Performing Arts Centre Awards

Winners for PAC Australia’s IMPACT Awards were announced at the Darwin Ski Club, as part of the Australian Performing Arts Exchange (APAX).

The annual national awards celebrate performing arts leadership and excellence, with a focus on impact on communities, and the broader performing arts sector.

The highest achievement in the awards, the Wendy Blacklock Industry Legend Award, acknowledges exceptional, longstanding contributions to the performing arts field by an individual or organisation. This Award honours the illustrious career and the services of Wendy Blacklock AM, who was a pioneer of national touring and founder of Performing Lines.

The 2025 recipient of the Wendy Blacklock Industry Legend Award is Rhoda Roberts from Sydney.

Rhoda Roberts is a forerunner who, though her immense body of work, has played a key role in bringing the stories of First Nations artists into the mainstream.

PAC Australia’s Executive Director, Katherine Connor, said, “Woven throughout a career traversing performing arts, media and major events, shaping festivals and pioneering roles in major cultural institutions, her leadership and advocacy forged the pathway for the presentation of First Nations work to be presented as essential practice. Alongside her support of artists and creating platforms for the development of their work, Rhoda continues to be influential in broader sector issues, such as workforce development, supporting First Nations arts workers to develop longevity in careers in presenting and touring. Rhoda is a true innovator who continues to lead with wisdom and passion.”

Wendy Blacklock said, “The arts in Australia are going through yet another difficult period so how lucky we are to have Rhoda, who has not only managed her own career but has helped so many others… and continues to do so.”

The 2025 Performing Arts Centre of the Year Award is Merrigong Theatre Company.

Merrigong Theatre Company is recognised for the bold and thoughtful way they have reimagined their role in the sector, particularly since the pandemic. They have been hugely committed to First Nations collaboration, artist wellbeing and long-term support for local artists through programming like the MerrigongX Artists’ Program and the Strangeways Ensemble. Merrigong’s ambitious programming and focus on what really matters to their community has helped grow their audiences and their impact.

Katherine Connor says “Merrigong continues to set a national example of what it means to be a community-connected, artist-focused and forward-thinking regional presenting organisation.”

The 2025 Innovator Award is Queensland Ballet and Queensland Health.

Queensland Ballet and Queensland Health were honoured as recipients of the 2025 Innovator Award in recognition of their visionary partnership and the transformative impact of the Van Norton Li Community Health Institute. Together they redefined what’s possible when the arts and public health converge – creating new pathways for wellbeing, social connection, and cultural participation. They embedded dance within the continuum of care, and the scale and quality of their evidence-based programs across Queensland.

“This project is innovation at its most meaningful: connecting art and science, performance and purpose and proving that dance belongs not only on stage, but in every part of community life,” said Katherine Connor.

A total of eight IMPACT Awards (general category) were presented in 2025. The winners are:

IMPACT Award Winner – Fraser Corfield
Fraser Corfield is recognised with an IMPACT Award for his contribution to youth art over the past thirty years. His leadership at ATYP and beyond has shaped the lives of countless young Australians, giving them a voice and a place to discover their creativity. His generosity, vision and dedication has left a remarkable legacy that continues to inspire the arts sector and the wider community.
Katherine Connor says, “The panel were moved by the lasting impact he has made through nurturing young artists, championing new works, and building a national community that values youth theatre.”

IMPACT Award Winner – Slingsby
Slingsby is recognised with an IMPACT Award for their contribution to Australian theatre over the past two decades. Slingsby have been honoured with this award for the enormous contribution they’ve made to audiences, artists and the sector as a whole.
“Their final work, A Concise Compendium of Wonder, is a powerful expression of everything Slingsby stands for: artistic excellence, genuine community connection, and a bold commitment to sustainability. This IMPACT Award is a celebration and thank you for everything they’ve achieved and the lasting impact they will leave behind,” said Katherine Connor.

IMPACT Award Winner – Dancenorth Australia
Dancenorth Australia is recognised with their second IMPACT Award for their 2024 national tour of Wayfinder – a landmark achievement in scale, ambition and community   connection. Dancenorth’s commitment to growing and strengthening dance audiences across the country and to challenging the conventional touring model through meaningful, place-based engagement has meant they met each community with generosity, rigour and joy.

From Executive Director Katherine Connor “bestowing an IMPACT Award to Dancenorth for the second time in just four years is a testament to their artistic leadership and the deep care embedded in their practice.”

IMPACT Award Winner – Corrugated Iron Youth Arts
Corrugated Iron Youth Arts is selected for an IMPACT Award in recognition of their forty-year commitment to youth-led, place-based performance in the Northern Territory. Through Future Collides they celebrated this milestone with artistic excellence and demonstrated the long-term impact of creative pathways that centre young people as artists, leaders and changemakers. They utilised an intergenerational approach, deep First Nations engagement and the powerful legacy visible in alumni still involved decades on.
Katherine Connor says, “It’s so fitting to honour the vital role Corrugated Iron plays in sustaining a vibrant, inclusive, cultural ecosystem, here in their hometown of Darwin.”

IMPACT Award Winner – Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre
Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre is recognised with an IMPACT Award for their leadership and commitment in addressing the urgent skills shortage in technical theatre through their innovative Traineeship Program. Their initiative is a powerful example of how regional venues can take the lead in nurturing and mentoring emerging talent, especially when formal education options are limited.
“The outcomes Wagga Wagga have achieved and the meaningful impact their program has on their local community and the broader performing arts sector demonstrates a forward-thinking approach to workplace development and cultural sustainability.” from Katherine Connor.