Red Ochre Award (Lifetime Achievement)

Nominations for senior artists are accepted from arts and community organisations and individuals.ContactAmount: There are 4 Awards valued at $60,000 eachNominations close: Tuesday 16 September 2025, 3pm AESTNotifications: December 2025The First Nations Arts & Culture Awards are on Wednesday 27 May 2026.Please note: To nominate you must be registered in our application management system a minimum of two business days prior to the closing date.Creative Australia is pleased to invite nominations for senior First Nations artists and cultural workers for the 2026 Red Ochre Awards.Red Ochre Awards nominations are open across two categories:Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Artistic Excellence.Two awards valued at $60,000 for outstanding lifetime achievement in artistic practice for a senior Australian First Nations artist.Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cultural Advocacy and Leadership.Two awards valued at $60,000 for outstanding lifetime achievement in cultural advocacy and leadership for a senior Australian First Nations arts leader or arts and cultural worker.About the Red Ochre AwardThe prestigious Red Ochre Award was established by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board in 1993 to pay tribute to senior Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander individuals for their outstanding lifetime achievements and contributions in the arts and recognised both nationally and internationally.The Red Ochre Award recognises:Lifetime contribution to First Nations Arts and Culture nationally and internationally.Lifetime contribution to the First Nations community.Lifetime achievement in arts practice and cultural advocacy and leadership.The First Nations Arts and Culture AwardsThe First Nations Arts and Culture Awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding work and achievements of First Nations artists, practice, cultural advocacy and leadership.The Awards are held annually on the 27 May, which coincides with the commencement of Reconciliation Week.On the 27 May 2026, the following awards will be presented:The prestigious Red Ochre Awards for Lifetime Achievement in Artistic Excellence.The prestigious Red Ochre Awards for Lifetime Achievement in Cultural Advocacy and Leadership.The nominator can be any of the following:An individual over 18 years of age and a residing in Australia.A First Nations arts, cultural or community organisation based in Australia.A Non-First Nations arts, cultural or community organisations based in Australia.Nominee Eligibility:The nominee must:Be a First Nations Senior artist or arts and cultural worker residing in Australia.Have a history of lifetime artist and cultural achievements that can be evidenced on a national and international platform.Senior artists may not nominate themselves, and nominations may only be made for nominees that are living artists.The Red Ochre Awards Nominations will be assessed by Creative Australia''s First Nations Board against the following criteria:1. First Nations Community, Arts and CultureSignificance of the contribution to First Nations arts and cultural expression.Inspire First Nations community to keep culture strong.First Nations community recognition.Impact of engagement and practice, the span of influence and contribution to the First Nations community.Ensuring their practice is accessible to the First Nations community.2. Arts Practice and LeadershipSubstantial contribution to the development of First Nations arts nationally and internationally.Artistic practice maintained over a significant period of time.Outstanding body of work.Industry and peer recognition and acknowledgment.Significance of the work within the area of practice.Contribution to diverse cultural expression.You do not need to respond to every bullet point listed.Support materialYou must provide:The nominees CV/extended bioSamples of the nominee''s workUp to four letters of supportSupport material can be provided as URLs (web links) and attachments. You can submit up to three URLs, which may include video, audio, images, and written material.URLs can include a total of:10 minutes of video and/or audio recording10 images10 pages of written material (for example, excerpts of literary writing).If you cannot supply support material via URLs, you may upload support material with your application in the following formats:Video (MP4 and Windows Media)Audio (MP3 and Windows Media)Images (Slideshow in MS PowerPoint (preferred) or JPEG)Written material (MS Word and PDF)We do not accept application-related support material submitted via post. Application-related material received by post will not be assessed and will be returned to the sender.If you think you will have difficulty submitting your support material online, please Project Manager, Tammy Close at 02 9215 9145 or at [email protected] you have logged into the Application Management System:Choose the First Nations Awards Application link.Select ''Submit a Nomination'' from the left panel menu.Choose the correct award from the list of options.Complete the fields and select answers using the dropdown menus.Upload any necessary support material.Click ''Save'' once complete.If you are not ready to submit your nomination you can return to it through ''Your Draft Applications'' in the left panel menu.When you are ready to submit your nomination, select ''Submit''.How to submit a nominationTo nominate, log in to our Application Management System. You must register an account if you do not already have one. It may take up to two business days for us to process your registration. Once you have logged in:Click on ''Apply for a Grant'' on the left panel menu.Scroll until you find the ''First Nations Awards 2026'' and click on ''Click here to nominate a First Nations artist or organization for a First Nations Awards.''Begin filling out your application.In the ''Choose Award'' section, select from the Award category you would like to make your nomination for and add their nominee''s information.Make sure you keep the Awards Guidelines handy when filling out the section, ''About Your Nomination''.Upload any necessary support material via URL''s and attachments.Select ''Save'' so you don''t lose any of your work, and click on ''Edit'' to continue filling out the application.If you are not ready to submit your nomination you can return to it through ''Your Draft Applications'' in the left panel menuWhen you have completed the application and are ready to submit your nomination, select ''Submit''.#J-18808-Ljbffr

Created: 2026-01-24