Press release from Fullbright Scholarships
Angelina Hurley, a PhD candidate at the University of Technology Sydney, has won the 2011 Fulbright Indigenous Scholarship supported by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Through her Fulbright she plans to visit and undertake study and research at a couple of Institutes and organisations in Los Angeles and New York to gain further experience and skill in comedy writing for film and television. Her dream and goal is to write an Indigenous television series/sitcom which is also her PhD project.
“Professionally I would love to be a full-time writer. Through my research topic, ‘Blak Comedy and Indigenous Cultural Perspectives on Humour’, I am investigating the development of Australian Indigenous comedy,” Angelina said.
“The genre of Indigenous comedy predominantly lives within the Indigenous community itself, unknown to mainstream Australia and is still to break through there. It would be great to see more of it on mainstream television.”
“I intend for the final product of my studies to be something that appeals to all demographics. I hope it has the potential to reach international audiences.” Angelina said.
Angelina has a BEd (Secondary Teaching Art), Kelvin Grove Teachers College; a BEd (Adult Education) from UTS; and an MAA (Arts Management) from University of New South Wales. Angelina was awarded the Myer Indigenous Scholarship to study Script Writing and Directing with the Australian Film and Television School, Sydney in 2008.
In her spare time she enjoys writing, swimming, yoga, the arts.
The prestigious Fulbright program is the largest educational scholarship of its kind, created by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and the U.S. Government in 1946. Aimed at promoting mutual understanding through educational exchange, it operates between the U.S. and 155 countries. In Australia, the scholarships are funded by the Australian and U.S. Governments and corporate partners and administered by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission in Canberra.
Angelina is one of 26 talented Australians to be recognised as a Fulbright Scholar in 2011. Applications for Fulbright Scholarships in 2012 open on 1 June, visit www.fulbright.com.au