First Nations board for the arts unveiled
Film and stage director Rachael Maza and Indigenous arts centres peak body boss Philip Watkins will chair the inaugural First Nations Arts board, the government has announced.
Film and stage director Rachael Maza and Indigenous arts centres peak body boss Philip Watkins will chair the inaugural First Nations Arts board, the government has announced.
The arts board will support and increase career pathways for Indigenous cultural practitioners.
Ms Maza, currently artistic director of Indigenous stage company Ilbijerri Theatre Company, and Mr Watkins, chief executive of Aboriginal art advocacy group Desart, were named yesterday as co-chairs of an all-Indigenous 10-person board, which will oversee $52m in funding over four years from 2024-2025.
The board was a promised plank in the government’s Revive cultural policy and was made possible with legislation passed earlier this year establishing First Nations Arts as a part of Creative Australia, the government’s cultural funding arm.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke commended the appointments to the board and said it would be guided by “First Nations people, protocols and principles”.
“It will amplify the voices of First Nations people and support self-determination in the telling of their stories,” Mr Burke said. “Each member brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will enable them to make pivotal contributions to supporting and empowering First Nations artists and arts workers.”
Other prominent Indigenous members appointed to the board yesterday were award-winning actor Deborah Mailman; Australian Dance Theatre artistic director Daniel Riley; Rhoda Roberts, director of MusicNSW and elder in residence at SBS Television; Perth-based composer Clint Bracknell; NSW north coast film producer Pauline Clague; Tasmanian artist Jeanette James; Cairns Indigenous Art Fair CEO Dennis Stokes; and South Australian Museum research fellow Jared Thomas.
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