SLQ fellowship, medal recipients announced
State Library of Queensland (SLQ) has announced the 2026 recipients of 6 fellowships, worth $105,000, along with 2 John Oxley Library Medals.
The recipients in each category are:
John Oxley Library Fellowship ($25,000, supported by the Queensland Library Foundation President’s Circle patrons, plus a 12-month residency)
- Lucy Deemal, for her project “Two Stories, One Place: Aboriginal and Settler Memory in North Queensland”
John Oxley Library Honorary Fellowship (12-month residency)
- Rachel Gallagher, for her project “Mapping Displacement: Freeways, Protest, and the Remaking of Brisbane”
John Oxley Library Medal
- Janeth Dean, for her “important lifetime contribution to Queensland history by documenting and preserving the stories of Muslim communities in Brisbane and beyond”
John Oxley Library Community History Medal ($5000, supported by the Queensland Library Foundation)
- Pine Islet Lighthouse Preservation Society, for its “extraordinary success in preserving the Pine Islet Lighthouse and its social history – one of Queensland’s most unique maritime landmarks and the only functioning kerosene-powered lighthouse in Australia”
Monica Clare Research Fellowship ($20,000 funded by the Siganto Foundation, plus a 12-month residency)
- Rose Barrowcliffe, for her project “The Protectors,” which will uncover Aboriginal place names hidden in 1920s Queensland Protectorate records, challenging historical inaccuracies through archival research and descendant interviews
Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame Fellowship ($15,000, funded by the John Allpass Charitable Foundation, plus a 12-month residency)
- Robert Allen, for his project “T C Beirne and the House of the People: Exploring the Many Lives of Businessman, Philanthropist and politician Thomas Charles Beirne”
Rainbow Research Fellowship ($20,000, supported by the Queensland Library Foundation, plus a 12-month residency)
- Monika O’Hanlon, for her project “Out of the Archives,” a mixed-media documentary podcast series that brings Queensland’s queer history to life, one archive item at a time, with each episode set to begin with a single artefact from the John Oxley Library collection – a photograph, protest flyer, costume, or love letter – and unpacking the story behind it
Royal Queensland Show (Ekka) Fellowship ($20,000, supported by the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland, plus a 12-month residency)
- Kaya Barry and Emily House, for their project “From the Regions to the City: Stories of Sending Produce and People to the Ekka”.
State librarian and SLQ CEO Vicki McDonald said, “These important State Library Fellowships support researchers and creatives to interpret our vast heritage collections and treasures. Through their work, they will bring to light new Queensland stories to share with the world. The diversity of projects will provide new insights into our history and expand and enrich our understanding of Queensland and its people.”
The annual State Library of Queensland Medals (previously the Queensland Memory Awards) recognise contributions to the documentation, preservation and celebration of Queensland’s memory, past and present.
Category: Awards Local news
