Seventy-five Australians have been awarded 2026 Churchill Fellowships, with the latest cohort including practitioners working across the arts, education, health, community services, science and technology.

Announced by the Winston Churchill Trust this week, the recipients will travel overseas to study with leading practitioners and organisations in their fields before bringing their findings back to Australia.

Among the cohort are Tasmanian actor, director and broadcaster Jane Longhurst, whose career has encompassed theatre, television and radio; Adelaide writer/director Lily Drummond, whose work has spanned film and the performing arts; and the Brisbane-based conductor Elena Katahanas.

2026 Churchill Fellows Jane Longhurst and Lily Drummond

Longhurst, a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts School of Drama, has worked extensively as an actor and theatre-maker. Her recent work includes The Black Bag Trilogy, a series of solo performances that has included Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days and Franz Xaver Kroetz’s Request Programme. She has also appeared in productions for Blue Cow Theatre and worked as a broadcaster and presenter.

Drummond, an Adelaide-based writer/director with lived experience of disability, has developed work across film and theatre, with a focus on more complex representation of disabled and queer characters. Her work has screened at festivals including Slamdance and Mardi Gras Film Festival, while her connection with Windmill Theatre Company has extended her practice into the performing-arts sector.

Elena Katahanas. Portrait supplied

Katahanas will use her Churchill Fellowship to investigate international approaches to brass band conducting, leadership and education in the United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland, with the aim of identifying approaches that could be adapted to the Australian context.

The Trust says the 2026 Fellowships reflect issues of importance to communities across Australia, ranging from strengthening health and safety systems to advancing education, sustainability, innovation and the arts. The 75 recipients were selected from a national field of applicants and will join a Churchill Fellowship network that has operated in Australia for more than 60 years.

Churchill Trust CEO Christine Dacey said the Fellowships were based on the belief that significant ideas could come from any part of Australian society.

“Churchill Fellows come from every corner of Australia and every walk of life,” Dacey said. “What unites them is their curiosity, commitment and determination to create positive change.”

The new Fellows will undertake international research before returning to Australia to apply their findings through their professional and community work.

The cohort includes 16 recipients from NSW, 16 from Victoria, 11 from Queensland, 10 from Western Australia, seven from South Australia, six from the Northern Territory, five from Tasmania and four from the ACT.

The Churchill Trust says applications for the 2027 Fellowships will open in February. Fellowships are open to Australians and permanent residents aged over 18 and cover projects across a broad range of professional and community fields.

More information is available on the Winston Churchill Trust website.