Award to create trans-Tasman pathway for Indigenous artists

New Zealand Fringe and Melbourne Fringe have launched a trans-Tasman Indigenous exchange award to expand touring opportunities for Māori artists and deepen creative connections between Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Australia.

The Melbourne Fringe Indigenous Exchange Award will support a New Zealand Fringe artist to present work in Australia. An Indigenous work from Melbourne Fringe will travel in the other direction in 2027.

According to both festivals, the initiative is designed to create international touring pathways for Māori artists while strengthening ties among Indigenous creatives in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Australia. It is backed by Creative New Zealand and developed in association with Deadly Fringe.

Organisers said the award is intended to elevate Indigenous storytelling, expand audiences for cultural works, and reinforce the long-standing relationship between the two festivals.

Key Points

Inaugural recipient

The inaugural award recipient is The Remaining, a new theatre work created by multi-disciplinary artist Waikamania Seve.

Seve acknowledged the recognition and reflected on the opportunity created by the exchange model.

“We’re thrilled and honestly overwhelmed to receive these awards,”

— Waikamania Seve

Seve described the Fringe context as a space where artists can test ideas and take creative risks, and noted the importance of international audiences for the work.

The award announcement formed part of the 2026 NZ Fringe Awards, held in Wellington on March 8. A total of 22 awards were presented across the ceremony.

The festival’s top honour, Best in Fringe, went to Just to Be Close to You. Performer Cameron Porter praised the festival and the wider arts community involved, noting the welcome extended to touring artists and the camaraderie among peers.

Festival organisers said the exchange draws on a proven model used in other NZ Fringe Tour Ready Awards. These pathways have previously connected artists with major events and platforms across different markets.

Previous NZ Fringe Tour Ready Award links

• Adelaide Fringe
• Sydney Fringe
• San Diego Fringe

By aligning with this tour-ready framework, the Indigenous Exchange Award is intended to help artists navigate presenting work internationally, develop new audiences, and consolidate long-term partnerships across the Tasman.

This year marked the 36th NZ Fringe Festival. Organisers said the event sold more than 20,500 tickets across 950 performances, generating more than $395,000 in ticket income for artists.

Those figures underscore the scale of the platform available to participating artists and the potential reach for works selected under the Indigenous exchange initiative.