National Folk Fellowship
About the Fellowship
The annual National Folk Fellowship is offered jointly by the National Folk Festival and the National Library of Australia. First awarded in 2004, the Fellowship offers a unique opportunity to research original folklore material from archival collections held in the National Library.
The Fellowship offers one four week residency at the National Library of Australia in Canberra, leading to a guaranteed performance at the National Folk Festival the following Easter. The Fellowship is normally undertaken 3 to 6 months before the Festival to allow time to develop performance outcomes.
Fellowships are awarded only once: subsequent applications will not be considered. All previous applicants are encouraged to reapply as your ideas and projects may develop and strengthen over time. In some years there are a number of high calibre applications and unfortunately there is only one fellowship available each year. This is why you are encouraged to try again. The Fellowship is open to overseas applicants but only travel within Australia will be reimbursed.
Previous Fellows and their projects
2004 - Dave De Santi and Jane Brownlee
Jane and Dave researched across the vast number of unpublished recordings in the Folklore collection, in particular the collections of Chris Sullivan, Norm O’Connor, John Meredith, Rob Willis, Alan Scott and the Wattle Records collection. Dave and Jane found many tunes and songs that were completely new to them. They transcribed enough tunes for 18 CDs, from which they selected 51 for the double CD Australian Traditional Dance Tunes and are currently publishing an associated tune book.
2005 - Graham Dodsworth
Graham discovered many songs that had “slipped through the net of attention” given to other well known traditional Australian songs. From the 30-40 he identified as being “rough diamonds”, Graham recorded 12 songs and performed these at the 2005 Festival Concert under the title Trawling for Rough Diamonds. His songs will eventually be made available through MusicAustralia (www.musicaustralia.org), along with his annotations of their origin and significance.
2006 - Ben Stephenson and Adrian Barker
The focus of Ben and Adrian’s research was Australian dance music of Irish origin held in the National Library Folklore Collection. During their time in the Library Ben and Adrian also researched across the collections, locating recordings that have assisted them to “identify patterns of change and development of styles of playing and the means by which the tunes are learnt and passed on”. One of the results of their research is a 13 track CD and booklet Undertones: Irish music from Australia.
2007 - Ian Blake
The 2007 National Folk Fellow, Ian Blake, is a performer, composer, sound engineer and sound artist. Ian will create a suite of musical and sound works combining live and electro-acoustic music drawing on children¡¯s songs and games found in the Library’s folklore recordings. This new work will premiere at the 2007 National Folk Festival.
2008 - Dr Ronald McCoy
Doctor, academic and Scottish music expert, Dr Ronald McCoy, is the 2008 National Folk Fellow. Through his work on the Emily Lyle Collection in the National Library, he has explored the contribution of the Scots and Gaels to Australian folk culture. He will reinterpret those songs, stories and tunes by recreating a Scottish ceilidh with the help of a a harpist, a piper and the Melbourne Scottish Fiddle Club in the Fellowship concert at the 2008 National Folk Festival.
2009 - Dr Jenny Gall
A recent recipient of a Doctorate in Musicology from the ANU and a respected music historian Dr Gall will use the fellowship to research the folk music written sung and gathered by Australian women. The project will include the production of a CD of archival recordings and a concert at the 2009 National Folk Festival featuring women performers presenting some of the uncovered songs.
Who can apply?
The Fellowship is open to established and emerging performers across music, dance and spoken word who can demonstrate:
* a standard of artistry required for a featured performance at the National Folk Festival
* a project vision that highlights the value of original source materials
* the ability to undertake collections-based research
Recipients may wish to develop their work in a variety of ways such as:
* accurately recreating Australian traditions or styles
* reinventing or arranging original sources
* using original sources as an inspiration to create new works
* developing innovative artistic practice that demonstrates an understanding of the value of archival sources
The proposed project should clearly show how recipients will research and use the National Library’s archival collections to create their artistic endeavours. The proposal must be achievable within the timeframe of the residency. To find out more about the collections consult the Library’s website at www.nla.gov.au or contact relevant staff at the National Library.
What are the benefits?
The principal benefit of the Fellowship is to offer folk practitioners the opportunity to further their professional development by working with the Library’s extensive folklore collections.
Fellows are provided with:
* a stipend which has been significantly increased for 2008-2009. It is intended to cover return travel to Canberra for one person, living expenses and accommodation in Canberra for four weeks
* access to the National Library sound recording studios for up to 30 hours over the residency which may include studio access to recordings which require preservation and for the recording and mixing of new performances
* a master tape of any recordings made during the residency which the Fellow may be used in future commercial publications or public performances
* full access to the resources of the Library
* provision of copies of source materials (within reasonable limits and in line with access conditions)
* computer workstation with internet access and listening facilities
* a guaranteed performance at the National Folk Festival in Canberra highlighting the outcomes of the Fellowship
How are Fellows selected?
One fellowship is awarded annually by a committee, chaired by a member of the National Library’s Fellowships Advisory Committee and including representatives of the National Folk Festival and National Library staff.
How to Apply
Applications are managed by the National Library of Australia. Applications for the 2010 Fellowship have now closed.
