Author

Beth Sorensen

Blacktown City Art Prize finalists announced

by Beth Sorensen 27/10/2020

One hundred and thirteen artworks from across Australia have been chosen as finalists in this year’s Blacktown City Art Prize. The works will be competing for a total prize pool of $20,000, and will be part of the exhibition at The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre from 28 November 2020 to 28 January 2021.

Of the finalists, 25% are artworks by Blacktown City residents, and will be eligible for the Local Artist Prize. Ten per cent are by Aboriginal artists, and will be eligible for the Aboriginal Artist Prize.

The works were judged by a panel comprising Kyra Kum-Sing (Artist and Curator, Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative), Pedro de Almeida (Senior Curator, C3West at Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney) and Cath Barcan (Artist and Head Teacher of Visual Arts, Nepean Arts & Design Centre, TAFE NSW-Kingswood).

A record number of 893 entries were received this year – a 69% increase on the number of entries received in 2019. Entries were received from 660 artists across Australia, ranging from painting and drawing to sculpture, ceramics and mixed media.

Please see the full list of 2020 Blacktown City Art Prize finalists below.

Marian Abboud
Juice

Erandi Amarasinghe
Commuters No.2

Lauren Ami
Rego

Felicia Aroney
Everything Green

Vanessa Ashcroft
Road trip to Blayney

Walter Auer
Memory 1

Karima Baadilla
Blue Robe

Min Woo Bang
Uncertain Sky (Jindabyne)

Debra Beale
Series of 3 – LAYERS

Robert Bennetts
Suburban Musing

Liam Benson
Deliquescent Jack

Karen Bloomfield
Desire VS Reality

Joe Blundell
Sunset through Bracken

Linda Brescia
Peggy

Alexandra Byrne
Other Stories

Kristone Capistrano
Portrait of a Man

Russell Carey
Dodge

Isabella Carturan
Poppies

Darren Charlwood
Mismanagement

Graham Cheney
Auntie Rita Wright

Gabrielle Courtenay
The Guardian

Carolyn Craig
Mining the Sublime: The Fold

Rob Davis
Am I Not A Man & A Brother

Travis De Vries
Journey to Water Totem

Tamara Dean
Fleeting

Niek Dingemans
Recalibration

Paula do Prado
Vuelo/Flight

Rosalie Duligal
After the Ball

Nicolle Duncan
Coolamon: Cradle of Life

Azarmidokht Elahi
Covid19 Plus Quarantine Equals to Toilet Paper

David El-Melky
Mayor of Blacktown City

Vanessa Encarnacao
Crocheted Camouflage 2

Dongwang Fan
Pandemic Body

Nick Ferguson
Three Swimmers (The Flicker)

Jason Fitzgerald
Concertinaed Technicolor

Stan Florek
Deputation

Cameron Forsyth
Cheeseburger with Extra Pixels

Hayley Megan French
The Pipeline Polaroids (Guildford 15)

Sarah Frost
Filter

Lisa Giles
Lockdown 1

Minka Gillian
Personal Icon Rainbow

Carmen Glynn-Braun
In the Eye of the Beholder

Dennis Golding
From Home to Home

Rachel Govett
Let me carry your burden

Naomi Grant
Twists and Turns

Alannah Grasso
Tortellini

Amala Groom
ADMINAUSTRALIA: Ilford NSW January 2020: Fire + Fences = Fiasco (Mid-Western Regional Council vs Mid-Western Regional Council)

Amber Hammad
Decolonizing Cook

Orson Heidrich
Fold

Nick Heynsbergh
When I was in grade 6, the ‘cool’ guys would corner me and my best friend and throw us against the back of the portables, insisting that we were gay. I didn’t even know what ‘gay’ meant.

