Australian National University PhD student, Elly Kent, is one of 20 Australian postgraduate students to receive a 2013 Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Award.

The Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Awards provide scholarships for the best and brightest university students from Australia and Asia. The Awards provide the opportunity for students to undertake not only international study, but also internships.

The Award will enable Elly to undertake a year-long research program in Indonesia, where she will be hosted in Bandung by the Institut Teknologi Bandung.

Elly’s research will investigate the participatory practices of Indonesian artists and the reciprocal effects this social interaction has on their practice.

“Participatory practices occur when artists work away from individual studio production, inviting non-arts practitioners – for instance the public, a school or community group – to join in,” said Elly, whose research will be located in, but not limited to, three centres of contemporary art production in Indonesia: Bandung, Yogyakarta and Jakarta.

Elly is exploring opportunities to undertake an internship in Indonesia.

Through her Award program in Indonesia, Elly hopes to deepen her connection to the Indonesian arts community, developing reciprocal professional and personal relationships with artists and theorists. She anticipates that these relationships will not only support her research, but also provide opportunities to collaborate on future arts projects to build greater understanding between Indonesians and Australians.

The Prime Minister’s Australia Asia Awards aim to develop internationally-aware, skilled future leaders and to establish enduring education and professional linkages between Australia and Asia.