Expressions of Interest (EOI) now open for the 2026 Fellowship
EOI Deadline: 5pm, Thurs 10 July 2025

The Betty Amsden Fellowship

Designed to support and celebrate game-changing ideas

2026 focus: Thought-leadership in performing arts management

Award: Up to $100,000 for an outstanding sector professional to develop new thinking and champion next best practice

The rich substance of the universe is yours to do with as you wish, just by daring to be different in your thinking
- Betty Amsden

This Fellowship honours Betty’s deep love and respect for the power of the performing arts and her commitment to investing in people who show promise, courage, and the ability to lead change.

At the Foundation we recognise great ideas need cultivation. We want to help make the next big idea happen for performing arts management. We believe it is important to celebrate and invest in sector leadership, and we want to support the area of improvement you’ve been dreaming about but haven’t had the resources or time to turn it into reality - until now.

The opportunity

The Betty Amsden Fellowship is an opportunity to learn, develop and put findings into practice. Funding of up to $100,000 is available for the 2026 Fellow to undertake learning across the following areas:

1. Get the evidence for your hunch - formal learning
If you have a potential game-changing idea for performing arts management in any business area, the Fellowship will enable you to acquire the latest theory and evidence through a structured course or equivalent educational experience

2. Test your ideas with trusted peers - social learning
The funding will give you the ability to engage a mentor or a ‘buddy’ as a provocateur to refine your thinking

3. Making it happen - experiential learning
Test ideas or introduce into practice and contribute to sector change through sharing. For example; presentations, talks, and published writings brokered with assistance from the Foundation

The fine print

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  • Open to performing arts sector professionals who are:

    • an Australian citizen or permanent resident

    • currently residing in Victoria or has an established connection to Victoria

    • and have worked in performing arts administration in either:
      - a generalist / management role
      - or specialised area of arts business delivery (eg marketing, philanthropy, producing, programming, digital engagement, public programs etc)

    Eligibility considerations

    • Age: To align with Betty’s wishes, priority consideration will be given to applicants up to the age of 45* years old.
      * Applicants over this age may be eligible to apply if able to demonstrate a disadvantage to their leadership career progression, for example a pause due to caring or cultural requirements.

  • Fellowship outcomes may evolve across the learning experience, within the parameters of:

    • Duration: a minimum of 1 year and up to a maximum of 18 months from a start date during 2026 that best matches the Fellow’s plans

    • Sequence: ideally formal learning should be started first to inform other learning opportunities

    • Components: the Fellowship should preferably contain all elements of formal, social, and experiential learning

    • Focus: an area the applicant has demonstrated passion for, with potential for sector change and possibility of local, regional, national and international impact.

    *The Betty Amsden Fellowship is not for predominantly artistic or creative thought-leadership. The focus on arts administration and business aligns with Betty’s passion, and recognises there are currently fewer opportunities for this area of the sector.

  • Funding can be used toward:

    • Tuition or registration fees for formal learning or a sector equivalent educational experience

    • Travel and accommodation to undertake any part of the Fellowship

    • Fees for one or more mentor/coaches

    • Project and publication costs for experiential practice

    • Covering the Fellow’s wage or salary to undertake components of the Fellowship, this might include the ability to negotiate a sabbatical while your employer pays for interim role coverage

    • Auxiliary costs including access support, general out-of-pocket expenses and administration

  • In addition to the learning components the Fellow will be required to:

    • Meet with Foundation Trustees to enhance the social learning, including updates and two-way feedback throughout the journey of the Fellowship

    • Participate in promotional opportunities that are mutually beneficial to helping advance the Fellow’s career profile and the impact of Betty’s vision and legacy.

    • Giving back. Engage as a future Foundation 'alum' by working with the Foundation to drive change across the sector and by supporting the Betty family of grantees and award recipients.