BlakDance Giving Day – Give to the future of First Nations dance

Luke Currie-Richardson dressed in all white performing during Garabari by Joel Bray Dance at the Sydney Opera House during Sydney Festival 2026.

Help BlakDance to give First Nations dancers careers, not gigs

We make the diversity of First Nations contemporary dance possible, and your donation empowers us to create professional pathways, productions and tours that keep culture strong and careers sustainable. With your support we can secure a future for dance that is unapologetically Blak!

View the campaign

We are raising funds to support our vital work creating self-determined opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dancers, choreographers, arts workers, dance companies, knowledge holders and communities.

Through our unique performances and tours, our solutions-focused sector engagement and our transformative capacity building programs we are building a First Nations contemporary dance sector while simultaneously building the cultural competency of the broader performing arts sector to program First Nations work and develop producers to deliver it.

A black and white photo of First Nations choreographer Raymond D. Blanco. On the image is a quote which reads BlakDance has supported my choreographic projects with unbounded support and guidance.

How our giving day will work

On AusArt Day – Thursday 22 October 2026 – we are calling on you to make a donation to our Giving Day campaign.

We are fundraising for one day only so we ask you to join us and make a donation.

We have partnered with Raisley to run our Giving Day.

Why a giving day and what is AusArt Day?

A giving day is a one-day fundraising event run by nonprofits in and out of the arts to bring communities together to raise awareness for a specific cause, increase engagement and drive donations.

We are running our Giving Day on Thursday 22 October 2026, AusArt Day – the second annual national giving day to the arts. You can learn more about AusArt Day on the Creative Australia website.

Get in contact

Do you have questions about our Giving Day? Do you have ideas to help spread the message? Want to know how you can help the campaign?

Please get in touch:

Merindah Donnelly
Co-CEO and Executive Producer
merindah.donnelly@blakdance.org.au

Trudy Gunston
Co-CEO
trudy.gunston@blakdance.org.au

Credits
Banner image: Garabari by Joel Bray Dance, produced by BlakDance, presented at the Sydney Opera House during Sydney Festival 2026. Pictured: Luke Currie-Richardson. Photo: Stephen Wilson Barker.

Image: raymond d. blanco during the First Collective Residency at Australasian Dance Collective (ADC). Photo: Jade Ellis.