Grant McLennan Fellowship

Grant McLennan was a seminal Australian singer-songwriter-guitarist who co-founded The Go-Betweens with Robert Forster in Brisbane in 1977. Grant was also a successful solo artist, releasing four albums throughout his career. He was an advocate for emerging Queensland artists and in 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association listed "Cattle and Cane" (1983), written by McLennan, as one of their top 30 Australian songs of all time. McLennan passed away at the age of 48, but is still considered one of Australia's greatest artists.

"I can remember being hit by the lyrics he put to his first songs. I was shocked by their melancholy and the struggle for joy. I’d known the happy-go-lucky university student. As soon as he wrote, there it was. Any appreciation or remembrance of Grant has to take this into account. He didn’t parade it, but it’s all over his work, and it was in his eye." — Robert Forster on his relationship with Grant McLennan, 'A true hipster', The Monthly.

The prestigious $15,000 Grant McLennan Fellowship offers the recipient/s an opportunity to travel to New York, London or Berlin for up to six months and use the experience of being immersed in a foreign and vibrant musical culture to further develop their own artistic skills.

The Fellowship is for a contemporary music songwriter or songwriting duo with both experience and exceptional talent. The artist/artists will have more than five years of professional experience and will have developed a national profile through album releases, touring and media recognition.

The Grant McLennan Fellowship is delivered through a partnership with Arts Queensland and QMusic.

Founded in 2007 in honour of the late Queensland singer-songwriter and co-frontman of The Go-Betweens, Grant McLennan, the Fellowship is an incredible chance for local songwriters to take their careers to a whole new level.