Changes to make Archibald Packing Room Prize vote democratic

Showing all posts tagged: Australian art

Changes to make Archibald Packing Room Prize vote democratic

24 March 2023

Changes are coming to the voting process used to select the winner of the Packing Room Prize, traditionally the first award made in the annual Archibald Prize for Australian portraiture.

In short, Art Gallery of NSW (AGNSW) packers unbox and install the works for the Archibald Prize exhibition, then decide on the portrait they liked the most. However the past head packers, Steve Peters and Brett Cuthbertson, both of whom have recently retired, held the deciding vote.

A new voting process will see a panel of three people, each with an equal vote, determine a winner:

The new Packing Room Pickers are Timothy Dale, Monica Rudhar and Alexis Wildman, three professional art handlers with 19 years of hands-on Archibald Prize experience between them. “In line with the discussions around how the prize was actually judged we felt that a more collaborative decision would be more appropriate,” Dale says.

I’ve always seen the Packing Room Prize as a light aside to the main competition, suspecting the winning choice was always subjective, which was fine by me. If I were selecting a winner, I’d choose the painting that personally appealed to me the most.

The changes could well suit participating artists though, who have long considered the Packing Room Prize to be the “kiss of death”, as, to date, no winner has gone on to win the main Archibald Prize.

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Archibald Prize, art, Australian art

Revive, Australia’s new National Cultural Policy unveiled

31 January 2023

Revive is the name the Australian federal government has given to a new five principle, five year, National Cultural Policy, that was made public yesterday.

Revive is a five-year plan to renew and revive Australia’s arts, entertainment and cultural sector. It delivers new momentum so that Australia’s creative workers, organisations and audiences continue to thrive and grow, and so that our arts, culture and heritage are re-positioned as central to Australia’s future.

Core objectives of the policy include the recognition of the work of Indigenous artists and creators, recognition of artists as workers, and increased support for cultural institutions. A revamp of the Australia Council for the Arts, and the creation of Writers Australia, which will “provide direct support to the literature sector from 2025”, are among other initiatives on the cards.

Proposed new policy boosts funding for Australian arts sector

2 January 2023

Speaking at the annual Woodford Folk Festival that concluded yesterday, Australian federal arts minister Tony Burke announced a raft of initiatives to bolster the local arts sector. A proposed five-pillar policy includes an undertaking to increase recognition of the work of Indigenous creatives, and plans to introduce fairer remuneration rates for artists:

The minister promised to treat “artists as workers”, criticising the [previous] Coalition government for exclusions on jobkeeper wage subsidies and for the comments by the former prime minister Scott Morrison praising “tradies … building the stage” but not artists.

In addition, streaming services such as Netflix and Stan will be subject to quotas, ensuring they air more Australian made content. Also the Lending Right Schemes, which pays a royalty to authors when a library loans one of their books out, will be expanded to include ebooks.

Half of Australian mid career artists considering career change

7 December 2022

A recent survey of the Australian arts sector (PDF) reveals that slightly over half of mid-career artists are either considering leaving the arts, or are already retraining, so they can take up work in another sector all together.

Low rates of remuneration appear to be prompting a number of veteran independent artists and creatives to look elsewhere for opportunities:

In the words of one anonymous respondent: “I am retraining into the medical administration sector and will not be working in the arts anymore. That is a career of nearly 40 years gone due to the inability to survive financially.”

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arts, Australian art

Australian government to review copyright enforcement laws

7 December 2022

Mark Dreyfus, the Australian attorney-general, says he will conduct a review of Australian copyright laws to ensure the income of artists is maintained, and copyright protections align with changes in technology that now allow the work of artists to be accessed across multiple platforms.

Technology means we can now all enjoy music, television, movies, books and art at the tap of a finger. Australia’s creative industry needs an effective copyright system that keeps pace with new technology and protects creators and other copyright owners from the unauthorised use of their works. This review will consider whether the copyright enforcement mechanisms in our laws remain appropriate, effective and proportionate.

