How the arts sector fared in this year’s Queens Honours List

Dancer David McAllister among only five awarded this year's highest honour, with a list generally that has shifted its focus, with the highest number of women in history and a strong recognition of diversity and underrepresented.
Australian Queens Honours Day medals

The Queen’s Birthday 2021 Honours List recognises 1,190 Australians. Of those (by our count) 77 are from within the arts and culture sector or are patrons who have keenly supported it. That is 6.5% in a year when the arts played such a strong role in the wellbeing of the wider national community struggling to live through a pandemic.

This is up slightly on last year with 59 Honours awarded, but continues the trend favouring the performing arts sector.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina