CONTENT COURTESY SIDNEY MYER PERFORMING ARTS AWARDS
Sidney Myer Fund chairman Andrew Myer AM has announced the winners of the 2021 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards.
The award recipients are:
Facilitator prizes: Australian Digital Concert Hall (Music, Vic) and Erin Milne (Producing, Vic)
Group awards: All the Queens Men (Performance, Vic – featured image, credit Jorge de Araujo); Blakdance (Dance, Qld); and Speak Percussion (Music, Vic)
Individual awards: Clare Watson (Artistic Director, WA); James Berlyn (Artistic Director, WA); and Jenny M Thomas (Music, Vic)
In announcing the winners, Andrew has praised each of them for their creative leadership, generosity and contribution to the community: “The last couple of years have placed enormous pressure on everyone working in the performing arts.”
“While venues are now open, the pressure and risks for artists and companies are still very real. It is my great hope that these awards go some way to support those producing works of excellence, who have been able to innovate and experiment in their art form and who connect very strongly with communities around the country.’’
The Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards support eight prizes of $25,000 each for Individuals, Groups and Facilitators across the country. Since 2020, the Awards have increased in number from three to eight in recognition of the devastation wrought on the performing arts by the pandemic.
The awards celebrate excellence in the performing arts and provide direct financial support to artists and organisations. In this way, the awards and the Sidney Myer Fund are very much fundamental to the cultural life of Australia.
The Trustees of the Sidney Myer Fund believe that artistic and cultural achievement should be recognised and rewarded. It has awarded over $4 million in the Awards’ 39 years.
The national awards are determined by a judging committee that this year included Alison Beare (SA), Wendy Martin (WA), Kyle Page (Qld), Brian Ritchie (Tas) and Emily Sexton (Vic). The committee is chaired by Andrew Myer AM (Chairman, Sidney Myer Fund) who does not vote.
The committee recognises past achievements but also gives consideration to the potential of an individual or group to continue their contribution to Australian society through the performing arts.
The Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards were established in 1984 by the Trustees of the Sidney Myer Fund to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of Sidney Myer, a passionate advocate and great friend to the arts.
