In August, there was an outcry when the Rob Guest Endowment – which offers a prestigious annual musical theatre scholarship – announced the names of its 30 semi-finalists for 2020, all of them white. The announcement was slammed for its lack of diversity and described as a “white wash”.

Now, the Artists of Colour Initiative (AOC) has launched a scholarship to provide financial assistance and industry support to six theatre performers based in Australia who identify as Bla(c)k, Indigenous or People of Colour.

The AOC Initiative was founded by Tarik Frimpong to address the underrepresentation of these communities in Australian musical theatre, and help generate change.

The 2020 panel for the Artists of Colour Initiative

“The AOC Initiative is a celebration of People of Colour – a community I am a part of – with the aim to come together, have important conversations and fight for change in the Australian theatre industry. I wanted to create an opportunity where I could support and celebrate artists who identify as Bla(c)k, Indigenous or POC by providing them with greater visibility and a stepping stone to a more racially inclusive theatre industry,” said Frimpong​.

Six finalists, including the...