A marble sculpture representing a relic of weathered animal bones, crafted by artist Gaspare Moscone, has taken out first prize in the Northern Beaches’ Environmental Art and Design Prize.
Moscone was announced as the winner by guest judge, Genevieve Smart, at a special event held last night, 1 August the Manly Art Gallery & Museum (MAG&M).
The Environmental Art & Design Prize is run by Northern Beaches Council but is open as a national competition to showcase the influence the environment has on artists and designers. Works focus on the natural world, environment renewal and regeneration “to influence the community with innovative ideas, introspection and reflection.”
Moscone’s work, made from molong marble, was described by the artist thus: ” 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.”
Runner up (highlight commended) was a design called Oregon Chair by Elliot Bastianon, a small creation from timber and copper.
There were two winners for young artist or designer ages 7-12 – Portia Pringle with her recycled cotton and wool yarn creation “reborn”, and Jeremy Zhang with his markers and pencil piece “A magical Jungle”.
There were also joint winners in the young artist or designer age 13-18 category: Isabella Wu with her watercolour “We” and Lucy Wang with acrylic painting “Thrive and Drive.”
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, 2-3pm
- Artists: 10 August at MAG&M, 2-3pm
- Young Artists/Designers: 17 August at Mona Vale Creative Space Gallery, 2-3pm
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 – 7:30pm. 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.
