At last night’s celebration of environmental art and design, the winners for this year’s Environmental Art & Design Prize (EADP) were announced. Held at the Manly Art Gallery & Museum (MAG&M) guest judge, Genevieve Smart, fashion designer and co-founder of Ginger & Smart congratulated each winner.
Now in its fourth year, the Prize continues to build on its reputation with an increase of 15% in entries this year from across the nation.
The Environmental Art & Design Prize continues to showcase the influence the environment has on artists and designers. In turn, using their focus on the natural world, environment renewal and regeneration to influence the community with innovative ideas, introspection and reflection.
Congratulations go the each of the talented winners:
Art
Winner: Gaspare Moscone – artwork: Aletheia
Highly Commended: Thomas Thorby-Lister – artwork: Rainwater 04
Angela Tiatia – artwork: The Dark Current
Design
Winner: Elliot Bastianon – Design: Oregon Chair
Young Artist/Designer aged 7-12 years: This year there are joint winners
Winners: Portia Pringle – artwork: Reborn
Jeremy Zhang – artwork: A Magical Jungle
Young Artist/Designer aged 13-18 years: This year there are joint winners
Winners: Isabella Wu – artwork: We
Lucy Wang – artwork: Thrive and Dive
Highly Commended: Skye Yu – artwork: A Smear of Crimson
Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins said this year’s finalists were impressive.
“This year’s entrants have again inspired us with their innovative submissions. I’m sure the judges had a difficult time selecting the winners.
“The Northern Beaches has always fostered and supported the art and design world. Combining these creative endeavours with the natural environment and sustainable living can, and does, motivate and stimulate the discussion about new ideas and innovative practices to improve our community.
“Do take the time to explore the exhibition displayed across the 3 locations during August, and vote in the People’s Choice,” Mayor Heins said.
One prize still to be announced: the People’s Choice Award. The entries will be collated and the lucky winners for each venue will be announced on 23 August 2024.
Voting is open till 21 August so visit the three exhibition venues: Manly Art Gallery & Museum, Curl Curl Creative Space and Mona Vale Creative Space Gallery.
This year’s prize money, across the four categories, has increased with the Art and Design winners each receiving an impressive $20,000, making the design category one of Australia’s most significant design awards. The Young Artists and Designers and People’s Choice winners will share in a prize pool of $6,000.
There is an opportunity to meet the artist and designer finalists behind the works:
• Designers: 3 August at Curl Curl Creative Space, 2-3 pm
• Artists: 10 August at MAG&M, 2-3 pm
• Young Artists/Designers: 17 August at Mona Vale Creative Space Gallery, 2-3 pm
Also in August, join MAG&M’s Collective for Environmental Art & Design (CEAD) for its first panel discussion of this new initiative, on Thursday 15 August, 6 – 7:30 pm. MAG&M is bringing together industry-leading creative thinkers to discuss the power of collective action, and to learn what is possible when working together to envision environmental solutions.
Hear from Dr Jenny Newell, Curator for Climate Change at the Australian Museum’s Climate Solutions Centre; Dr Lucas Ihlein, artist and Senior Lecturer at University of Wollongong and member of the Kandos School of Cultural Adaptation (KSCA); and Floria Tosca, multi-disciplinary practitioner and member of The Dirt Witches Scrub Collective.
Thanks to our Foundation Sponsor Colormaker Industries, Event Sponsor Kimbriki Environmental Enterprises, and Event Supplier Seadrift Distillery.
For more information head to our website.
Link to hi-res images can be found here. Please credit photographer, Karen Watson.
Media contact: For media enquiries please phone 0481 907 545 or email media@northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au
Notes to Editor:
Please contact us for background information on the winning artists and designers. Quotes from the judges on each of the winners and highly commended are also available.
Background on winners’ submission:
ART: GASPARE MOSCONE
Aletheia
molong marble, 70 x 25 x 50cm
These bones find timeless existence in marble, granting enduring witness.
Relics hold narratives. Deformity and marks translates the very imprecise happening of life, like the countless events that shape experiences of all creature.
This artwork is a relic to invoke power, knowledge, reminding of delicate human endeavours.
Unwavering, it reveals hidden truths, often overlooked and unacknowledged, standing as a testament to the ultimate silence of our actions and the fragility of human behaviour.
DESIGN: ELLIOT BASTIANON
Oregon Chair
timber, copper, 28.5 x 75 x 45cm
Oregon Chair is constructed from a reclaimed Oregon timber beam and paired with a salvaged copper pipe to create a simple structure.
The form is unfussy, leaving the materials to do the heavy lifting with their generous sizes and contrasting surfaces. The aged copper and fine growth rings are an acknowledgement of time and change and encourage the viewer to consider our relationship with materials that may have had a previous life elsewhere.
The huge dovetail joint which proudly stands front and centre is a nod to the kind of craftsmanship seen in more traditional furniture, and a gesture of durability and permanence.
YOUNG ARTIST/DESIGNER 7-12 years Joint winner: PORTIA PRINGLE
Reborn
recycled cotton/wool yarn, 100 x 150cm
My artwork is called 'Reborn'. The artwork is not about reusing clothing, but seeing if I could reuse the material. I am always receiving hand me downs from friends and family. I received a jumper that I didn’t like but I liked the colour and the material. I unthreaded the jumper and re-crocheted the yarn into a scarf. By doing this I was able to repurpose the material into a new and exciting piece of clothing.
This process has allowed me to look at not just recycling clothing but recycling materials.
YOUNG ARTIST/DESIGNER 7-12 years Joint winner: JEREMY ZHANG
A Magical Jungle
markers and pencil, 75 x 16cm
This is a world with small creatures big, and big creatures small.
YOUNG ARTIST/DESIGNER 13-18 years Joint winner: ISABELLA WU
We
watercolour paper, watercolour brush pens, pencil, 25 x 50cm
The interconnectedness of nature and blossoming of life guides me to live with nurturing kindness.
YOUNG ARTIST/DESIGNER 13-18 years Joint winner: LUCY WANG
Thrive and Dive
acrylic paint on canvas, 38 x 53cm
Birds serve as powerful symbols of hope and resilience, inspiring us to persevere in the face of our own challenges and to cherish the preciousness of the natural world.
Despite the relentless human development and the degradation of habitats, the sacred kingfisher continues to hunt tirelessly, in both the sky above and below.