Annarie Hildebrand
Silver Dollars and Blushing Bride Composition

Jude Hungerford
Desert Monuments

Pleasance Ingle
Best in Show series, Blue Jacket

Jennifer Jackson
Histories Strara

Lauren Johnson
Awah

Locust Jones
Bethlehem Diary

Lea Kannar-Lichtenberger
Stingray Bay Mangrove Series – Into the Light

Ben Kenning
Displaced Persons II

Samia Khan
Belonging 2

Mada Krivoruchko
Badger

Ruth Le Cheminant
Covid19 series – A Study in Contemplation

Hyun Hee Lee
Nothingness

Lee Leibrandt
Oh hi 2020

Anne Leisner
Light Rail Roadworks

Catherine Leung
The Road in Between

Songshi Li
Landscape

Erin Litschauer
The Shed Floor

Gabriella Lo Presti
On the slope of the embankment, angels swirl their woolen dresses through pastures of steel and emerald

Margaret Lopez
2766 the New 90210 Gang

Carmel Mackie
Cheeky Gang Gang

Paul Maher
Morning steps through the trees – Boomerang Beach

Nic Mason
Straining the Lot

Asma D. Mather
From what the River knows (a contemplation)

Simon McGrath
For Lease

Dani McKenzie
Storm Rolling In

Paul McKnight
Stocks & Nougat

Tanika Meeks
Unprecedented

Heidi Melamed
Combine Panel Bubble Gum Blue Set

Ray Monde
We Emerged Blinking in the Daylight

Rodney Moss
Emerging from Isolation

Terry Murphy
Summer 2019

Barbara Newton
It’s That Kinda Day

Adam Norton
Red Star

Holly Oakley
Bear of Unity

Peter Op’t Land
Parramatta

Raven Pajarillaga
By Chance in the West

Jasmine Poole and Chris Sewell
I have something to tell you

Jian Hua Qian
Through

Nikita Redkar
Lucas

Peter Rush
Know Justice

Khaled Sabsabi
The Prophet

Julie Scifo
Penrith station through dirty window for the department of infrastructure, transport, regional development and communications

Roqayya Shehata
Self Portrait

An Sheng
Worry (Self-portrait in front of the webcam)

Marija Skroza
Salmon Still Life

Melissa Smith
Drawn to Listen Closely

Lauri Smith
Shadow Self

Sara Sohrabian
First Six Months of Love

Sara Sohrabian
“Heechestan” (Nothingness)

Rosalind Stanley
And so It Grows

Sally Stokes
Among the Milky Trunks

Abdullah Syed M. I.
Capital Couture: AMIS 5AU$ Outdoor Coat after Renouf Rig Diplomatic Uniform proposed by Alan Renouf, the former Australian Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs

Reza Taghipour
Melting

Anna Tebar
New Beginnings

Thomas Thorby-Lister
Untitled (Rolling Tide)

Yvette-Marie Tziallas
Lost in Abstract

Damien Van der Meer
L-FRESH The LION

Jay Wassell
Recycled memories

Zoe Watson
Lucid Gaze

Debbey Watson
Ruminations

Shaun Wilson
The Climate Refugees

Jason Wing
Captain James Crook

Leon Zhan
AirDrop

27/10/2020 0 comment

Culture News

Free community workshops

by Beth Sorensen 02/10/2020

People of all ages and backgrounds are invited to join a series of free community workshops.

Mother Tongue is a new dance, music and technology performance work that explores how we can share a vision of ourselves as Australians in a rapidly changing world.

Our need for belonging and identity are essential in this place we call home. How do we come together with different languages, migration and ancestral stories?

In these workshops, we will chat, write, draw, dance, make collages, take photos and create a vision for the future together.

Ages 8 to 80+ are welcome, and if you like meeting new people, this is for you.

We only ask that you commit to 4 sessions: once a week over a month.

There are three options available:

Workshop A:

The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre
Tuesdays November 10, 17, 24 and December 1
11 am – 1 pm
FREE

Workshop B:

The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre
Tuesdays November 10, 17, 24 and December 1
2.30 pm – 4.30 pm
FREE

Workshop C:

Bankstown Arts Centre
Thursdays November 5, 12, 19, 26
11 am – 1 pm
FREE

Here’s how you can participate and register:

Watch the video of Mother Tongue
Select one workshop block: i.e. A, B or C
Let us know if you have any special requirements relating to accessibility or language
Registration is essential. We have only 8 spots per workshop. No walk-ins allowed.

