Creative Australia honours the life of Fiona Winning, a visionary arts leader whose influence shaped contemporary performance in Australia for more than three decades.
Fiona’s career was defined by her deep commitment to artists, audiences and the transformative power of live performance. From her early work with community-based companies in Brisbane and Western Sydney to her leadership at Performance Space, Sydney Festival and the Sydney Opera House, she consistently created space for bold, inclusive and artist-led work.
Throughout the 1990s, Fiona’s creative practice was prolific and community focused. She served as Artistic Director of Death Defying Theatre (now Urban Theatre Projects), where she co-directed TrackWork, a large-scale performance on trains and platforms across Western Sydney. She directed and wrote for projects such as Don’t Die on Friday for the Queensland Nurses Union, Kin Tucka Tiddas for Ngoroe-Kah Aboriginal Theatre Company, and Say It Out Loud for women in the Hunter region. She also worked as a dramaturg, lecturer, consultant and facilitator, and was a member of the Artistic Directorate of Hothouse Theatre in Albury-Wodonga. Her work consistently centred community, collaboration and cultural exchange.
As Director of Performance Space, Fiona played a pivotal role in nurturing and mentoring artists at the cutting edge of contemporary performance as well as deftly navigating the company’s move from Cleveland St to Carriageworks. She co-curated Siteworks at Bundanon, convened the Australian Theatre Forum, and co-designed NIDA’s MFA in Cultural Leadership. Her leadership was marked by generosity, curiosity and a fierce belief in the value of artists and their work.
Fiona’s relationship with Creative Australia (formerly the Australia Council for the Arts) spanned decades. She served on the Theatre Board from 2009 to 2013, was a regular peer assessor between 2005 and 2017, and received multiple grants for her own creative work. In 1995, she was awarded a Community Cultural Development Fellowship, recognising her leadership in socially engaged practice. She was pivotal in the design, curation and implementation of the 5-year interdisciplinary laboratory initiative Time_Place_Space. She also contributed to many projects supported through organisational funding and was frequently cited by other applicants as a mentor, collaborator and inspiration.
Fiona held positions on numerous boards and committees, including Accessible Arts, Performing Lines, Critical Path, ReelDance, AsiaLink, the NSW Ministry for the Arts, and the Queensland Community Arts Network. She brought integrity, intellect and care, shaping policy and practice with a deep commitment to equity and inclusion.
Alice Nash, Executive Director Arts Investment, shared:
"Fiona Winning was a rare and generous leader whose passion for people and the arts shaped a more inclusive and vibrant sector. She brought intelligence, warmth and fierce advocacy to everything she did. Her legacy lives on in the artists she championed and the institutions she helped shape.”
Creative Australia extends its condolences to Fiona’s family, friends and the sector, who are feeling this great loss.
Vale Fiona Winning
Oct 1961 – Aug 2025
