Australia Council Bestows Artists With 2016 Awards

On March 1, the Australia Council for the Arts—the country’s arts funding and advisory body—announced the 2016 recipients of the Australia Council Awards, which recognizes local artists who have made significant contributions across the fields of visual arts, music, literature, performing arts and cultural development.

The eight winners include: Richard Bell (Australia Council Visual Arts Award); David Malouf AO (Australia Council Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature); Brett Dean (Don Banks Music Award); Kelli McCluskey (Australia Council Emerging & Experimental Arts Award); Lucy Guerin (Australia Council Dance Award); Yaron Lifschitz (Australia Council Theatre Award); Lily Shearer (Ros Bower Award, Community Arts and Cultural Development); and Nathan Stoneham (Kirk Robson Award, Community Arts and Cultural Development).

Commenting on the Australia Council Awards’ significance, Tony Grybowski, Australia Council Chief Executive Officer, stated that they are the highest honor bestowed by the Council. “The 2016 recipients join a group that includes some of Australia’s most esteemed artists—artists who delight and challenge audiences across the country and around the globe […] These artists are widely respected by their peers and have each played an important role in the national development of their art form,” said Grybowski.

This edition is the second year of the Australia Council Awards, which was established as a new organizational approach for the government to bring together individual art-form awards. The ceremony will be held in Sydney on March 10. 

Sylvia Tsai is associate editor at ArtAsiaPacific.