The Qantas Foundation Encouragement of Australian Contemporary Art Award
The Qantas Foundation announces Contemporary Art Award Winners
2009 Award
Qantas, through its charitable foundation, the Qantas Foundation, announced on 10 July 2009 the winners of the second annual Qantas Foundation Encouragement of Australian Contemporary Art Award.
The Award is one of the richest art prizes in Australia with a total value of A$184,000. It is also unique, requiring entrants to submit a body of work, rather than one individual piece, to be in the running. A winner from each state and territory is awarded A$13,000 cash and air travel to the value of A$10,000.
Qantas Sponsorship Manager and Award judge, Ken Groves, said the Qantas Foundation was privileged to have some of Australia's eminent art identities on the judging panel, including Kon Gouriotis representing the Australia Council for the Arts, Edmund Capon from the Art Gallery of NSW, Alan Dodge, a former Director ofthe Art Gallery of Western Australia, renowned collector Pat Corrigan and Elizabeth Ann MacGregor from Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art.
"The Qantas Foundation is very proud to have assembled some of the champions of Australian art on our judging panel for the Qantas Foundation Encouragement of Australian Contemporary Art Award," Mr Groves said.
"These are all people who share the Qantas Foundation's commitment to encouraging Australian artists, and we are very proud to work with the arts sector to highlight the importance of corporate Australia supporting the arts in our community, particularly in these critical economic circumstances."
Chief Executive of the Australia Council for the Arts, Kathy Keele, congratulated the Qantas Foundation for continuing this unique award. "This generous award follows this year's establishment of the Qantas Indigenous Young and Emerging Visual Arts Award. The Qantas Foundation and the airline both share the Australia Council's desire to develop the skills and income of our artists and grow Australia's appreciation for their talents," she said.
"The Australia Council congratulates Qantas for leading corporate Australia in partnering with the arts, particularly during these difficult economic times."
The 2009 state and territory winners are:
- ACT - Tiffany Cole
NSW - Izabela Pluta
NT - Marina Murdilnga
QLD - Laith McGregor
SA - Peter McKay
TAS - James Newitt
VIC - Nick Selenitsch
WA - Nicole Andrijevic and Tanya Schultz (Pip and Pop)
2008 Award
The Qantas Foundation announced the inaugural winners of the Qantas Foundation Encouragement of Australian Contemporary Art Award (also known as the Qantas Art Prize) at a function at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art in May 2008.
Qantas Chief Executive Officer Geoff Dixon and The Qantas Foundation Chairman Doug Jukes presented the awards of $20,000 cash and $10,000 worth of Qantas air travel, to eight artists - one from each Australian state and territory to support their future work.
The total prize value for 2008 was $240,000, making this the most generous art prize in Australia.
Mr. Dixon said the award establishes a new tradition and is an important recognition of the work of some of this country's finest contemporary artists.
"The award recognises an outstanding body of work that was presented to a judging panel by leading Australian art spaces on behalf of each artist," Mr Dixon said.
The panel of judges comprised respected members of the Australian art community, including:
- Pat Corrigan, the Chairman of the Judging Panel;
- Edmund Capon, the director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales;
- Alan Dodge, a former director of the Art Gallery of Western Australia;
- Ken Groves, the head of the Qantas Foundation's Arts, Culture and Community Working Group;
- Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art; and
- Anna Waldmann, the director of the Visual Arts for the Australia Council for the Arts.
The Qantas Art Prize was established by the Qantas Foundation, funded by a $3.4 million donation from Qantas. This fund was raised from the sale of selected works from the Qantas art collection in 2007 and will be used to generate interest income to fund the annual art award.
The 2008 winners
Congratulations to:
- Karena Keys, Australian Capital Territory;
- Alex Davies, New South Wales;
- Neridah Stockley, Northern Territory;
- Vernon Ah Kee, Queensland;
- Yhonnie Scarce, South Australia;
- Brigita Ozolins, Tasmania;
- Katherine Huang, Victoria; and
- Tom Muller, Western Australia.
Eight state based art spaces will coordinate nominations for their respective states. Details of the criteria and requirements for the 2009 Art Award nomination will be provided soon to the following participating art spaces:
- Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Australian Capital Territory;
- Artspace, New South Wales;
- 24HR Art, Northern Territory;
- Institute of Modern Art, Queensland;
- Experimental Art Foundation, South Australia;
- Contemporary Arts Services Tasmania, Tasmania;
- Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Victoria; and
- Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Western Australia.
