Rhoda Roberts Trailblazer Award
Key dates
Nominations open: Friday 9 October, 2026
Nominations close: Tuesday 10 November 2026 at 3pm AEST
The First Nations Arts & Culture Awards will be held on Thursday 27 May 2027.
Amount
Amount: $80,000
Contact
Tammy Close, Project Manager, First Nations Arts and Culture
E: tammy.close@creative.gov.au
Ph: (02) 9215 9145
Please note: To nominate you must be registered in our application management system a minimum of two business days prior to the closing date.
About the Award
The Rhoda Roberts Trailblazer Award is a new category within Creative Australia First Nations Arts and Culture Awards, established in memory of the late Rhoda Roberts AO, one of Australia's most influential First Nations cultural leaders, broadcasters, festival directors and arts advocates. The award will be presented for the first time in 2027.
The award honours the legacy, leadership and transformational contribution of Rhoda Roberts AO. Throughout her career, Rhoda demonstrated courage, cultural authority, innovation and an extraordinary ability to create new opportunities for First Nations artists and communities. Her influence extended beyond artistic achievement and advocacy through her work creating pathways for others, fostering innovation, leading major cultural events and festivals, and building national and international connections that strengthened the visibility and impact of First Nations arts and culture.
The Rhoda Roberts Trailblazer Award recognises a First Nations leader whose visionary work, innovation and influence have transformed the arts and cultural sector through pioneering approaches and the creation of new opportunities for others. It celebrates individuals whose leadership has opened doors, expanded opportunities and driven lasting change for First Nations artists, cultural practitioners and communities.
The award seeks to recognise individuals whose impact extends beyond their own artistic achievements or advocacy efforts and whose work has made a significant contribution to the development and growth of the sector. This may include creating new pathways and opportunities, leading innovative initiatives, working across multiple artforms and disciplines, building cultural and industry connections, and expanding opportunities for First Nations artists nationally and internationally.
In recognition of Rhodas' legacy, the award celebrates individuals who have demonstrated visionary leadership and whose contribution has left a lasting impact and effected substantial change across the First Nations arts and cultural landscape, creating opportunities and possibilities (that didn't exist prior) for future generations.
Rhoda Roberts AO
A proud Widjabul Wia-bal woman of the Bundjalung Nation, Rhoda Roberts was a pioneering figure across the arts, media, and cultural sectors. Across more than three decades, she championed truth-telling, community, cultural knowledge, and First Nations creative excellence across television, theatre, festivals, major national events, and arts policy. Some of her extraordinary achievements included:
- founding and leading major First Nations cultural initiatives and festivals
- serving as a creative force behind nationally significant events
- driving greater recognition and visibility of First Nations culture across Australia's arts sector
- championing storytelling, ceremony, performance, and cultural leadership throughout her career.
Following her passing in March 2026, she was widely acknowledged as a visionary cultural leader whose influence transformed the nation's artistic and cultural landscape. Her legacy includes opening pathways for generations of First Nations artists and cultural workers, elevating sovereign storytelling, and creating spaces where ceremony, contemporary practice, and community knowledge could stand together with strength. The Award honours this enduring impact and keeps her contribution visible for future generations.
The Rhoda Roberts Trailblazer Award honours individuals whose vision, leadership, and commitment to First Nations arts and culture embody the same trailblazing spirit that defined Rhoda Roberts' life and career. It recognises outstanding First Nations artists, cultural leaders, and creative practitioners whose work has reshaped the First Nations arts and cultural landscape in Australia and internationally. It celebrates those who innovate and create lasting change, lead and open new pathways for others, and builds and strengthens the cultural future of and for First Nations peoples.
First Nations Arts and Culture Awards
The Awards are held each year on 27 May, the anniversary of the 1967 referendum and the opening of National Reconciliation Week, to honour First Nations excellence and the outstanding contributions of First Nations artists, arts workers, and entrepreneurs to their practice, culture, and community.
The Awards are assessed by an independent panel of First Nations Industry Advisors, with the Red Ochre Awards determined by Creative Australia’s First Nations Board.
The Award categories are:
- the prestigious Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Artistic Excellence for senior artists
- the prestigious Red Ochre Awards for Lifetime Achievement in Cultural Advocacy and Leadership for senior artists
- the Rhoda Roberts Trailblazer Award, for individuals who have demonstrated visionary leadership and whose contribution has left a lasting impact and effected substantial change across the First Nations arts and cultural landscape, creating opportunities and possibilities (that didn't exist prior) for future generations
- the Established Artist of the Year Award to recognise outstanding achievement in the artistic practice of an established First Nations artist
- the Youth Award for Achievement in the Arts, to recognise the achievement of First Nations artists or arts workers between the ages of 18 and 35
- the First Nations Arts and Culture Business Innovation Award, to recognise innovation and excellence in entrepreneurship among First Nations small to medium arts and culture businesses and community organisations (including Art Centres) nationwide.
Please note: the First Nations Arts Fellowship, supporting the creation of a major work by two artists, will be receiving an Award at the event in celebration of their achievements.