To register, email annalouise@annalouisepaul.com.au or call 0408 664 199

Image: Shane Rozario

02/10/2020 0 comment

Artist Jumaadi sitting on the ground with his shadow puppets projected by a light onto the wall next to him

Art Artist News

New Jumaadi Performance and Artist Talks | Terra inFirma

by Beth Sorensen 01/10/2020

World premiere
Saturday 31 October at 3 pm and 6 pm
$5 per ticket
25 minutes + post-show Q&A
Suitable for ages 10+

Join us for the world premiere of Jumaadi’s new performance work at a special day of events taking place alongside the Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory exhibition.

Featuring five artists, two projectors and an assortment of traditional gamelan and contemporary musical instruments, Jumaadi’s Sea of Thorny Fruits is an intense but humorous new shadow play which explores the relationship between humans and the sea. Read more about the performance here.

Before the performance, artists Alex Byrne and Julie Vulcan join Terra inFirma: Sovereignty and Memory curator Paul Howard to discuss their works in the exhibition. Learn more about Terra inFirma here.

Free spiced Javanese tea and coconut juice drinks will be served.

Tickets are limited – please book early to avoid disappointment. Book now.

Session 1
2 pm – Alex Byrne and Julie Vulcan in conversation with Paul Howard
3 pm – Sea of Thorny Fruits performance followed by Q&A with Jumaadi

Session 2
5 pm – Alex Byrne and Julie Vulcan in conversation with Paul Howard
6 pm – Sea of Thorny Fruits performance followed by Q&A with Jumaadi

01/10/2020 0 comment

Inspiration News

Meet Thomas Fienberg, 2020 Telstra ARIA Music Teacher Award Nominee

by Beth Sorensen 30/09/2020

A huge congratulations to Thomas Fienberg from Evans High School who has been nominated for the 2020 ARIA Music Teacher Award! Thomas has been instrumental in running our Solid Ground program, and making a huge difference to the lives of many students.

Learn more about Thomas, Solid Ground and the Evans High students in this great video

Vote for Thomas here

Image: Oliver Minnett

30/09/2020 0 comment

Art Inspiration News

Meet the 2020 Blacktown City Art Prize Judges

by Beth Sorensen 26/09/2020

We’re thrilled to announce the judges for the 2020 Blacktown City Art Prize. This year, we welcome Kyra Kum-Sing (Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative), Cath Barcan (Nepean Arts & Design Centre, TAFE NSW) and Pedro de Almeida (Museum of Contemporary Art) to our judging panel.

Learn more about them below.

Kyra Kum-Sing

Kyra Kum-Sing is a Malera Bandjalan, Mitakoodi woman. Kyra has been the curator at Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative for the past 3 years and has a Bachelor of Media from Southern Cross University.

Throughout her career, Kyra has curated a number of exhibitions including Boomalli’s 25th Anniversary Mardi Gras Exhibition: Original Box, Deadly Women of Redfern at the National Centre for Indigenous Excellence, the MCA Art Bar and inVISIBLE.

Kyra is also a consultant for the Aboriginal site heritage and repatriation work on Bandjalan Country in Northern New South Wales, where she is working on revitalising the Malera Bandjalan language. Kyra has extensive experience working in services for Aboriginal people, including at the Aboriginal Medical Service, Redfern; Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal and Yabun Festival. Kyra is a passionate advocate for Aboriginal rights and self-determination and the Aboriginal arts and cultural sector.

Kyra is an Encounters Fellow Alumni from the National Museum of Australia. In 2019 she travelled to London, Paris and Canberra to receive mentoring from major international institutions as part of her fellowship.

Cath Barcan

Cath Barcan has exhibited photography in Australia for over 30 years. She is Head Teacher of Visual Arts at Nepean Arts and Design Centre, TAFE NSW- Kingswood. A graduate of the University of Newcastle and the University of Tasmania, Cath also holds a Masters of Visual Arts from Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney.

Cath has been a finalist in major Australian art prizes including the Blake Prize for Religious Art, the Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award, the National Photography Prize, and most recently, the Headon Landscape Award. In 2017, Cath was awarded the Premier’s University of NSW Creative Arts Scholarship, and undertook post-graduate study in Museums and Galleries entrepreneurship at Goldsmiths, University of London.

The twin themes of wrapped food and the wrapped landscape have preoccupied her works over the last 5 years, and were explored in her recent solo exhibition at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre.

