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First Nations Commissioning Fund round 5 recipients

7 Feb 2025

First Nations Commissioning Fund round 5 recipients

  • Karul Projects Dance Theatre Pty Ltd - $160,000 (inclusive of $10,000 for new music) for Mighty Mob, a new First Nations dance-theatre work where Blak issues are solved by First Nations superheroes.
  • Inala Wangarra – $147,715 for Jarjum Life Museum Zenadth Kes (JLM:ZS), a pop-up museum sharing Jarjum stories, hopes, dreams and ideas through the creative works of more than 60 Torres Strait Islander children from Thursday and Mabuiag Islands.
  • Mr Joshua Taliani – $70,000 for the creative development and presentation of Unveiling Shadows: A Journey Through Silence, a debut solo dance work that shares Taliani’s story growing up as First Nations-Italian queer man. The performance will be presented by Metro Arts at the 2025 Brisbane Festival.
  • Robert Henderson Art Trust – $65,836 for the Cultural Creative Development Program. Under the mentorship of principal artist Birrunga Wiradyuri, the program will help First Nations artists in South East Queensland showcase their art and enhance their artistic skills through unique cultural expression.
  • BlakDance Australia Limited – $80,000 (inclusive of $10,000 for new music) for Preparing Ground, a multi-dimensional Queensland First Nations-led contemporary dance work to premiere at the 2025 Brisbane Festival. The work will feature original sound, images and movement sourced from Country, composed by Samuel Pankhurst and choreographed by Marilyn Miller, Jasmin Sheppard and Katina Olsen.
  • Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council – $159,700 (inclusive of $10,000 for new music) for ‘Deadly Sounds’ Gulf Dreamtime stories – Music of Doomadgee. Musician Dale Mallett (Mufassa Music) will provide professional development to Doomadgee First Nations musicians to produce their own professionally recorded album and video clips and perform at events such as the Malandarri Festival and Cairns Indigenous Arts Fair. The applicant has also been approved for up to $70,000 for an Industry Placement.
  • Mr Chris Williams – $80,000 (inclusive of $10,000 for new music) for the Didgeridoo Commissioning Project 2025 to commission and perform three new works with Sean O'Boyle AM, Leah Curtis, Paul Grabowksy AO and Southern Cross Soloists (SXS). The works will premiere at the SXS 16th Concert Series at QPAC, showcasing the distinctive culture of First Nations people and creating a legacy of didgeridoo musical works for future generations.
  • Gaba Musik – $80,000 (inclusive of $10,000 for new music) and up to $60,000 in Industry Placement for Meganesia, a contemporary dance production that celebrates the cultural journey of music and dance of Bama, Torres Strait Islands, and Papua New Guinea. 
  • Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC – $69,999 for Kuku Bakal Kaykayanda - Giving Voice to Children and Young People for Healing in Disaster Recovery, a new music video that amplifies youth voices impacted by Tropical Cyclone Jasper and subsequent flooding events in Far Northern Queensland. Through language, music and film, the project offers a creative platform for Mossman-based children and young people to present their disaster experiences and aids in their recovery.
  • Ms Michelle Levings – $69,400 for GLVES’ Belonging, a live multimedia contemporary pop musical experience led by four First Nations storytellers to showcase and elevate Indigenous women's art and music. Belonging will showcase at the 2025 Australian Women in Music Awards. 
  • Mr Dean Saffron – $51,443 for Kamileroi photographer Dean Saffron to undertake a Queensland First Nations photographic collection to be exhibited during 2025 Reconciliation Week. The project aims to document daily life, portraits and oral histories of First Nations peoples and support the next generation of First Nations photographers through skills development workshops delivered across 22 communities.

Image: Unveiling Shadows. Image by Ellamay Fitzgerald

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