Eligibility
Nominator’s Eligibility
The nominator can be any of the following:
- an individual of 18 years+ at the time of nominating and residing in Australia
- an organisation based in Australia.
Nominee Eligibility
The nominee is eligible for this award if they:
- identify as an Australian First Nations (Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander) individual
- are 18 years+ at the time of being nominated
- have worked across the First Nations arts and culture sector for 25 years + as an established and highly regarded artist or arts and culture worker/industry expert in any art form
- are based in Australia.
Please note:
- nominees may not nominate themselves
- nominations may only be made for nominees who are living artists
- nominees can only be nominated in one category for the 2027 First Nations Arts and Culture Awards.
Who can’t be nominated:
You are ineligible to nominate for this award if:
- you have an overdue grant report
- you owe money to Creative Australia.
Assessment process
Stage 1
The First Nations team will undertake a pre-eligibility check on nominations. If your nomination is ineligible, you will be notified within 14 days of the closing date.
Stage 2
Eligible nominations will be assessed by a First Nations Industry Advisory Panel, consisting of six First Nations artists and arts and culture workers/industry experts who may represent states, territories, and areas of artistic and cultural expression, including music, dance, visual arts, theatre, literature, experimental arts, and community arts and cultural development.
The panel will identify up to six highly competitive nominations for recommendations to the First Nations Arts and Culture Board for deliberation and determination.
Stage 3
The recommended six highly competitive nominations will be assessed by Creative Australia’s First Nations Board independently before coming together to make the final determination of the award recipient.
Assessment criteria
Your nomination should demonstrate the nominee's significant and sustained contribution to First Nations arts and culture, including evidence of one or more of the following:
- a profound and lasting impact on the First Nations arts and cultural landscape through visionary leadership, innovation and the creation of new pathways, opportunities, platforms or initiatives for First Nations artists, cultural practitioners and communities
- leadership in bringing First Nations voices, stories and cultural perspectives to national and international audiences, while building cultural, industry, community and international connections that expand opportunities and visibility for First Nations artists across generations
- development of innovative approaches, models, programs or practices that have reshaped, advanced or transformed the First Nations arts and cultural sector and created lasting positive change
- advocacy for First Nations cultural authority, truth-telling and sovereign storytelling, contributing to important conversations and actions that have shifted understanding, practice, policy or industry approaches
- demonstrated ability to challenge existing systems, influence industries, create new opportunities and open doors for others, resulting in meaningful and sustained change across the sector
- leadership and influence across multiple artforms, disciplines, communities or sectors, creating broader cultural, artistic and social impact
- support for future generations of First Nations artists, storytellers, cultural practitioners and leaders through mentorship, leadership, institution-building, capacity development or the creation of enduring opportunities
- a lasting intergenerational legacy that extends beyond the nominee's own artistic achievements or advocacy, with impacts that continue to benefit First Nations artists, communities and the broader arts and cultural sector.
Support material
You must provide:
- The nominee’s CV/extended bio.
- Samples of the nominee's work.
- Up to four letters of support from national and or international established/recognised creatives/cultural leaders and or organisations.
Support material can be provided as URLs (web links) and attachments. You can submit up to three URLs, which may include video, audio, images, and written material.
URLs can include a total of:
- 10 minutes of video and/or audio recording.
- 10 images.
- 10 pages of written material (for example, excerpts of literary writing).
See further information on how to submit URLs as support material.
If you cannot supply support material via URLs, you may upload support material with your application in the following formats:
- Video (MP4 and Windows Media).
- Audio (MP3 and Windows Media).
- Images (slideshow in MS PowerPoint (preferred) or JPEG).
- Written material (MS Word and PDF).
Please note: 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, please contact the Project Manager, Tammy Close at tammy.close@creative.gov.au.
How to submit a nomination
- To nominate, log in to the Application Management System. You must register for an account if you do not already have one. It may take up to two business days for us to process your registration.
- Once you have logged in:
- Click on ‘Apply for a Grant’ from the left panel menu.
- Scroll until you find ‘Rhoda Roberts Trailblazer Award’, and click on ‘Click here to nominate a First Nations artist’.
- To start filling out the nomination, click on ‘Edit’ button in the top right-hand corner and start filling out the nomination form. Make sure to select ‘Save’ at the bottom right-hand corner as you work through the form.
- Add the nominee's information and address the Guideline Assessment Criteria when filling out the section, 'About Your Nomination'.
- Upload any necessary support material that supports your nomination via URL's and attachments.
- If you are not ready to submit your nomination, you can ‘Save’ it and return at a later date before closing. Simply log in and go to the left panel menu and click on ‘Your Draft Applications’, click ‘Edit’ to continue filling out the form.
- When you have completed the application and are ready to submit your nomination, select ‘Submit’ at the bottom right-hand corner.
We acknowledge the many Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and honour their Elders past and present.
We respect their deep enduring connection to their lands, waterways, and surrounding clan groups since time immemorial. We cherish the richness of First Nations peoples’ artistic and cultural expressions. We are privileged to gather on this Country and to share knowledge, culture and art, now and with future generations.
