News & Media

Game. Set. Match. follows Ray (Wilding) and Joshua (Rick Davies) who meet after the funeral of his mother, an Australian tennis legend. As the night wears on, what starts as off-kilter banter and flirtation descends into something much darker.

Her reimagining of the Henry Lawson tale The Drover’s Wife was a theatrical triumph. Now, Leah Purcell takes her story to a new stage – and hands over her iconic role to a family member.

In 2026, we celebrate 20 years since our Founder Neil Balnaves AO began The Balnaves Foundation. Read our March Newsletter to find out more about this exciting milestone.

The 2026 Adelaide Biennial, titled Yeild Strength, requires slow looking and quiet consideration

The win makes Bangarra the first company and first First Nations performers to receive the award since it’s inauguration.

Kamilaroi, Barkindji, Ballardong and Whadjuk woman Bianca Hunt is the 2026 Balnaves Foundation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Fellow

As another year comes to a close at the speed of light, please enjoy an update on a few of our grants.

The Balnaves Foundation and Mosman Art Gallery are pleased to announce artist Mitch Cairns as the inaugural recipient of The Neil Balnaves Fellowship.

Acclaimed British artist Thomas J Price joins writer and filmmaker Santilla Chingaipe to discuss the unveiling of his new sculpture for the inaugural Neil Balnaves Tallawoladah Lawn Commission.

Over a 12-month period at Sydney Dance Company, Large will work and gain experience across its artistic, production and administrative fields while developing her own practice alongside.

Marking its twelfth and final season New Breed 2025 celebrates a program that has expanded choreographic opportunity in Australia.

Detailing the accomplishments of our grantees over the past financial year, this report celebrates their tireless work and successes.

The Balnaves Fellowship is a paid residency that provides the opportunity to work at Belvoir as a resident artist to create a work for the stage.

A nameless black woman counters the statues of white male colonialists who dot many Australian cityscapes.

Thomas J Price’s sculptures have been on show in locations such as New York’s Times Square and the historic Piazza della Signoria in Florence. Ancient Feelings marks the artist’s first public art commission in Australia.

A Sphinx-style golden bronze bust of a proud black woman has been unveiled on Sydney harbour, the first in a series of three public outdoor sculptures funded from a $3 million philanthropic gift which has been earmarked for the lawn of the MCA.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia today unveils Ancient Feelings (2025), a major new public artwork by acclaimed British artist Thomas J Price as the inaugural Neil Balnaves Tallawoladah Lawn Commission.

Golden Lion-winning artist Archie Moore is among the 24 artists named for the 2026 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, curated by Moore’s Venice collaborator, Ellie Buttrose.

Yield Strength, curated by Ellie Buttrose will be presented from 27 February to 8 June 2026 as part of the 2026 Adelaide Festival, and feature new works by artists from across the nation.

John Kaldor invited German artist Thomas Demand to create an extraordinary exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW showcasing works from the Kaldor Collection in a unique way.

In honour of the late Neil Balnaves AO, Mosman Art Gallery and The Balnaves Foundation are proud to announce The Neil Balnaves Fellowship, supporting the development of a significant piece of research or creative endeavour over a one-year period.

Danny Howard is the first recipient of the Balnaves Foundation First Nations Scholarship at NIDA, graduating in 2024. He spoke to NIDA about the start to his career in 2025.

Sydney Dance Company and Carriageworks, along with Principal Partner The Balnaves Foundation, proudly announce the emerging choreographers commissioned to create new works for New Breed in 2025.

Click here to read and subscribe to our Newsletter.

Professor Megan Davis, Voice architect, Uluru Dialogues Co-Chair and UNSW Scientia Professor has been named a companion of the Order of Australia in the 2025 Australia Day honours. Click to read more via Guardian Australia.

Our January Newsletter has arrived, with news from Foundation and updates from some of our Grants. Please click here to read and to subscribe to our mailing list.

The Granville School Partnership Program (SPP) with KidsXpress has been selected as the recipient of the Balnaves Foundation Staff Grant. This is an initiative undertaken every few years by the Foundation, where the Foundation team participates actively in the granting process.

Yuwaalaraay actor, screenwriter, and playwright Hannah Belanszky has been announced as the latest Balnaves Foundation Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Fellow. Hannah will receive $45,000 over an 18-month period to create a new work as a resident artist at Belvoir in 2025/26.

Australian Associated Press (AAP) and The Balnaves Foundation are proud to announce a new partnership supporting specialised arts journalism at the nation’s only independent newswire service.

The Balnaves Foundation is proud to be supporting ILBIJERRI Theatre Company’s prison tour of Big Name, No Blankets which is currently travelling throughout Victoria and the Northern Territory. Check out this article in the Sydney Morning Herald about the prison tour, and the impact it is already having on audiences in the prison system.

Thomas J Price, one of Britain’s leading contemporary artists renowned for his large-scale sculptural works, has been announced as the recipient of the inaugural Neil Balnaves Tallawoladah Lawn Commission

We are delighted to share with you The Balnaves Foundation Annual Report for FY2024 celebrating the hard work and accomplishments achieved by our grantees this financial year.

Our June Newsletter has arrived, with news from Foundation and updates from some of our Grants.

We are delighted to announce a new landmark sculpture commission in tribute to our Founder, Neil Balnaves AO, in partnerhsip with the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.

Our March Newsletter has arrived, with news from Foundation and updates from some of our Grants. Please click here to read and to subscribe to our mailing list.