6 December 2018
Bankstown Koori Elders Group take out the $15,000 first
prize at the 2018 Blacktown City Art Prize for Tribal Pride, a
190 cm sculptural work made from clay, wood and sand.
“The pride we get when we see it all come together as one
work of art is encouraging; the enjoyment we get as a mob is
very uplifting,” said the Elders, who also won the Aboriginal
Artist Prize in 2016. “For us to gather together to create art is
wonderful and inspirational.”
Blacktown City Mayor Stephen Bali MP, said it was a
pleasure to award the Koori Elders Group with the 2018
Blacktown City Art Prize.
“Blacktown City Council believes that art and culture has a
central role to play in the development of our city,” said
Mayor Bali.
“Now in its 23rd year, Blacktown City Art Prize is a major
cultural event in Western Sydney.
“For the second year running we received over 600 entries
from local artists and from across Australia. Tribal Pride by
the Koori Elders Group was a standout.”
The judging panel, Tony Albert, Emily McDaniel and Dominik
Mersch, faced the difficult task of selecting the winning
works.
“The final works reflect the cultural diversity of Western
Sydney by sharing localised stories and reflections of the
place and community; they remind us that the artist is a
storyteller first and foremost,” said the judges.
“Although Tribal Pride is a contemporary ceramic work, it
acknowledges traditional cultural practices such as carving,
evident through delicate and precise line work.”
Highly Commended were Jane Theau for #MeToo, and
Mohsen Meysami, Green, Blue, Yellow, Red.
Fozia Zahid of Blacktown was awarded the Local Artist Prize
for Country Out of the Man, a painting that captures a quiet
moment in Western Sydney.
“It evokes a sense of place and community that can only be
expressed by someone who holds a personal connection to
this place,” said the judges.
Highly commended was Belinda Sims of Lalor Park
for Saudade: Portrait of Janet and Leo Kelly at Home, 2018,
described by the judges as “a loving and endearing portrait
of two significant community members that have contributed
greatly to the thriving artistic community of Blacktown.”
First prize in the Aboriginal Artist category was Venessa
Possum for Damana (Hand).
The judges commended the intimacy in the artist’s
representation and the assemblage of the piece which is “a
thought-provoking and conceptual work that challenges
perceptions of contemporary Aboriginal art practice.”
Highly Commended was Blak Douglas for Workers (for the
Dole) Club.
The Blacktown City Art Prize is proudly supported by Ford
Land Company, WestLink M7, Blacktown Workers’ Club and
Blacktown City Council’s Environmental Services.
Blacktown Arts
Blacktown Arts is a recognised leader in
the development of contemporary arts in
Australia. We support artistic innovation and offer exciting,
new experiences for audiences
through an award-winning curated
program of exhibitions, performances,
workshops, residencies and events. We
are committed to making dynamic,
culturally diverse work that reflects
Blacktown, its history and its communities. We place
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and communities
at the heart of our program to develop new work drawing on
issues of local and global significance. This is how we make
art.
The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre is
open 10 am – 5 pm Tuesday to Saturday
(closed public holidays).
