Scholarship Aims

The Lloyd Martin Travelling Scholarship for Emerging Arts Leaders (the Scholarship) helps the next generation of arts leaders tackle the increasingly complex landscape facing cultural institutions in the 21st century. The Scholarship provides financial assistance of up to AUD$35,000 to arts managers and administrators for an overseas residency or study tour (collectively described as the Study Tour) at a critical stage in their careers, when it will have the greatest impact on their professional development, the companies or institutions for which they work and arts administration in Australia.

The Scholarship focuses on people working in areas that are increasingly critical to the viability and success of arts companies and cultural institutions: development (philanthropy and sponsorship); education; finance; ticketing and box office; commercial/enterprises (including licensing, retail and merchandising, food and beverage); government relations; marketing; corporate/strategic communications; and digital technology. Applications from other areas of arts administration will not, however, be excluded.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Scholarship, applicants must:

• be an Australian citizen or permanent resident;
• be an employee for the Opera House or one of its resident companies: Australian Chamber Orchestra, Bangarra Dance Theatre, Bell Shakespeare, Opera Australia, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Theatre Company, The Australian Ballet, and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, ideally in the areas of business outlined above;
• provide a letter of in-principle support from their employer;
• provide a detailed proposal for what they would like to do with the Scholarship, including a costed itinerary;
• complete their study tour and deliver all necessary Sholarship deliverables (Section 7) within a year of winning the scholarship;
• be available (within reason) for media calls and publicity events during and after completion of their study tour;
• complete the application form and all Scholarship documentation in English; and
• if successful, sign the Scholarship agreement, which will be provided to the successful applicant.

Applications

The period for applications to be submitted will be confirmed by notice at: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/about-us/careers-and-other-opportunities/prizes-and-scholarships/the-lloyd-martin-travelling-scholarship 

Applications must be submitted through the web form on the Scholarship webpage. Only complete applications received by the due date will be considered.

Selection Criteria

Applicants will be assessed on their ability to demonstrate:

• their passion for the arts and desire to further their career in the arts sector;
• their initiative and knowledge of the international landscape in their field;
• the need for, and quality and feasibility of, their detailed proposal and costed itinerary; and
• how their proposed study tour will benefit their professional development, the company or institution for which they work, and the administration of the arts in Australia.

Selection process

In 2026, two (2) Scholarships will be awarded. The selection committee will select a shortlist of applicants based on the above criteria with the successful recipients of the Scholarships being the two applicants that, in the selection committee’s view, best satisfy the criteria. At all stages of the process, the selection panel’s decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

The successful applicants will be notified by telephone or email. Details will be published on the Opera House website. 

Scholarship

The Scholarship is administered by the Opera House on behalf of the Sydney Opera House Trust and the Alexandra and Lloyd Martin Family Foundation (together, the Organisers). The Organisers will jointly choose the selection committee (selection committee).  

In 2026, the selection committee will award two (2) Scholarships of up to AUD$35,000.00 per Scholarship to the successful applicants (Scholarship Winners). In order to take up the Scholarship, the Scholarship Winners must sign a Scholarship agreement as to their obligations and entitlements.  The Scholarship Winners will be assigned an Opera House personal contact (Liaison), who will act as the single point of contact between the Organisers and the Scholarship winners. The Opera House liaison’s role is to administer the Scholarship for the Organisers, and to provide support, guidance and feedback to the Scholarship Winners.

Scholarship deliverables

To complete the Scholarship, Scholarship Winners must:

(a)   provide progress reports about the study tour (its progress and tracking against the costed itinerary) at no greater than three-monthly intervals;

(b)   deliver a final report in written form to the selection committee; and

(c)    deliver a talk to the applicants’ professional peers, drawn from the Opera House, resident companies and wider cultural sector community, at the Opera House on a date and time agreed with the Organisers.

In meeting these deliverables, the Scholarship winners will work closely with the Opera House Liaison and provide the written deliverables to the Opera House Liaison.

General terms and conditions

1. Applicants warrant that the Application is their original work and that they are the owner of all the material submitted as part of their Application and that the Application does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party.
2. By submitting the Application, the Applicant grants the Organisers, jointly and severally, a licence to use and reproduce (in whole or in part) the Application in any media to promote the Scholarship, themselves and their work (crediting the Applicant where practicable).  The licence includes the right to sub-license their rights to any third party. 
3. To the extent permitted by law, the Applicant consents to the Organisers, jointly or severally, doing anything in relation to the Application or the communication therein that (but for this consent) would otherwise infringe any moral right that might exist anywhere in the world.
4. The Organisers reserve the right to cancel or withhold the award of any Scholarship in any year at their absolute discretion and to amend these Scholarship Terms and Conditions at any time.
5. If a selected Applicant is unable to participate in the Scholarship, then the offer by the Selection Committee to the chosen Applicant will be withdrawn and no compensation to them is payable. The Selection Committee reserves the right to select another Applicant instead. 
6. If a Scholarship Winner withdraws from the Scholarship after signing the Scholarship Agreement, all funds paid to them by the Selection Committee must be reimbursed by them to the Selection Committee, except for costs that have already been reasonably incurred, as evidenced by valid receipts.
7. A Scholarship may be cancelled if the Scholarship Winner does not comply with these Terms and Conditions or the Scholarship Agreement. In that event, they must refund any payment already made to them by the Selection Committee. 
8. Unless the Scholarship Winner is an Opera House employee, the Scholarship Winner does not have a relationship of employee and employer with the Organisers (jointly or severally). The Organisers are not sponsors of the Scholarship Winners. Scholarship Winners are not agents of the Organisers.  Scholarship Winners must not represent themselves as agents or employees (unless they are actually employed by the Opera House) of the Organisers or that they are sponsored by the Organisers. 
9. Scholarship Winners are responsible for:
10. a. organising elements of their Study Tour (the Organisers will assist by making introductions, wherever possible);
    b. making their own travel and accommodation arrangements;
    c. arranging relevant insurances (including travel, medical and public liability insurance) prior to commencement of their Study Tour and showing evidence of those insurances when asked;
    d. keeping abreast of any travel warnings provided via the Department of Foreign Affairs Travel Advisory site www.smartraveller.gov.au;
    e. obtaining all relevant visas for travel and ensuring their passport is valid; and
    f. meeting all Scholarship deliverables. 
11. The personal information provided by the Applicant in submitting the Application will be used by the Opera House to administer the Scholarship and the Application process.  By submitting an Application the Applicant consents to the storage of their personal information by the Sydney Opera House Trust, which may use this information for future promotional and marketing purposes of itself or the Scholarship.  Information about the Opera House’s Privacy Policy, including how to request access to personal information, can be found on the Sydney Opera House website at https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/about-us/how-we-work/governance-policies-and-corporate-information/policies/customer-privacy-statement.