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Strong Success for First Nations Artists in Australia Council Fellowships

Strong success for First Nations artists in Australia Council Fellowships. The Australia Council has announced this year’s recipients of its highly sought-after Fellowships.

Sep 13, 2018

The Australia Council has announced this year’s recipients of its highly sought-after Fellowships.

Australia Council CEO Tony Grybowski congratulated all of the Fellowship recipients, saying they represented some of Australia’s most exceptional artistic talent.

“I’d like to particularly acknowledge First Nations artists; Vernon Ah Kee, Ali Cobby Eckermann and Jacob Boehme, who are among the eight outstanding recipients of this year’s Fellowships. We celebrate their success, in line with our ongoing commitment to fostering greater understanding and appreciation of First Nations arts and culture,” he said.

Among the recipients is Brisbane-based visual artist Vernon Ah Kee, whose conceptual text pieces, videos, photographs and drawings form a critique of Australian culture from the perspective of the Aboriginal experience of contemporary life.

Mr Ah Kee plans to use the Fellowship to develop and make two new bodies of work, and to develop his career internationally through an exhibition at the Tate Modern in London and other international exhibitions.

Australia Council Fellowships are offered once a year and peer assessed by a panel of experts from within the relevant art form.

The Fellowships, each worth $80,000 support creative activity and career development for mid-career and established artists for up to two years. The 2018 Fellowship recipients are;

Read more about the Fellowship recipients’ stories.

Katy Abbott

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Jacob Boehme

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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 through this website to share knowledge, culture and art now, and with future generations.

First Nations Peoples should be aware that this website may contain images or names of people who have died.

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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.

Art by Jordan Lovegrove