Following the presentation of the Awards at the Art Gallery of Ballarat last Saturday 23 August, Minister for the Arts Heidi Victoria MP said the Victorian Indigenous Art Awards aimed to build the profile of South East Australian Aboriginal art and Victoria’s Indigenous artists.
“The Victorian Indigenous Art Awards provide an incomparable glimpse into the power and quality of Indigenous art, and on to the artists who live, work and take inspiration from this part of Australia,” Ms Victoria said.
This year’s 35 finalist works showcase both traditional and contemporary art practices and range from traditional basket weaving techniques to works on wood, as well as photography, painting, video and sculpture.
Bellbrae artist Jenny Crompton took out the State’s richest Indigenous art prize, the $30,000 Deadly Art Award. Crompton, who takes much of her artistic inspiration from Victoria’s surf coast, won for her intricate installation of found objects, collected seasonally near her home. Her work impressed the judges for its “delicate construction techniques” and the “distinct sense of place.”
More than $50,000 in prizes were presented at the Awards ceremony, with Wonthaggi artist Patrice Mahoney receiving the $5,000 Federation University Australia Acquisitive Award and Deanne Gilson of Brown Hill, Ballarat, receiving the $5,000 Australian Catholic University Acquisitive Award.
Other Award winners included Footscray artist Paola Balla and Glennys Briggs, a Victorian-born artist now based in Maudsland, Queensland, who took out the Copyright Agency Limited’s Awards for three dimensional works and works on paper, respectively.
Voting by the public for the 2014 Arts Victoria People’s Choice Award, worth $2,500, will close on Monday 29 September, 5pm.
Art Gallery of Ballarat
Until 5 October, 2014
Victoria
