Arts Philanthropy Award Winners Announced
22 March 2016 at 10:27 am
Five leaders from philanthropy, business and the arts have been honoured for their contribution to Australia’s cultural life in the new Creative Partnerships Awards .
The awards recognised people who have fostered enduring partnerships between the cultural and private sectors and encouraged the spirit of giving to the arts.
Four awards were presented: Sydney’s Peter Wilson received the Emerging Philanthropy Leadership Award, Julieanne Alroe and Richard Goyder AO shared the Business Arts Leadership Award, Mary Jo Capps received the Arts Leadership Award and Naomi Milgrom AO received the Philanthropy Leadership Award.
The awards embraced the legacy of the Australia Business Arts Foundation Awards, which celebrated excellence in partnerships and private sector support for the arts for more than a decade.
Creative Partnerships Australia said private support for the arts had almost doubled in the past ten years, increasing by 98 per cent to $221 million. Private support now accounts for 10 per cent of all arts funding in Australia with cultural and creative activity contributing $86 billion (6.9 per cent) to the country’s GDP every year.
CEO Fiona Menzies said this year’s award winners had demonstrated commitment to the arts and displayed leadership in their advocacy for the arts to create a strong, sustainable future for Australia’s cultural sector.
“Each of these leaders is committed to championing giving to the arts and promoting the value of supporting the arts to the broader community,” she said.
Previous award winners were invited to nominate individuals for this year’s awards, decided by the Creative Partnerships Australia Board.
The philanthropy leadership category is for an individual, family, group, foundation or other entity, who, through their leadership, advocacy, practice and example, had contributed significantly to the arts and encouraged philanthropic giving to the arts.
Peter Wilson, who won the emerging philanthropy leadership category, is the Managing Director of Greenhill Australia and Chair of Playwriting Australia, the peak national body supporting new writing for theatre. A director of Belvoir St Theatre and a member of the Finance Council of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan of the Order of St Benedict, Wilson has held board positions with numerous other community organisations.
More information on the Awards and this year’s winners can be found here.