Brewarrina arts leader Lily Shearer has been honoured after more than 40 years in her field at Creative Australia's First Nations Arts and Culture Awards.

The Murrawarri/Ngemba woman was awarded the Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cultural Advocacy and Leadership at the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney on Tuesday 27 May.

Ms Shearer said she cried when Creative Australia Executive Director Franchesca Cubillo told her in March that the she had been recognised.

"I only lost my mum at the end of last year and I can still hear her say to me 'you won't be able to build a career in the arts'.

"And then, of course, she was my biggest fan.

"I even had her acting in two short films."

Ms Shearer (fourth from the left) with fellow winners at the First Nations Arts and Culture Awards. IMAGE: Creative Australia

Ms Shearer was born and raised in Brewarrina before she began attending boarding school as a 12-year-old in 1976 at St Scholastica's in the Sydney district of Glebe.

She would sneak out of the premises after school hours to visit the Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre Collage at St James Hall.

In 1981, she began as a dancer at the college before returning to Brewarrina heavily pregnant with her daughter Yolanda in 1983.

The performing artist started a ballet school in the town and taught Indigenous cultural dances in a park, which was free for her people.

She also directs Brewarrina's annual Baiame's Ngunnhu Festival and in 2007 co-founded the registered charity Moogahlin Performing Arts in Redfern to help First Nations performers.

"When you get recognized by your peers at such a prestigious award, you think 'oh my gosh, now what do I need to do? Are there responsibilities attached to this? Do I need to step my game up and advocate a bit more?" Ms Sherer said.

"It's very validating. Very, very validating."

Ms Shearer said she wants to establish a performing arts school in Brewarrina so Indigenous students can learn the craft - including sound, lightning and costume design - on home country.

The Red Ochre winners are nominated by their peers and colleague before they are picked by the Creative Australia First Nations Board.

“These First Nations individuals and organisations represent the strength, depth and diversity of First Nations creative practices across the country. We take this moment to congratulate and celebrate these remarkable artists and thank them for leading the way for future generations,” said Ms Cubillo, Executive Director of First Nations Arts and Culture at Creative Australia.

The Red Ochre awards have been running since 1993.