Pedro de Almeida

Pedro de Almeida is Senior Curator, C3West at Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. He has produced artistic and cultural programs that have been distinguished by their emphasis on commissioning new work and engaging culturally and socially diverse artists, communities and audiences. He has held senior program positions at 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art (2012–2019) and Campbelltown Arts Centre (2008–2011), with a focus on a multidisciplinary programs and socially engaged practices. In addition, he has curated exhibitions and produced programs for the Australian Centre for Photography, Sydney Living Museums and Sydney Olympic Park.

Pedro’s writing on art is published regularly in artists’ monographs, exhibition catalogues and magazines including ArtAsiaPacific, Art Monthly Australasia, Broadsheet Journal and Photofile among others. He was founding editor of 4A Papers (2016–2019) that saw him commission seven issues of writing from contributors working in the Asia Pacific region. In 2017, he participated in the Experimenter Curators’ Hub, Kolkata.

Click here to enter the Blacktown City Art Prize

26/09/2020 0 comment

Art Culture News

Costume making with Justine and Leila

by Beth Sorensen 18/09/2020

Storytelling through costume making

Free school holiday workshops for LGBTQIA+ young people (ages 12-25) living in the Blacktown area.

Explore your connections to place and community, and turn these personal stories into wearable pieces. Led by artists Justine Youssef and Leila El Rayes, you will learn how to make spectacular costumes and adornments from items that can be found around the home.

A figure stands tall in the middle of this photographic portrait amidst the Auburn Botanic Japanese Gardens. The non-binary figure is wearing two giant bright orange paper mache Nike Tn sneakers on their feet, one giant bright green paper mache Nike Tn sneaker on their head, one Adidas bumbag and reflective tracksuit pants. There are bright green trees behind them with pink flowers.

Images: Leila el Rayes and Justine Youssef, ‘Say Swear’, 2019, video still, three channel video installation, dimensions variable.

WHO:
For young people aged 12-25 living in the Blacktown LGA who identify as LGBTQIA+ or who may be questioning.

WHEN:
Mondays 28 September and 5 October
Thursdays 1 October and 8 October
1 – 4 pm

WHERE:
You will have the option of participating via Zoom or in person at the Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre, 78 Flushcombe Rd, Blacktown.
If you are joining via Zoom you are not obligated to use your microphone or video function to engage.
In-person workshops will comply with Covid-19 regulations.

COST: Free

Register your interest here

18/09/2020 0 comment

Artist Mary Nguyen sitting in a nail salon with her hands under her chin

News

Mary Nguyen interview

by Beth Sorensen 16/09/2020

Mary Thi Nguyen is a local Vietnamese-Australian artist who received a Blacktown Arts Pat Parker Residency in 2019. She is also a part of our Open studio group of local artists. To UnMask is an exhibition of Mary’s work for the Pat Parker Residency and the Open studio. You can see To UnMask at The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre until 26 September 2020.

Blacktown Arts’ Beth Sorensen sat down with Mary to chat about her art practice, her research for the Pat Parker Residency and the Open studio community.

Where did your passion for art begin?

When I was young in Vietnam, I loved drawing and anything that encompassed art. I was studying at an art college but my studies were interrupted as I had to flee the country after the war.

How has your art practice developed over time?

I grew up learning traditional art. My passion for contemporary art forms such as installation and stop-motion animation have deepened the more I learnt about them.

The Pat Parker Residency honours Patricia Parker’s (OAM) pioneering contribution to the development of community arts in Blacktown and beyond. It’s open to artists with ideas for innovative collaborations with communities in the spirit of Pat Parker’s passions including women’s rights. What did you focus on for your Pat Parker Residency?

I delved into the hazardous and toxic environment of nail salons. I had a personal and insightful approach, getting to know the women who worked at these salons over 3 weeks. I observed and encouraged them to share their thoughts, experiences and concerns about the industry, including dust hazards, and respiratory and skin ailments.

What sparked your interest in exploring the beauty industry, specifically nail salons?

The nail industry is prominent in the Vietnamese community. The subject is close to me as I worked in these same nail salons for years. There is a stigma around speaking up about the toxic environment, as speaking up could be seen as ungrateful or result in termination. Also, the Vietnamese community tend to keep concerns to themselves. Looking from the outside in, I wanted to bring light to the issue and be a voice for the women in the industry.

