Encounters Fellowships offer Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people an opportunity to gain professional development in a hands-on program that includes a placement at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra and experience at partner cultural institutions in Australia and the United Kingdom.

The Encounters Fellowships Program acknowledges the value of museum collections in illuminating the past and shaping the future, especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Aims and outcomes

The fellowships aim to build on the experience of Indigenous cultural practitioners by providing opportunities to work with cultural institutions and bring their particular histories and perspectives to a broader audience.

Fellows will contribute to important conversations about how cultural institutions collaborate with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and collections.

Fellows will have access to the cultural heritage held in a range of museums, galleries, archives and universities; learn about museum processes and practices; and engage with a variety of mentors, advisors and practitioners.

Through placements at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra and partner cultural institutions, fellows will be supported and encouraged to strengthen their professional networks and leadership skills.

The program will support fellows to research, design and develop a project plan that reinvigorates culture and cultural practice in their area of interest and within their own community.

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