Mo'Ju Receives Creative Fellowship From The State Library Of Victoria

Singer-songwriter Mo’Ju is among the recipients of funding from the State Library of Victoria thanks to the library’s 2025 Fellowships Program.

According to a press release, the just-announced fellows will make “new discoveries” from within the library’s collection while sharing career-defining works. Mojo Ruiz de Luzuriaga, who we know best as Mo’Ju, has received a Creative Fellowship of $15,000 to fund their project, KAPWA.

Mo’Ju plans to access books and audio recordings from the State Library of Victoria to inform their new work. In it, they’ll honour the figure of Kapwa, a philosophy that’s central to Filipino culture and identity.

Mo’Ju said of receiving the Creative Fellowship, “I’m thrilled and excited for this opportunity to deepen my own knowledge of pre-colonial practices and beliefs in the Philippines.

“The fellowship will benefit not only my own cultural development as a member of the Filipinx diaspora, but also lay the foundations for my next major artistic project - one that explores the themes of mysticism, spirit and gender fluidity, through an indigenous lens in a modern world.”

Mo’Ju joins an impressive roster of recipients, including Dr Anna McMichael (Climate Futures Artist Fellowship), Rebecca and Avni Dauti for a Creative Fellowship to fund their project Faed, and Louise Crisp (Marion Orme Page Creative Regional Fellowship).

State Library Victoria CEO Paul Duldig said of this year’s recipients: “Our 2025 fellows are an exciting and diverse group, [whose] ambitious projects will open up the State Collection.”

Duldig continued, “There are plans to unearth treasures of Australian poetry from our Rare Books Collection, an art project to connect Yorta Yorta people with the history and culture of their ancestors, and a research project highlighting the legacy of performing artists in regional Victoria.

“Every fellowship is an opportunity to learn more about Victoria's culture and history. I’m very excited to see our participants make new discoveries and create career-defining work.”

Victoria’s Minister for Creative Services, Colin Brooks, added: “For more than two decades, State Library Victoria’s Fellowships Program has supported more than 300 creative practitioners and scholars to make significant and enduring contributions to Victoria’s culture and history.

“Congratulations to the 2025 Fellows, whose projects will bring the State Collection to life in new and imaginative ways, bolstering Victoria’s vibrant creative sector and generating new artworks, books, performances and research.”

You can find out more about this year’s fellowships here.

Last month, Mo’Ju returned to Melbourne/Naarm and performed at the Chapel Off Chapel, spotlighting their extensive catalogue in the most stripped-back environment they had played in a long time. In October, Mo’Ju received the Artistic Excellence Award at the 2024 Australian Women In Music Awards, which honours women and gender non-conforming people in the Australian music industry.