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Australian art, copyright, technology

Sydney Modern builders become artworks by Richard Lewer

3 December 2022

The stunning new Sydney Modern Project, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), opened to the public for the first time today. Replete with glass, metal, light tones, and large open, naturally lit spaces, on the upper levels at least, Sydney Modern was designed by Tokyo based Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa.

While much has been said about their contribution to the project, they are not alone in seeing their efforts recognised. Melbourne based New Zealand artist Richard Lewer spent time during construction of the gallery drawing some of the workers who brought the building into being.

I don’t know how often this happens, but now the industry and hard work of the building crew forms a collection titled Onsite, construction of Sydney Modern which resides on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, which can presently be viewed in the contemporary galleries at AGNSW.

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art, Australian art, Richard Lewer

Archibald winning Australian artist Nicholas Harding dies

3 November 2022

British born Australian artist Nicholas Harding died yesterday, aged 66. Harding won the Archibald Prize for portraiture in 2001 with a painting of Australian actor and theatre director John Bell as King Lear. In addition, Harding was named an Archibald finalist a staggering nineteen times, between 1994 and 2020.

Jeremy Eden wins Archibald Prize people’s choice award

4 August 2022

Sydney based Australian artist Jeremy Eden has won the 2022 Archibald Prize people’s choice award, with his portrait of Australian actor Samuel Johnson.

If you’re going to be in or near Sydney in August, you still have a chance to see the Archibald, Wynne, and Sulman Prizes exhibition, before it closes on Sunday 28 August 2022.

Winners of the 2022 Young Archies, Art Gallery of NSW

20 June 2022

Lev Vishnu Kahn, Claudia Quinn Yuen Pruscino, Nethali Dissanayake, and Jasmine Goon, have been named winners of the 2022 Young Archies.

Running alongside the Archibald Prize for Australian portraiture since 2013, the Young Archie competition is a chance for emerging artists aged five to eighteen to showcase their talents.

Over 2400 works were submitted this year, with seventy being selected as finalists. An exhibition of winners and finalists is on at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, until Wednesday 24 August 2022.

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Archibald Prize, art, Australian art

The 2022 MS Virtual Art Show

2 June 2022

The 2022 MS Virtual Art Show is currently in progress and features the work of more than one hundred artists from the Australian Multiple Sclerosis community. I’m not sure how long the show lasts, except that it will only be online for a limited time, so be sure to check it out.

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art, art shows, Australian art

Dancing With No Music art show at aMBUSH Waterloo Sydney

27 May 2022

The Dancing With No Music art exhibition opened at aMBUSH Gallery in the Sydney suburb of Waterloo last night. On show was the work of National Art School second year Master of Fine Art students, including Jessica Callen, Emily Ebbs, Joseph Christie Evans, Daniel McClellan, Nina Radonja, Wolfgang Saker, Kansas Smeaton, Jack Thorn, and Elle Wickens.

The diverse works in Dancing With No Music are anchored and inspired by a quote from German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, “And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” Through their varied painting practices, it explores the concept that in making art, individuals conjure up certain methods, inspired by their own ‘music’. Much like the artists’ varying perspectives, when creating their work the ‘dance’ is to their own music and not a collective rhythm.

The exhibition closes on Sunday 29 May 2022. Check out a few more of my photos from the opening night here.

Blak Douglas wins Archibald with portrait of Karla Dickens

13 May 2022

Sydney based Australian Indigenous artist Blak Douglas has been named winner of the 2022 Archibald prize for Australian portraiture, for his painting of Wiradjuri installation artist Karla Dickens.

Claus Stangl wins 2022 Archibald Packing Room Prize

5 May 2022

Sydney based New Zealand artist Claus Stangl has been named winner of the 2022 Archibald Packing Room Prize, with Taika Waititi, an acrylic on canvas painting. The winner of the Archibald Prize for portraiture will be announced on Friday 13 May 2022.

Vale Craig Ruddy, artist and past Archibald Prize winner

6 January 2022

Sydney born Australian artist Craig Ruddy, who’s painting of late Australian actor and dancer David Gulpilil, won the 2004 Archibald Prize for portraiture, died on Tuesday this week, from COVID-19 complications. A sad loss for the Australian art community.

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art, Australian art, Craig Ruddy