Bancroft receives 2026 Red Ochre Award for lifetime achievement

Bundjalung writer and artist Bronwyn Bancroft is one of the recipients of the 2026 Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Artistic Excellence in the First Nations Arts and Culture Awards.

Valued at $60,000, the award recognises “outstanding lifetime achievement in artistic practice for a senior Australian First Nations artist” and is administered by Creative Australia.

“Bronwyn has contributed extensively to Indigenous and Australian children’s literature, authoring/illustrating 50 children’s books,” said Creative Australia. In addition, Bancroft’s work has been shown in national and international exhibitions, and is held in major Australian galleries, state libraries and international collections.

Bancroft is a founding member of Boomalli artists cooperative and has been its volunteer senior strategist since 2009. The artist is also a director of the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME), The Returning, and the Commonwealth Bank Indigenous Advisory Council.

The Red Ochre Award was established by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board in 1993 to pay tribute to senior Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander artists for their outstanding lifetime achievement in the arts and their contribution to the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander arts, both nationally and internationally. Nominations for senior artists are accepted from arts and community organisations and individuals.

The awards are presented annually on 27 May, marking the anniversary of the 1967 referendum and the beginning of National Reconciliation Week.

Also receiving the lifetime achievement award alongside Bancroft was Yawuru musician Stephen Pigram.

More information on the First Nations Arts and Culture Awards and the other recipients is available on the Creative Australia website.

Category: Local news