Congratulations to Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran who is a recipient of a 2019 Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship – an honour that recognises outstanding talent and exceptional courage. He has also received an Australia Council grant to support his exhibition at Madhavendra Palace, Jaipur, India, in 2020.

Ramesh wins a grant of $160,000 over a two-year period.

‘Courage is a word that is often bandied about, but real courage, as shown by these artists displays a fearlessness in making and producing their art.  This is important to them, but also to everyone at large.  We need artists to be free to speak through their art-making and to open our eyes on issues that are not always visible particularly as we struggle to comprehend an increasingly complex and divided society,’ says Andrew Myer AM, Chair of the Selection Panel.

Other recipients were:  Lior Attar, music, Vic; Maxine Clarke, writing Vic; Ceridwen Dovey, writing, NSW; Natano Fa’anana, performance, Qld; Lydia Fairhall, producing, Qld; Alisdair Macindoe, dance, Vic; Angela Tiatia, visual arts, NSW; and Emma Valente, theatre, Vic.

The national Peer Review Panel for the 2019 Fellows included: Andrew Myer AM (Chair), Clare Watson, Elizabeth Walsh, Genevieve Lacey, Jo Dyer, Tarun Nagesh and Amos Gebhardt.

Established in 2011, the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowships have to date awarded over $12 million directly to 82 mid-career artists. This uniquely places the Fellows and their artistic endeavours at the centre of the Fellowships.

To be nominated for a Fellowship, artists and thought leaders must be within seven and 15 years into their creative practice and meet two criteria: outstanding talent and exceptional professional courage. They are open to artists and arts managers across the entire spectrum of the visual, performing, interdisciplinary, new media and literary arts.