Monica Clare Research Fellowship

Awarded annually to people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander to research, explore and create new knowledge about Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures using the John Oxley Library and State Library collections and resources.  

The fellowship recipient receives a stipend of $15,000, a personal work space within the Neil Roberts Research Lounge for 12 months and premium access to State Library’s extensive collections and library staff expertise. 

State Library’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Collections Commitments details our approach and commitment to providing greater access and use of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander collections.  Research projects undertaken as part of the Monica Clare Research Fellowship align with the principles and values outlined in this document. 

The fellowship is named after Monica Clare, a political activist and author, Ms Clare was the first Indigenous woman to have a novel published. Her novel “Karobran” (meaning ‘together’) was published in 1978, five years after her death. 

Applications for 2022 have now closed. Applications will open again in mid 2023. 

Interested in applying and have questions? Read our FAQ, or reach out to us at fellowships@slq.qld.gov.au or on (07) 3840 7879 or (07) 3840 7887

Supported by The Siganto Foundation through the Queensland Library Foundation.

The 2022 Monica Clare Research Fellowship was awarded to Dr Max Brierty for his project, Mipa Mipumani: The Colonisation of Kullilli Country in South-West Queensland.

Max's project tells a story of the colonisation of Kullilli Country through an analytical and conceptual style underpinned by truth-telling, traditional and contemporary Indigenous philosophy and his own standpoint as a Kullilli man and member of the Kullilli diaspora.

For more information about Max's project watch his video below.