Nine Indigenous artists and designers have been announced as finalists for Facon Magazine's annual Indigenous Storytellers Scholarship.
Created by Façon Magazine with support from Greater Bank, the Indigenous Storytellers Scholarship program is designed to celebrate, sustain and grow Indigenous art and design in New South Wales.
The program returns in 2024 with Greater Bank providing a $10,000 scholarship to support the successful recipient's creative aspirations, with guidance from Murrook Cultural Centre. The winning recipient will also receive a mentoring session with a leading voice from their creative discipline.
This year's nine finalists are Jessika Spencer, Justine Villiers, Holly Faulds, Sean Kinchela, Charles Perkins, Luca Sawyer, Ruby Shay, Melissa Greenwood, and Scott Colyer.
The Scholarship application program consisted of nine differing creative discipline categories, including Accessory Design, Digital Art, Dance, Photography, Film, Writing, Music, Fashion Design and Art Painting. A single finalist for each category was selected by the program's special panel and a scholarship recipient will be chosen from these finalists.
Nine creative mentors form the 2024 judging panel.
They include Mitch Tambo (World Musician), Samantha Harris (international supermodel), Sidney Saltner (Youth Program Director, Bangarra Dance), Professor Chelsea Watego (author of Another Day in the Colony), Kristy Dickinson (Founder of Haus of Dizzy), Stephen Page (Director of Spear), Nicole Chaffey (artist and Museum Gallery Director), Travis De Vries (digital artist and illustrator), and Milly Hooper (photographer and exhibitor at Head On Photo Festival).
These accomplished individuals will play a pivotal role in guiding and inspiring each of the nine finalists, with an aim of nurturing and amplifying Indigenous voices across diverse creative industries. Each creative will also bring a unique set of skills and industry knowledge to the program.
"It's so important to be able to create spaces that identify talent and nurture that talent," said music mentor Mitch Tambo.
"Storytelling is a massive part of our culture. It's one of the main ways Indigenous people have kept our culture alive and nurtured it to be the oldest living continual culture on the planet.
"Art, music and dance is at the forefront of this so to be a part of it in 2024 really excites me. I'm really excited to see what all the finalists are going to showcase for the scholarship.
"I want to help the winners shape what they need to achieve, as well as shape our story."
In 2023 Greater Bank and Facon Magazine awarded the $10,000 Indigenous Storytellers Scholarship to Jahvis Loveday to assist him in pursuing a career in film-making.
"To be the recipient of The Indigenous Storytellers Scholarship was a privilege last year, it was such an incredible feeling to be able to go to the event and see not only my work, but all the other Indigenous finalist works on display," Loveday said.
"The scholarship really helped me kick start some incredible projects over the past year that have allowed me to collaborate with many different indigenous artists from my region and beyond. I can't wait to see the level of artists in this year's event, it's such a great way to showcase many different art forms."
Facon Magazine will announce the winner on 11 July during NAIDOC Week. The magazine will also distribute a special edition Façon Magazine profiling the selected finalists from each category.
"We are beyond excited to announce the nine finalists for The Indigenous Storytellers Scholarship. These talented individuals have shown exceptional creativity and passion across various categories," said the Facon Magazine team.
"Each of these finalists have showcased remarkable talent and a unique voice that we can't wait to share with you."
The recipient of the $10,000 scholarship, generously provided by Greater Bank will be announced on 11 July, 2024.
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