Residencies, fellowships and scholarships are excellent avenues for expanding your practice, enhancing your skillset and pursuing professional development. This collection of opportunities is for artists and arts workers and spans multiple practices including (but not limited to) painting, music, writing, acting, opera, ballet, textiles and publishing.
Intended as a practical reference point for progressing your creative career this year, this multi-disciplinary list caters to the needs of visual, performing and literary arts practitioners seeking opportunities both within Australia and internationally.
Artist residencies, fellowships and scholarships – quick links
Multi-disciplinary or open artform opportunities
Creative Australia The Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships – closes 3 February
- Value: $50,000 AUD, paid in quarterly instalments over two years
- Important dates: Closes 3pm AEDT 3 February (or earlier if application limit is met)
- Eligibility: Individual artists aged 21 to 35 (as at the closing date) who are Australian citizens
The Marten Bequest Travelling Scholarships provide support for talented young artists to explore, study and develop their artistic gifts through interstate and international travel. In 2026, the scholarships will provide financial support for the disciplines of acting, instrumental music, painting and poetry. Scholarship funds can be used to assist with study programs, professional training courses and mentor programs in Australia and overseas. The scholarships are administered by Creative Australia on behalf of Perpetual as trustee. Learn more.
Carclew Fellowships – closes 20 July
- Value: $10,000
- Important dates: Open May to 20 July
- Eligibility: Up to 26 years; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants up to 30 years
Carclew Fellowships offer financial support to young emerging cultural and creative artists and arts workers for arts career building; skills development; exploring new art form practice, methods and techniques; research towards creative and/or cultural development; and mentoring towards development of cultural and creative arts practices. Fellowship areas of practice can include (but are not limited to) community arts and culture; performing arts; visual arts; written word; digital platforms; and arts administration and industry pathways. Learn more.
Further opportunities to watch
Keep an eye on the Bundanon Artists In Residence Program for further details later in the year, as well as ArtsHub‘s list of national residency opportunities and fellowship opportunities.
Visual arts, craft and design opportunities
Mordant Family x Creative Australia Affiliated Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome – closes 3 February
- Value: Contribution towards travel, airfares, travel insurance and living costs during the residency period (applicants are expected to research the cost of living in the residency location they are travelling to and may need to supplement the grant)
- Important dates: Closes 3pm AEDT 3 February 2026 (or earlier if application limit is met)
- Eligibility: Applications are open to Australian citizens or permanent residents who are visual artists with a significant record of exhibitions in public institutions and commercial galleries
Pursue your work in an inspiring, collaborative, and supportive environment, with accommodation and studio space in the American Academy in Rome’s historic building. The successful applicant will have access to meals prepared by the Rome Sustainable Food project, as well as access to the library, gardens, communal spaces, IT support, and program staff and advisors. As a Mordant Family/Creative Australia Affiliated Fellow you will be invited to the Academy’s public programming including exhibitions, lectures and workshops. When and where possible you will also be invited to join Walks and Talks and the Spring and/or Fall Trips. Learn more.
Creative Australia Tri Nations Exchange Program 2026-2028 – closes 3 February
- Value: Travel, accommodation, visas, travel insurance, networking opportunities and a daily allowance
- Important dates: Closes 3pm AEDT 3 February
- Eligibility: Applications are open to First Nations fashion and textile label owners, designers and industry professional
The Tri Nations Exchange is a longstanding and ongoing partnership between Creative Australia, Creative New Zealand and the Canada Council for the Arts. This international program brings together First Nations creatives and industry professionals in the fashion, adornment and textile design industry to strengthen artistic collaboration and cross-cultural exchange. It provides mid-career to established First Nations fashion and textile designers, label owners, adornment artists and industry professionals with the opportunity to collaborate, network and exchange best practice with First Nations creatives from Aotearoa, New Zealand and Canada. Learn more.
Further opportunities to watch
Keep an eye on the Anne & Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarships Program, Arts Tasmania Residencies, Australian Tapestry Workshop Artist in Residence Program and Canberra Glassworks Residencies for further details later in the year, as well as ArtsHub‘s list of national residency opportunities and fellowship opportunities.
Literary opportunities
Varuna Red Room Poetry Fellowship – closes 3 February
- Value: N/A
- Important dates: Closes 5pm AEDT 3 February
- Eligibility: Poets who have previously been programmed or commissioned by Red Room Poetry, and emerging poets who have had no more than one collection of poetry published
Australian poets are invited to apply for a week-long fellowship at Varuna in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales to foster poetic and professional development, including mentorship and publication opportunities with Red Room Poetry as part of Poetry Month. Learn more.
