SIDNEY MYER PERFORMING ARTS AWARDS

The Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards were created in 1984 by the Trustees of the Sidney Myer Fund to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Sidney Myer.

There are two Awards and one Prize distributed each year:

• The Individual Award ($60,000)
• The Group Award ($90,000)
• The Facilitator’s Prize ($25,000)

The Awards are decided on a national basis and each nomination is considered by a Judging Committee. While past achievement is recognised, consideration is also given to the potential of an individual or group to continue their contribution to Australian society through the performing arts into the future. Nominations for the Awards are generally open in September and October each year.

For the purpose of the Awards, the performing arts include all aspects of creation and performance across all forms of drama, comedy, dance, music, opera, circus and puppetry. They do not include visual arts, crafts, film, electronic media or literature.

The winners for the 2016 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards are:

• Gavin Webber: Individual Award, $60,000 (Co-Artistic Director, The Farm, QLD)
• Australian Theatre for Young People: Group Award, $90,000 (NSW)
• Kathy Burns: Facilitator’s Prize, $25,000 (Artistic Director, Barkly Regional Arts, NT)

Nominations for the 2017 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards opened on 18 September 2017 and closed on 22 October 2017.

Image: The 2016 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award winners. [L-R] Mark Warburton (Chair, ATYP), Gavin Webber, Kathy Burns, Amy Maiden and Fraser Corfield (ATYP).
Photo by Fiona Hamilton