For musician, writer and disability advocate Eliza Hull, her National Regional Arts Fellowship has already opened doors far beyond the original scope of the project.

Eliza travelled to the United Kingdom to connect with organisations and artists working at the intersection of music, disability, access and screen representation. The experience brought together advocacy, creative development and international collaboration and has continued to shape her career since returning home.

“It was an incredible experience,” Eliza says. “It was a completely fulfilling and meaningful trip, personally, artistically, but also just that knowledge and skills that I was able to bring back to Australia.”

The National Regional Arts Fellowship Program is a strategic project supported by the Australian Government Regional Arts Fund and delivered by Regional Arts Australia. Fellowships provide guaranteed income for regional artists and arts workers to develop work, skills, networks, or research.

One major focus of the fellowship was Hull’s interest in improving opportunities for musicians with disability in film and television. In the UK, she met with Outlyer, an organisation founded by Australian disabled artist, singer-songwriter and entrepreneur Emmanuel Kelly.

Eliza says that while there is growing authentic representation of disabled actors and stories on screen, disabled musicians are still too often left out of those opportunities.

“A lot of incredible authentic representation is happening on our screens of disabled actors and disabled stories,” she says. “But often music from artists with disability and musicians with disability aren’t getting that representation… even in the stories that are about us.”

The fellowship also allowed Eliza to spend time with Attitude is Everything, a UK organisation advocating for access in live music. Through that connection, Hull learned more about venue accessibility standards, including a gold, silver and bronze model that recognises different levels of access across venues.

For Hull, this learning was immediately relevant to her advocacy work in Australia.

“For me, it was great to learn about how all these venues are getting on board in the United Kingdom,” she says. “Then bring that knowledge back to the advisory group that I’m part of here in Australia.”

The fellowship was also deeply generative for Hull’s own music. She spent time co-writing with artists in England, and those sessions became the foundation for a new body of work.

“There was something really special about what I created over there,” Hull says. “I think in a way, just realising that if you work with such experienced people, they come out with really great outcomes.”

Since returning, Eliza is preparing to release work shaped by the fellowship experience. She also continued her relationship with Emmanuel Kelly, later performing with him at Marvel Stadium in support of Coldplay.

“When I found that out, I squealed,” she says. “I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ And it was pretty incredible, like quite a surreal experience.”

Eliza also reflects on the importance of rest, pacing and sustainability as a disabled artist. She pushes back against misconceptions that disabled people are less capable in work environments, while also acknowledging the pressure many disabled artists feel to overperform in industries where they remain underrepresented.

“I think it’s important that the creative process has times of contemplation, rest, moments of stillness,” she says. “Because actually that is where ideas ferment.”

Looking back, Eliza sees the fellowship not as a single opportunity, but as a catalyst.

“These fellowships are so incredibly valuable,” she says. “The fellowship is like a seed, and then all the things that come out of that might not happen straight away. They actually happen later down the track.”

For Eliza, that seed has already begun to bloom into new music, new international relationships, major career opportunities and a deeper role in shaping access for artists with disability in Australia.