Sixteen outstanding artists have been awarded Creative Australia Fellowships.

The Fellowship awards $80,000 to recipients in music, literature, theatre, visual arts, dance, experimental practice, community arts and cultural development. Over a two-year period, Fellows will deepen their practice and develop new creative work, contributing to their professional development and the sustainability of arts in Australia.

Wiradjuri musician Zeppelin Hamilton’s Fellowship will platform contemporary First Nations music on the global stage, contributing to a two-year creative residency, while the five-time ARIA Award-winning vocalist Katie Noonan will work towards improving the future of Australian vocal music.

Katie Noonan. Photo © Storyboard Media

Aboriginal Australian playwright and author Jane Harrison (Bennelong) will develop a new full-length play while mental health advocate and arts practitioner Heidi Everett delves into mental health, disability, and lived experiences through arts.

Amrita Hepi’s fellowship will utilise her skills as a critically and internationally acclaimed choreographer to explore ways of creative leadership. She has been the winner of the people’s choice award from the Keir Choreographic Award and was a Forbes 30 under 30 artist.

Amrita Hepi. Photo © Gregory Lorenzutti

Creator of Once I was a beetle, Angela Valamanesh will continue her arts practice as a visual artist, primarily working with ceramics.

Samoan artist Brian Fuata will support his ambitious ventures into performance art, improvisation and collaboration with international artists. His recent works in the 2026 Adelaide Biennale of Australian Art bridge the gap between performance and culture.

Other recipients of this fellowship include poet and linguist Judith Bishop and translator Alison Entrekin for the development of new work in poetry, creative non-fiction and literary translations, platforming Australian works internationally and across linguistic borders.

A full list of recipients is available on the Creative Australia website.