hazara artist living in Naarm/Melbourne. His multi-disciplinary practice examines the intersections of displacement, memory, gender, and sexuality through painting, installation, poetry and performance. His practice often interrogates histories in the South West Asia and North Africa (SWANA) region, exploring their entanglements with globalization, settler colonialism, and the mobility and displacement of Black and Brown bodies.
Alavi holds a Master of Visual Arts from the University of South Australia (2016) and a Master of Fine Arts from Chelsea College of Arts, University of London (2020). His recent projects include a solo exhibition ALAM (2024) at the 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art in Sydney, and presentations and commissions for the 24th Biennale of Sydney: Ten Thousand Suns (2024); the 03 Lahore Biennale, Pakistan (2024); That I Could Fear a Door (2024) at the Museo della Scultura Contemporanea Matera; JOY at the Immigration Museum Victoria (2024), and the TarraWarra Biennial: ua usiusi fa ʻava ʻasavili (2023).
Alavi has published three poetry collections, earning critical acclaim and has been translated into English, Greek, Urdu, Kurdish, and Spanish, and has appeared in prominent publications such as World Literature Today (University of Oklahoma) and the PARSE Journal (University of Gothenburg).
Photo: Lauren Hillsdon
Natalie Sasi Organ examines fragmented historiographies, creating artificial yet familiar scenes of composite memories and territories. Her practice, defined by continuous dualities and dichotomies, mirrors the binary thinking of cultural hybridity, also tracing the artist’s personal search for living in the in-between. Drawing from settings close to her heritage, Sasi Organ builds a composite archive of visual evidence, often crossing generations and geographies, confronting personal and cultural tensions of migration, displacement, and assimilation. She stitches together archival relics and speculative mythologies, challenging dominant paradigms of Eurocentric assimilation and unearthing ancestral practices. Forming a practice of recollection, recontextualisation, and reclamation, Sasi Organ highlights the ephemeral and overlooked, challenging the subjective ambiguities of identity and memory.
Sasi Organ has participated in numerous group exhibitions including What Binds Me to This Land, Ames Yavuz, Singapore; Soft Forgetting, Sangheeut, Seoul, South Korea (2025); Affinities, Nova Contemporary, Bangkok, Thailand (2025); We Begin with Everything, ara contemporary, Jakarta, Indonesia (2025); from here to here, Nova Contemporary, Thailand (2023); Hell: Arts of Asian Underworlds & Bernice Bing Open Call, Asian Art Museum, San Fransisco, U.S (2023); and Friends and Family: Part II, Pi Artworks, London, UK (2023).
2025 residents
photo credit: Jacquie Manning
Mehwish Iqbal
Mehwish Iqbal is a multidisciplinary artist whose diverse practice includes printmaking, painting, sculpture, ceramics, drawing, writing, and installation. Her work delves into themes of identity, displacement, and human connection, offering a nuanced exploration of belonging and separation. Iqbal's art reflects on the forced displacement of communities and the lasting effects of conflict on individuals and the environment, emphasizing the interdependent relationship between humans and nature. She addresses critical issues such as land stewardship, ecological resilience, and resource sustainability, highlighting the essential connections between culture, nature, and survival.
Iqbal's artistic journey is enriched by cross-cultural dialogue and engagement with various communities, supported by residencies at esteemed institutions like the Artists League in New York and Cité des Arts in Paris. Her work has garnered recognition through prestigious grants from Creative Australia, Create NSW, the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Exhibited extensively in Australia and internationally at respected venues such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Iqbal's presence extends to exhibitions in the United States, Turkey, Hong Kong, France, and Pakistan, reflecting the global resonance of her artistic vision.
Kanchalee Ngamdamronk
Kanchalee Ngamdamronk (b.1989) is a textile artist exploring belonging, identity, and cultural memory through craft practice. With a background in textile design and weaving specialization, she has worked in interior and fashion design in Thailand and internationally. After studying Shibori and indigo dyeing in Japan in 2014, she co-founded Slowstitch Studio, a textile studio focusing on pattern exploration and craftsmanship.
Ngamdamronk’s practice employs a material-based, process-led approach to investigate surfaces, materiality, and how objects transcend their conventional uses. She explores how traditions evolve, how materials carry meaning, and how making creates connections in a fragmented world. Through close collaboration with craftspeople, she reinterprets traditional techniques, experimenting with form, scale, and material to develop new visual languages. Her work navigates the boundaries between craft and art, examining how these categories shift within expanding cultural narratives.
