The National Library, in conjunction with the National Folk Festival, is pleased to announce Dr Mahesh White-Radhakrishnan as the 2022 National Folk Fellow. 

This Fellowship offers a unique opportunity for the recipient to discover and explore original collected material at the Library for use in their own artistic work. 

Recipient 

Dr Mahesh White-Radhakrishnan 

  • Quadrille tunes circling round – this project will examine the specific music used for quadrilles in Australia which have historical, thematic or musical links to South Asia and the Indian Ocean, and folk processes as the basis to write new songs, music or arrangements on themes of cross-cultural contact and shared history. 

Thank you

The annual National Folk Fellowship is offered jointly by the National Library of Australia and the National Folk Festival. The National Library thanks all applicants for the 2022 fellowship, and encourages unsuccessful applicants to apply for the next program. 

About  

Since 2004 the National Folk Fellowship has supported twenty established and emerging folk practitioners to further their work using the Library’s collections, including musicians, singers, dancers, poets, performance artists and performers.  

Recipients of the National Folk Fellowship receive a stipend of $8,000, special and supported access to the collections, and access to the National Library sound recording studios for up to 30 hours over their residency. Any recordings arising from the project will be acquired for the National Library’s Oral History and Folklore collection, with the fellowship resulting in a performance at the 2022 National Folk Festival. 

Dr Mahesh White-Radhakrishnan will join previous fellowship recipients Shane Lesideau and Archer who will also be performing at next year's festival.