The New Zealand Fringe and Melbourne Fringe festivals have launched a new initiative aimed at building stronger opportunities for Indigenous artists across the Tasman.

The Melbourne Fringe Indigenous Exchange Award will support a New Zealand Fringe artist to present work in Australia, while an Indigenous work from Melbourne Fringe will travel the other way in 2027.

Backed by Creative New Zealand and developed in association with Deadly Fringe, the award is designed to create international touring pathways for Māori artists, while it will also help foster stronger connections between Indigenous creatives in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Australia.

The initiative is intended to elevate Indigenous storytelling, expand audiences for cultural works and further strengthen the long-standing relationship between the two festivals.

The new award builds on the model already used in other NZ Fringe Tour Ready Awards, which have helped connect artists with major events including Adelaide Fringe, Sydney Fringe and San Diego Fringe.

"This new award represents an important step in deepening trans-Tasman Indigenous collaboration and opening pathways for Māori artists to share their work on international stages," the two festivals announced in a joint statement.

The inaugural recipient of the Melbourne Fringe Indigenous Exchange Award was The Remaining, a new theatre work created by multi-disciplinary artist Waikamania Seve.

Seve spoke about the significance of the recognition.

"We're thrilled and honestly overwhelmed to receive these awards," Seve said.

"Fringe is such a special space for artists to take risks, and it means the world to have this work recognised.

"We are excited to expand this story for an overseas audience."

The award was announced as part of the 2026 NZ Fringe Awards, which were held in Wellington on Sunday, March 8.

A total of 22 awards were handed out across the ceremony.

The festival's top honour, Best in Fringe, went to Just to Be Close to You, with performer Cam Porter praising both the festival and the wider arts community involved.

"The New Zealand Fringe blew us away with the warmest welcome a touring artist could receive," Porter said.

"The generosity of spirit that our new friends showed us during their performances, our shows and just hanging out renewed our love for the arts.

"The fact that the Best of Fringe award came from such an incredibly talented and kind group of artists makes it all the more meaningful."

This year marked the 36th NZ Fringe Festival and organisers said the event sold more than 20,500 tickets across 950 performances, generating more than $395,000 in ticket income for artists.

With the new Indigenous Exchange Award now in place, both festivals appear set to play a larger role in helping Indigenous artists share their work with new audiences and strengthen creative ties across the Tasman.