NIDA Future Centre Announces Judging Panel for the Jim Sharman Future Award  

Applications for the $50,000 Future Award close Monday 24 March

Sydney, Australia – 11 March, 2025

The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) has unveiled the accomplished judging panel for the inaugural Jim Sharman Future Award. This AUD$50,000 award is set to empower young artists aged 16-30 from Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, encouraging bold, game-changing ideas that have the potential to redefine the arts landscape. 

The panel comprises an impressive roster of luminaries from across the arts and creative industries. Among them are Sarah Christie, Head of Australian Originals at Amazon MGM Studios; Kris Nelson, Festival Director, Sydney Festival 2026-2029; Angie Abdilla, Professor at the School of Cybernetics at ANU and founder of Old Ways, New; and Jason Phu, a boundary-pushing multidisciplinary artist known for his innovative digital and performance art.

Beth Shulman, Head of the NIDA Future Centre, expressed her excitement about this year’s judging panel, saying, “we’re thrilled to have creative leaders as part of our judging panel who bring such unique perspectives to the Jim Sharman Future Award. Our search for bold new ideas needs to be assessed through a range of different lenses, and we’re delighted to welcome industry leaders who are so well placed across a range of industries to make that difficult decision.”

The Jim Sharman Future Award is part of the NIDA Future Centre’s mission to bring emerging technologies and future thinking into storytelling. Open to visionary concepts across performance, technology, and cultural expression, the Award fosters radical thinking among the next generation of artists. Finalists will have the unique opportunity to present their ideas at a live pitch event in April 2025 at NIDA before this prestigious panel.

“In a time of rapid change, the arts have the power to inspire,” said Jim Sharman, patron of the award. “I encourage anyone with a wild idea or unique way of looking at the world to apply”.

The application process invites submissions in various formats, including video pitches, written concepts, and other creative expressions best suited to communicating the idea. Applications for the Jim Sharman Future Award are currently open, with the deadline fast approaching on Monday 24 March, 11:59 pm (AEDT).

Learn more about the Judging Panel

Sarah Christie
Sarah is the Head of Australian Originals at Amazon MGM Studios, where she oversees all creative aspects of development, production and post-production across the originals slate. At Amazon, Sarah has worked across Class of ’07, Deadloch, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, The Office and the upcoming series Narrow Road to the Deep North, Top End Bub and Deadloch 2.

Previously, Sarah was the Development Producer at Goalpost Pictures, where she oversaw the company’s film and television slate. At Goalpost, Sarah was a Co-Producer on Black Snow (Stan, Sundance Now) and worked across projects including New Gold Mountain (SBS TV), Unjoo Moon’s I Am Woman, Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding, Fighting Season (Foxtel), Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade produced with Blumhouse, Cleverman (ABC TV, SundanceTV) and Neil Armfield’s Holding The Man. Sarah also served as the Development Producer on James Vaughan’s debut feature film Friends And Strangers. Sarah previously worked as an entertainment lawyer at Media Arts Lawyers. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and a Bachelor of Laws from UTS.  

Kris Nelson
Kris Nelson joined Sydney Festival after six years as Artistic Director and CEO of the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT), where he led a dynamic biennial program of international performance. Originally from Saskatoon, Canada, he has over a decade of experience shaping major festivals and arts organisations in the UK and Ireland. He was previously Festival Director of Dublin Fringe Festival, Ireland’s largest multi-disciplinary arts festival, and has worked as a curator and producer across Canada, including at Vancouver’s PuSh Festival and the touring agency Antonym Productions. Nelson brings a strong track record in commissioning, artist development, and pioneering international collaborations. He will deliver his first Sydney Festival program in January 2026.

Angie Abdilla  
Angie Abdilla (palawa) is the founder and director of Old Ways, New, and a Professor at the School of Cybernetics, ANU. Her work spans strategic design, research, and creative practice, with a focus on technology as a cultural practice. She co-founded the Indigenous Protocols and AI Working Group (2017) and developed Country Centered Design (2018), an Old Ways, New methodology that foregrounds cultural affordances and requirements in technology design. With a foundation in film directing, Angie works as a creative researcher and exhibiting artist exploring the affordances of AI for deep cultural experiences. Her latest work will premiere at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in 2025. Angie is also an Expert Panel Member for the International AI Safety Report, led by the UK AI Safety Institute, and has advised organisations including the World Economic Forum, the United Nations, and federal governments globally on cultural protocols for AI. 

Jason Phu  
Jason is an artist working across a wide range of mediums including painting, robotics, animation and performance. His work references folk tales, family history and funny jokes. In 2023 he presented an operatic choir of robotic toys at Dark Mofo, in 2021 he was awarded the Mordant Family Moving Image Commission and created a feature length montage film for ACMI, in 2021 he was part of Rising Festival where he presented a nightly procession of costumed spirits with instruments down the streets of Chinatown and in 2025 was awarded the Digital Art Prize commission to create a video game artwork for Goolugatup Heathcote. 

About Jim Sharman  
With a career spanning over 80 productions in theatre, musicals, opera, and film, Jim Sharman is one of Australia’s most influential directors. A NIDA alum, he has left an indelible mark on global culture with works like Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He has received numerous accolades, including the JC Williamson Centenary Lifetime Achievement Award and the Sydney Theatre Awards Lifetime Achievement Award (2025), and continues to inspire emerging creatives through this impactful initiative.

About NIDA  
The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is Australia’s leading dramatic arts educator and innovator. Since its founding in 1958, NIDA has delivered world-class training across stage, screen, and digital platforms. Its alumni are celebrated globally, with graduates excelling as actors, directors, designers, writers, and innovators in new media. NIDA remains committed to driving diversity and inclusion in the arts, actively encouraging applications from historically excluded communities. 

For media inquiries, please contact:  

Vanessa Hollins  
M: 61+ 418478970  
[email protected]

Apply now and turn your bold idea into the future of storytelling. 
Visit NIDA’s website for more information.