The Copyright Agency Publishing Fellowships – closes 1 June
- Value: Grants of up to $15,000
- Important dates: Open from mid-March to 1pm AEST 1 June; with notification from late July 2026 and projects to start from early September
- Eligibility: Applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents with a minimum of five years’ experience working in-house or freelance for a publishing company or the equivalent at an Australian literary agency
The Copyright Agency’s Publishing Fellowships provide timely support for professionals in the Australian book publishing industry by funding career-enhancing opportunities and projects that contribute to the broader publishing sector. Targeted specifically for mid-career professionals, these fellowships support individuals to think creatively about new opportunities to build their publishing skills and knowledge. Fellowship funds can be used to expand skills, pursue innovative projects, engage in professional development, and explore new collaborations. The grant may be used for living expenses, travel and accommodation costs, payments to mentors, or for skills development workshop costs. Learn more.
The Copyright Agency Frank Moorhouse Fellowship for Young Writers – closes 22 June
- Value: $10,000
- Important dates: Open 23 March 2026 to 1pm AEST 22 June; with notifications from late September
- Eligibility: Applicants must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident aged between 18 and 35 years (as at application closing date)
Named in honour of the late Frank Moorhouse, this Copyright Agency fellowship is for a young fiction writer aged between 18 and 35 years who has not yet published a full-length work of fiction, and provides support to develop and write a new work of fiction. Applicants must have previously published some short stories or work in literary magazines, journals or online. Writers who have published a full-length work, in fiction or any genre, are not eligible to apply. The fellowship is essentially a living allowance to create a new work of fiction. It may also be used for mentoring costs. Learn more.
The Copyright Agency Author Fellowship – closes 17 August
- Value: $80,000
- Important dates: Open 27 April to 1pm AEST 17 August; with notifications in late October
- Eligibility: Applicants must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, who has previously published or performed at least five full-length works of their own creative writing (of which two books may be self-published) and secured either a publishing contract (or a letter of interest/intent to publish) from an Australian-based publisher/theatre company
The Copyright Agency’s Author Fellowship will support an established Australian author to create a new work for publication or performance and is open to novelists, playwrights, poets, children’s and young adult writers, picture book illustrators and journalists. The fellowship will provide sustained support for a year to one Australian author to create a significant new work (or a series of books if writing for children and young adults). Projects must start after 1 November 2025. Learn more.
The Copyright Agency Fellowship for Non-Fiction Writing – closes 18 August
- Value: $80,000
- Important dates: Open 1pm AEST 17 August to 1pm AEST 18 August
- Eligibility: Authors must be Australian citizens or permanent residents who have previously published at least two full-length books of their own creative writing (one of which may be self-published) and secured a publishing contract (or a letter of interest/intent to publish) from an Australian-based publisher
The Copyright Agency’s Fellowship for Non-Fiction Writing assists an Australian author to create a significant new work of literary non-fiction by providing sustained support for a year. Applicants should submit a compelling description of their intended project accompanied by a writing sample to demonstrate their literary merit. Applications will be accepted in memoir, biography, autobiography, history, criticism and review, arts/science writing, political analysis, writing on the environment and other genres which contribute to the national discussion/polemic. Learn more.
Further opportunities to watch
Keep an eye on Varuna’s residential and other fellowships (most open in March) and the Katharine Susannah Prichard (KSP) Writers’ Centre Fellowships for further details later in year, as well as ArtsHub‘s list of national residency opportunities and fellowship opportunities.
Performing arts opportunities
Creative Australia Sir Robert William Askin Operatic Scholarship – closes 3 February
- Value: $30,000
- Important dates: Closes 3pm AEDT 3 February (or earlier if application limit is met)
- Eligibility: Applications are open to individual artists who identify as a man or male and are Australian citizens aged between 18 and 29 (as at the closing date)
The Sir Robert William Askin Operatic Scholarship was established by a Deed of Lady Mollie Askin to further culture and advance education in Australia by providing a travelling scholarship for Australian citizens with outstanding ability and promise in opera singing. The scholarship is awarded biennially to a young man or male candidate who has outstanding ability and promise in opera singing. The scholarship is worth $30,000, payable in two instalments of $15,000 over two years. The scholarships are administered by Creative Australia on behalf of Perpetual as trustee. Learn more.
Creative Australia The Lady Mollie Isabelle Askin Ballet Scholarship – closes 3 February
- Value: $30,000 payable in two instalments over 2 years
- Important dates: Closes 3pm AEDT 3 February (or earlier if application limit is met)
- Eligibility: Applications are open to individual artists who are Australian citizens aged between 17 and 29 (as at the closing date)
This scholarship was established by a Deed of Lady Mollie Askin to further culture and advance education in Australia by providing a travelling scholarship for Australian citizens with outstanding ability and promise in ballet. The scholarships are administered by Creative Australia on behalf of Perpetual as trustee. Learn more.
Further opportunities to watch
Keep an eye on ArtsHub‘s list of national residency opportunities and fellowship opportunities.