How did you create the artworks in the exhibition?

The installations were made out of nail supplies and gloves. One of the installations involved sculpting gloves to form human-like figures which were mounted onto a linen backdrop with charcoal and acrylic splatters. In another, I mounted nail tips and gloves onto an acrylic painting. I mounted a series of prints and drawings against a sheer curtain. Four large paintings and 6 small paintings were created using oils.

What is your favourite part about being in the Open studio group at Blacktown Arts? How has your practice changed since joining?

I value and enjoy the teamwork within the group. I tend to overwork my art and never know when to stop. However, since participating in the group, it has been particularly helpful to have insights and opinions from other members so I can be satisfied with my work.

What do you hope people will learn from seeing your exhibition?

To not be afraid to speak up about the truth. This is not a single salon’s experience, this is speaking for all salons across the world. This is for the health of the workers as well as the customers.

What are your goals for the future of nail salons?

I propose that if there was an overhanging exhaust fan at each table to vacuum the toxic fumes and dust, the harm would be far reduced. However, the key is education and I hope that my work has planted the seed to start the conversation.

Click here to learn more about Mary’s exhibition To UnMask.

Beth Sorensen

Photo credit
Joshua Morris

16/09/2020 0 comment

Art Artist News

Mary Nguyen | Solo exhibition

by Beth Sorensen 01/09/2020

Mary Thi Nguyen is a local Vietnamese artist who received a Blacktown Arts Pat Parker Residency in 2019. She is also a part of our Open studio group of local artists.

Mary’s residency dealt with issues that Vietnamese women struggle with when they migrate here. With their limited English skills, they find jobs in the beauty and nail industry. This is an area of employment they think will allow expression of their beauty ideals. However, they are frequently exploited.

For this project, Mary visited a number of nail and beauty salons in Blacktown and Western Sydney to interview women. As no one was willing to speak, she focused on her own experience to create the works for this exhibition.

This is an exhibition of Mary’s work for the Pat Parker Residency and the Open studio.

The exhibition will be open from 4 September to 26 September 2020.

Click here to learn more

Click here to register your visit

Image: Pretty Nails from the series of works created for the Pat Parker Residency

01/09/2020 0 comment

Art Artist News

Blacktown City Art Prize 2020 | Entries open!

by Beth Sorensen 25/08/2020

The Blacktown City Art Prize is a much loved open-themed award and exhibition which celebrates its 25^th year in 2020. Artists across Australia are invited to submit work for the prize, which culminates in an exhibition of the finalists’ work at The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre.

A total prize pool of $20,000 is on offer across four categories:

Blacktown City Art Prize: $15,000
Aboriginal Artist Prize: $2,000
Local Artist Prize: $2,000
People’s Choice Prize: $1,000

Finalists in the Prize will be exhibited at The Leo Kelly Blacktown Arts Centre from Saturday 28 November 2020 – Thursday 28 January 2021.

The work awarded the Blacktown City Art Prize will be acquired for the Blacktown City Art Collection. All other artworks in the exhibition will be available to buy in person or online via the Blacktown Arts website for the duration of the exhibition.

Entries close at 5 pm on Tuesday 6 October 2020.

Key information:

Entry fee is $30 per artwork with a maximum of 2 artworks per entrant
There is no theme, and artwork can be any of the following mediums: sculpture, painting, drawing, mixed media, photomedia, textiles, print-making, ceramics
The Prize is open to all residents of Australia

Click here to learn more and enter

Image: Tanika Meeks, Sunset Dreaming, Finalist 2019 Blacktown City Art Prize

25/08/2020 0 comment

Art Artist Insight

Close Encounters with the Blacktown City Art Collection | Simryn Gill

by Beth Sorensen 21/08/2020

Simryn Gill is a Malaysian-Australian artist who is known for her work in photography, video, and using found objects. Her work ‘Pearls’ was created using two of Gough Whitlam’s retyped speeches and is now part of the Blacktown City Art Collection.

Blacktown City Art Collection has over 300 artworks, including paintings, sculptures, works on paper, drawings and site-specific installations. It tells the story of Blacktown, through its people, its histories and its environment.

21/08/2020 0 comment