Realise Your Dream award winners revealed

JOLIE HERTZBERG, EMMA SWIFT and KATE JUST were announced the winners  of the 2012 British Council’s Realise Your Dream awards at a gala award ceremony at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art on Wednesday.

Hertzberg, a festival director and artistic producer, hails from Queensland; Swift, a radio announcer and producer, from NSW; and Just, a visual artist, calls Victoria home.

The three Australian women have each been awarded a trip to the UK where they will work with professionals in their chosen industries. They also each receive $10,000.

In early August, after being named one of 10 finalists, Hertzberg said she entered the awards for the UK mentorship opportunity.

She said at the time that if she won, she would use the visit to meet others in her industry who worked on the London Olympic Games and who were involved in organising the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Hertzberg, 27, also said she was keen to bring more culture to the Gold Coast, where she lives, by encouraging local business owners to show more support for the arts.

She hopes to use the skills she learns in the UK to produce major events and arts projects to coincide with the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

Celebrating their 10th year, the awards aim to promote and support both the UK and Australian creative communities.

There were more than 650 applications from across Australia this year, with the winners chosen by a panel of judges. – AAP

IMAGE: Jolie Hertzberg (By Ali Mitton, courtesy joliehertzberg.com)