2024 residents
Photo: Kai Wasikowski
Nathan Beard
Nathan Beard is a multidisciplinary artist who draws from his Australian-Thai heritage to unpack the porous nature of culture and memory. In exploring associations of ‘Thainess’ through archives, family history and popular media, Beard’s work reveals the slippery range of influences which shape identity.
Recent exhibition highlights include A Moment in Extended Crisis, UTS Gallery (2024) and A Puzzlement, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (2023) and Perth Institute of Con-temporary Art (2022). He is currently participating in the Gertrude Studio Program (2023-25). He is represented by sweet pea, Boorloo/Perth, and FUTURES, Naarm/Melbourne.
Photo: Naraphat Sakarthornsap
Naraphat Sakarthornsap
Naraphat Sakarthornsap lives and works in Bangkok, Thailand, and utilises photography and installation art to explore themes of social inequality and gender discrimination. Flowers, meticulously chosen by him, become central characters in his narratives, each blossom imbued with symbolic meaning. These floral arrangements act as keys, unlocking hidden messages within the artworks. At times, the delicate beauty of these flowers might hint at a deeper emotional core, perhaps reflecting personal struggles the artist has endured.
His early works grappled with the challenge of preserving a flower’s fleeting beauty. This artistic pursuit later evolved into a powerful critique of societal power structures. He invites viewers to look beyond the surface beauty of his floral arrangements, seeking the deeper messages encoded within. These messages may resonate with those who grapple with societal expectations and the pervasive inequalities that exist.
2023 residents
Camille Laddawan / ลัดดาวัลย์
Artist, b. 1990
Wurundjeri Country, Australia
Camille Laddawan’s practice is centred on beading and extends to etching, painting and photography. Her beading work is often inscribed with fragments of text and music notation by way of a visual code. Through this code, her work comments on the nature of institutional language, and the difficulties of navigating it. By drawing on personal experiences of coming into contact with legal, welfare and healthcare bodies, Camille’s work seeks to make these experiences and ways of communicating visible.
Tintin Cooper
Tintin Cooper is a mixed race artist from Bangkok.
She grew up in over 17 countries and cites this chaotic influence on her works, which span image and video appropriations, light works, painting on ceramic tiles and sculpture.
Her works are often humorous and appropriate pop culture images and memes (popular themes include football, self defense, the army and war, yoga and pseudo-spirituality fads), which are then deconstructed across various media.
Recent projects include ceramic tile installations for Soho House Bangkok and London, and an NFT series in conjunction with astrologer Jessica Adams and media artist Anita Bacic.
2022 residents
Claudia Koguchi (for a residency at artisan, Brisbane, Australia)
Claudia’s work leans into the personal. She can’t resist inserting the people in her life into her paintings. Claudia often depicts herself and those around her carrying out everyday leisure activities or exploring imaginary moments. These scenarios are used to delve into various interpersonal dynamics and emotional states, navigating the often tricky side to relationships. For Claudia, life is as equally malleable as fiction and she bends the narrative truth of both towards each other until they meet. Her works are imaginary negotiations of real relationships and real feelings.
Oscillating between painting and textile, both mediums hum with the same energy. The depictions of Claudia’s characters are large, bold, and cartoonish. She employs a sometimes coded colour palette, but always primary and bright. With a playful ease, Claudia embraces ugliness with no subject or bodily aspect too taboo for the canvas. Dressing herself and her associates in a range of real and made up personas, the audience is invited to do the same. In a world where everything is real and everything is made up, you can be anyone you want.
Andy Butler (for a residency at Artspace Aotearoa, Auckland, New Zealand)
Andy Butler is an artist, writer and curator based in Naarm/Melbourne.
As an artist, he works across moving image, installation and painting. His work has been exhibited at Arts House, Bus Projects, Firstdraft, The Substation, Footscray Community Art Centre and more. He has undertaken residencies with Parramatta Art Studios and the Powerhouse Museum, Green Papaya Art Projects in Manila through Asialink and more. In 2021 he was a recipient of the Creative Victoria Creators Fund grant to undertake research into the archetype of the white saviour within the archives of the National Library of Australia.
His writing has been published to wide acclaim, in outlets including frieze, The Saturday Paper, The Monthly, Art Guide and more, as well as in numerous anthologies and exhibition catalogues.
Independent curatorial projects include Always there and all a part (2017) at BLINDSIDE, and Those Monuments Don’t Know Us (2019) at Bundoora Homestead Art Centre. He was most recently the (Acting) Artist Director at West Space.
He currently sits on the board of the Emerging Writers Festival, and was previously on the board of SEVENTH Gallery.
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