Art Almanac congratulates Richard Bell, the overall winner of this year’s $25,000 King & Wood Mallesons First Nations Art Award for his work No Tin Shack, and Keemon Williams, the winner of the $5,000 Queensland Local Artist Award for his work Self Portrait (But I always wanted to be one of the Macho Men).
This year, two artists were selected as Highly Commended: Jennifer Herd for Window Pain – Portal to the Past and Mary Dhapalany for Twin Mat.
The 2023 judging panel comprised First Nations journalist, writer, documentary maker, broadcaster and sound artist Daniel Browning; writer, project manager and consultant Emma Loban; Curator Indigenous Australian Art QAGOMA Katina Davidson; and artist, researcher, curator, and cultural scholar Warraba Weatherall.
Richard Bell, No Tin Shack, 2022. HD single-channel video, colour, sound, 07:29 minutes. Courtesy the artist and Milani Gallery, Brisbane
The biennial King & Wood Mallesons First Nations Art Award supports, showcases, and celebrates the outstanding contribution made to Australian culture by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists in remote, regional and urban areas throughout Australia working in wall-hung two- or three-dimensional media, including painting, photography, drawing, printmaking, weaving, jewellery, acrylic glass, metal, works on bark or board, mixed media, digital media and sculpture.
1. Keemon Williams, Self Portrait (But I always wanted to be one of the Macho Men), 2023, digital print. Courtesy of the artist. 2. Jennifer Herd, Window Pain – Portal to the Past, 2023, re-purposed Federation window, vinyl decals and digital print on Dibond aluminium. Courtesy the artist and FireWorks Gallery, Brisbane. 3. Mary Dhapalany, Twin Mat, 2023, pandanus weaving. Courtesy the artist and Bula’Bula Arts, Northern Territory
The King & Wood Mallesons First Nations Art Award 2023 finalists are: Adam Gibbs Tjapaltjarri, Amy Loogatha, Bob Gibson, Brian Robinson, Cameron Ross, d Harding, Donovan Gilbert, Fiona Mosby, Freddy Purla, Jeanette James, Jennifer Herd, Joanne Currie Nalingu, Joanne Napangardi Wheeler, Johnathon World Peace Bush, Keemon Williams, Kim Napurrula, Louise Daniels, Mary Dhapalany, Matilda Nona, Nyinta Donald, Paula Savage, Ray Midjandi and Rona Rubuntja, Reggie Uluru, Richard Bell, Ryan Presley, Sally M Nangala Mulda, Solomon Booth, and Teena McCarthy.
The King & Wood Mallesons First Nations Art Award 2023 finalist exhibition is on view at Griffith University Art Museum, Brisbane, until 14 October.
