Three New Next Level Fellows

Media Statement

Regional Arts WA Announces Recipients of Fellowship Programs Supporting Young Regional Artists

Regional Arts WA is thrilled to announce the recipients of three prestigious fellowships designed to support outstanding emerging artists and arts workers across regional Western Australia aged 18-26. Olivia Harwig, Zoe Waterstrom, and Jacob Mangan join the three Next Level Fellowship recipients announced by Minister McGurk on 1 May to take the 2026 Next Level cohort to six. (Funding takes young regional artists from storyboard to reality | Western Australian Government)

Next Level Arts Worker Fellowship – Arts Margaret River

Arts Margaret River is thrilled to announce Olivia (Liv) Hartwig as the 2025 recipient of the Next Level Arts Worker Fellowship, a program designed to ignite the careers of young regional arts professionals and build the next generation of creative leaders.

Energetic, imaginative, and deeply immersed in the literary world, Liv will be stepping into the heart of the Margaret River Readers & Writers Festival as part of her fellowship. Embedded within the Festival team, she’ll be flexing her literary muscles across a range of creative and hands-on roles, from crafting vibrant festival blog content and amplifying author stories on social media to leading the bustling Writers Room at the Festival Hub and supporting our guest authors throughout the festival.

The Fellowship will give Liv the chance to expand her industry knowledge, and gain real-world experience inside one of WA’s most dynamic regional arts organisations. She’ll also have opportunities to take part in festival workshops and professional development sessions, connect with visiting authors, and explore new ways writers and arts organisations can work together to spark community engagement.

Young Performance Artist Fellowship – The Blue Room Theatre

Zoe Waterstrom Muller has been named the recipient of the Young Performance Artist Fellowship at The Blue Room Theatre. The Fellowship offers an emerging regional theatre maker/performer/artist a week-long professional development residency in Boorloo Perth, with all travel, program and accommodation costs covered.

Hailing from Karratha, Zoe impressed the judging panel with her authenticity, versatility, and strong community focus. Her award-winning original work and experience across performance, design, and teaching, highlight her creative depth. Zoe’s commitment to empowering regional youth through the arts and her eagerness to grow within the wider theatre sector in Boorloo made her a standout applicant.

The Blue Room Theatre will co-curate with Zoe a unique five-day timetable of professional development and networking opportunities that will help her to navigate the professional theatre sector and prepare for her future career.

Mid West Arts Prize – Regional Arts Emerging Artist Fellowship

In partnership with the City of Greater Geraldton and Geraldton Regional Art Gallery (GRAG), Regional Arts WA will award the Regional Arts Emerging Artist Fellowship to Jacob Mangan, a young artist in the Mid West Art Prize.

With the support of this fellowship, Jacob plans to travel to Sydney to paint a portrait of Steven Miller, the long-serving archivist at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, for submission to the Archibald Prize. The funding will cover travel and materials, and any remaining funds will help establish a portable plein air studio in the back of Jacob’s ute – creating a dedicated space for experimentation and growth for his artistic practice in the Wheatbelt farming community, Narembeen.

Of the three Next Level Fellowship announcements, Regional Arts WA CEO, Dr Pilar Kasat said;“We saw incredible talent and passion from all the emerging artists who applied for these fellowships. Your creativity and commitment to extending yourselves is the heart of the Next Level program. We’re thrilled to partner with The Blue Room, the City of Greater Geraldton, Geraldton Regional Art Gallery, and Arts Margaret River to offer these new fellowships, which will nurture three new voices and strengthen the future of the arts in regional Western Australia.”

All three Regional Arts WA Fellowships are proudly supported by the WA Government through the Regional Arts and Cultural Investment Program.