The goal of the Australian Council of Deans and Directors of Creative Arts (DDCA) is to strengthen creative arts leadership in the tertiary sector, and raise the profile and impact of creative arts teaching and research.

The DDCA Awards acknowledge and celebrate contributions to creative arts, elevate and share best practice, and encourage and promote the next generation of creative arts leaders in research and education. The Awards promote diversity and recognise contributions and achievements by First Nations creatives, as well as early-, mid- and senior-career practitioners in the tertiary sector.

AWARD CATEGORIES

1. Distinguished Australian First Nations Creative Leadership Award 

2. Distinguished Innovation in Creative Arts Award  

3. Distinguished Creative Teaching Award 

4. Distinguished Creative Researcher Award 

5. Distinctive Creative Arts Doctoral Student Award 

 

Eligibility

All applicants must be full-time or fixed term staff at a current DDCA Member institution. 

For eligibility specific to each award, please refer to the particular award category (below) and its criteria.

Prize

Individuals and groups will be awarded a total of AUD$1,000 for their winning entry. All recipients will also receive an invitation to attend The Australian Council of Deans and Directors of Creative Arts end of year Symposium to collect their certificates and meet the Board. This year’s Symposium will be held at Deakin University’s Downtown Campus, in Melbourne, on Friday 5th December 2025.

Judges

Members of the DDCA Board, as well as industry experts, will be asked to evaluate and score submissions. See our current Board members.

 

KEY DATES

HOW TO APPLY

COMPLETE THE ONLINE APPLICATION FORM

Individual and group entries are to submit one form. Additional entries require a separate form. 

Please direct any queries to DDCA’s Executive Officer at: admin@ddca.edu.au

  

2025 DDCA AWARDS CATEGORIES AND CRITERIA

1. Distinguished Australian First Nations Creative Leadership Award  

The applicant is required to address any or all of the following award criteria: 

Criteria 

• leadership in truth-telling
• growing culturally safe places for students, with space for multi-generational storytelling
• sharing with diverse communities
• growing and celebrating First Nations practices and voices
• creating bridges between students, staff and communities
• celebrates and honours Eldership
• at any stage of career

 

NB: All individual applicants must identify as Australian First Nations persons. If submitting a Team application, the group leader must be First Nations. The Award Category will be judged by an Australian First Nations creative arts leader.

 

2. Distinguished Innovation in Creative Arts Award 

The applicant is required to address any or all of the following award criteria: 

Criteria 

• innovation in approach, methodology, outcome, teaching, and/or building teams
• demonstrated cross disciplinarity, unlocking new ways of undertaking practice
• developing partnerships with community, industry and academia
• creating holistic approaches to research, scholarship, teaching and engagement.

 

3. Distinguished Creative Teaching Award

The applicant is required to address all of the following award criteria: 

Criteria

• knowledge sharing & building through making & doing in a learning & teaching context (in the lab, in the studio, in-field etc)
• teaching conversant with relevant industry/community practices and expertise
• inspiring & mentoring students in new ways of being in creative arts fields (ie technology, accessibility, interdisciplinarity etc)

 

4. Distinguished Creative Researcher Award

The applicant is required to address all of the following award criteria: 

Criteria  

• demonstrate a major contribution to the field, for example transforming how we understand and/or undertake creative research
• evidence of outstanding achievement in research in the creative arts, demonstrated by relevant esteem factors, such as funding, grants and public exhibitions 
• demonstrated capability building through research grant opportunities, mentoring, supervision of HDR and/or post-doctoral positions

 

5. Distinctive Creative Arts Doctoral Student Award 

All applicants must be within one year post completion of PhD. 

The applicant is required to address any or all of the following award criteria: 

 

Criteria

• a demonstration of the doctoral project as exemplary practice-led research model
• a demonstration of doctoral studies as innovation in creative arts which informs the future of the field
• a demonstration of esteem, as evidenced through awards

Image credit: Vanessa Tomlinson, Beacons, Bleach Festival 2022, site-specific sound work. Image courtesy of Greg Harm, Tangible Media.