The Betty Amsden Foundation has launched a brand new fellowship targeted at radical practitioners in performing arts management. The Betty Amsden Fellowship offers up to $100,000 for an outstanding sector professional to develop new thinking and champion best practice.
Applicants don’t need a detailed execution plan in order to apply – all it takes is a good idea, whether that be in financial modelling, audience development, technological integration, board development or sector strategy.
The 2026 fellow will be supported through three key stages to put findings into practice:
- Get the evidence for your hunch – formal learning
- Test your ideas with trusted peers – social learning
- Making it happen – experiential learning
Those with a potentially game-changing idea can gain access to the latest theory and research through a structured course or educational experience, engage a mentor and test the idea through presentations, talks or published writings brokered with assistance from the Foundation.
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The Betty Amsden Foundation was established in 2014 to continue the legacy of distinguished philanthropist, who has supported the performing arts for over 40 years.
”We’ve spent quite a bit of time and effort observing the needs of the sector,” said Chair of Betty Amsden Foundation, Frankie Airey, on the night of the Fellowship launch (8 May). “Then we consulted with our networks to identify the gaps in provision here and identified that there’s no offering that invests in bold, imaginative, courageous professional individuals with a big idea and provides active support to help them realise their ambitions.
”So here we are! The Betty Amsden Fellowship; the largest financial support on offer for performing arts administration.”
Richard Evans AM, Managing Director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and President of Live Performance Australia, called on all performing arts administrators on the night, saying “Our job is to create an environment within which artists can make their best work.
”While broadly the art remains strong, the institutions and organisations which support them are at breaking point unless we have an intervention.” This means sector-led interventions and also updated policy settings – it’s what Amsden would have wanted to secure the future of the arts.
So who is eligible for the Betty Amsden Fellowship?
The Fellowship is open to Australian citizens or permanent residents currently residing in Victoria or with an established connection to the state.
They must have worked in performing arts administration, either in a generalist/management role or a specialised area of arts business delivery (for example, marketing, philanthropy, producing, programming, digital engagement, public programs etc).
Read: Why the ‘career ladder’ is outdated for artists (and what to do instead)
The Fellowship is targeted at arts workers under the age of 45, but special consideration may be given to those above if they have been disadvantaged in their leadership career progression, such as for care duties or cultural requirements.
What can the Fellowship entail?
The fellow can choose different learning options within set parameters of the Fellowship, which includes course duration and learning components. The Fellowship prioritises some kind of formal learning, before the fellow embarks on other learning opportunities.
The learning focus area can be anything for which the applicant has demonstrated passion, with potential for sector change and the possibility of local, regional, national and international impact.
Shortlisted candidates will be supported by the Foundation to develop a final fellowship plan.
”We’re not just going to let you design a car and drive it off into the sunset!,” added Airey, “Just like Betty, we will be with you in the passenger seat, taking you and your vision into our care, much as Betty would have done.”
EOIs are now open and close on 10 July; learn more and apply.
