The first Awesome Newcastle of 2025 was quite welcoming and very warm, as the muggy February heat ignited our spirits. We were all excited to be back at the Young Street Hotel and to get down to business giving away no-strings-attached $1000 cash.

We welcomed back our board and applauded first time guest board member Jess Davidson of the Zena Collective. We were thrilled to see the return of previous permanent board member Adam Novak who made a rare, cheeky appearance. We love you Adam, it’s always great to have you back!

Our three finalists this month were Craig Warren Smith from the Universal Sandpit, Damien Linnane from Prison Art for Palestine and Larissa Eliot from Under the Same Sun Psychology.

Craig went first. He’s a local teacher, focusing on autism and neurodivergent education. Craig runs a website resource called ‘The Universal Sandpit’, a free resource that provides ‘AI Tools for Inclusive Schools’. He’s presented his work locally and internationally. His website receives 5,000 monthly visitors, and the hosting fees for the tools are around $150 a month while the website costs around $300 a year. He self-funds the resource, without any external support. This means he has to restrict the number of tools he can offer on the website, as each new tool costs more money to host. With our support he would be able to add new tools and keep the existing tools online for the foreseeable future.

Damien went next. He’s an artist, writer and PhD candidate. He is the editor of Paper Chained magazine, an art and writing magazine for people in prison. He regularly receives artworks from people in custody both in Australia and abroad. In late 2024 he received artworks smuggled out of Ofer prison, a prison in Israel that illegally detains Palestinian people without charge. Prisoners there are not permitted to make art, hence why it’s smuggled out. He plans to put on a local art exhibition showing the works of Palestinians held in custody. The money would pay for postage of art from Gaza, as often the onus is on the individual artist to pay for their works to be sent for an exhibition. Palestinian artists cannot be expected to pay for the international postage due to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The money intends to support artists in a war zone and bring something unique to Newcastle.

Larissa took the stage at last. She’s a school psychologist and founder of Under the Same Sun Psychology which supports families where one parent works away for extended periods. It’s a lifestyle she understands well since her husband works a 4:4 FIFO (Fly In Fly Out) roster, primarily offshore in Western Australia. She’s created a children’s book designed to normalize the FIFO experience for young children, as many occupations require parents to be away from home. This book will reassure them that whilst their parent might be far away, love spans any distance. She would put the money towards publishing fees, covering the cost of professional editing, illustration, and printing. She plans to donate copies to local primary schools, preschools, and early childhood centres.

The jury was out for quite some time last night, so we knew it was going to be a tough decision. But at last the votes were cast, and we invited Jess to the stage to award the cash.
Jess passed the money to Damien! Congratulations Damien, we can’t wait to come see the exhibition!

Congratulations to all three finalists for jobs well done! Remember, applications never expire, so we just might see you again for another Awesome Newcastle!