2014 Indigenous Ceramic Art Award Winners

The Shepparton Art Museum has delightedly announced the winners of the Indigenous Ceramic Art Award, the premier national award for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists working in ceramics.

First prize was awarded to the Bankstown Koori Elders Group for their work After the Rain, Bungle Bungle.  This collective of artists who meet at Sydney’s Condell Park will share the $20 000 acquisitive prize.

SAM Director Kirsten Paisley drew attention to the impressive scale and collaborative nature of the Bankstown Kooir Elders Group.  She commented particularly on, “The way in which they had come together from various cultural and language groups to conceive and beautifully resolve a single vision of the remote landscape of the Bungle Bungles.”

The recipient of the $10 000 second prize was Alison Milyika Carroll, A Pitjantjatjara artist for her work Ngayuku Walka. Carroll’s work, a large pot is highly personal carved with joyous designs that her title translates to mean ‘my mark’.

The acquisitive Encouragement award worth $3000 for a Victorian artist has been awarded to Robyne Lathan, a Yamatji woman from Western Australia.  In the work PODS3, Robyne references the lynching of Aboriginal men for providing bush tucker for their families.

The ICAA biennial exhibition displays the shortlist of 22 artists who have achieved excellence in Indigenous ceramic art practice today, including both contemporary and traditional works.

Established under the patronage of acclaimed artist Dr Gloria Thanakupi Fletcher, this award celebrates the rich, creative use of the ceramic medium by Indigenous artists.  The Award provides cultural exchange opportunities for Indigenous artists from across Australia.

During the duration of this exhibition, the public were invited to get involved in a Public Forum and curatorial talks as apart of the 2014 Indigenous Ceramic Art Award Cultural Weekend on the 24 – 25 May.

2014 Indigenous Ceramic Art Award
16 May – 10 August 2014
Shepparton Art Museum
www.sheppartonartmuseum.com.au

Image courtesy the artists and the Shepparton Art Museum