The 2026 recipients of the Great Ydeas Microgrants program are:
Kartika Medcraft-Smith
Pakana Dreaming Aboriginal Fashion Label Launch
Pakana Dreaming is an Aboriginal wearable art fashion project led by Kartika Medcraft‑Smith, a proud Pakana woman and Canberra‑based creative entrepreneur.
Through vibrant, high-quality, and affordable designs, Pakana Dreaming shares cultural stories drawn from Tasmanian Pakana heritage, including ancestral teachings and Country‑based imagery, in contemporary and accessible forms. The project blends art, fashion, and cultural storytelling to strengthen Aboriginal visibility, pride, and representation within the community.
Jacinta Froud
The Canberra Bookshop Trail
The Canberra Bookshop Trail is a community-focused creative project led by Jacinta Froud, a Canberra‑based children’s author and teacher, developed by book lovers for book lovers.
Inspired by successful bookshop trails in other regions, the project brings together 24 independently owned bookstores across the ACT, celebrating Canberra’s rich literary culture through an illustrated guide map. Each participating bookshop is hand illustrated by local artist and teacher Sally Black, whose pen‑and‑watercolour artworks capture the character and charm of each space. Blending art, literacy, and local exploration, the Canberra Bookshop Trail encourages families, readers, and visitors to explore the region, support small businesses, and share a love of books.
Mei Ling Chin
Designing the Future of Inclusive Workplaces
Designing the Future of Inclusive Workplaces is a community‑focused professional development project led by Mei‑Ling Chin, a Canberra‑based facilitator and LEGO Serious Play practitioner working at the intersection of organisational design, equity, and wellbeing.
The project is a 90‑minute public Conversation Lab to be held in Canberra in May 2026, bringing together HR professionals, change leaders, and DE&I practitioners to explore what genuinely inclusive workplaces look like and how to move beyond compliance to action. Using LEGO Serious Play alongside research‑informed insights from a University of Canberra professor and an organisational design specialist from Spinach Co, the session blends creativity, academic rigour, and practical problem‑solving in a psychologically safe environment.
Amy Chu
Yarning
Yarning is a creative community project led by Amy Chu, a young Canberra‑based creative who aims to support connection, wellbeing, and skill building among young people through fibrecraft.
Inspired by the tradition of yarning as storytelling and knowledge sharing, Yarning is a series of three relaxed after‑school workshops where participants learn to dye natural fibres and knit their own beanie from scratch. Blending creativity, sustainability, and community, the project introduces young people aged 12 to 25 to lifelong skills such as knitting, colour theory, and slow fashion, while fostering conversation, mindfulness, and peer connection.