Applause: recent winners

Image: Belle Artstart finalist artwork. Supplied.

Belle Artstarts awards young artists

Young Melbourne-based artist Angus Hamra has been announced as the first prize recipient of the Belle Artstart prize, sponsored by Belle Property and Studio Gallery, for his piece, Sleepwalker. Hamra will take home $10,000 in prize money.

The second prize, worth $5,000, went to Joshula Charadia for his work Untitled while third prize, worth $2,500, goes to Sydney artist Alessandra Joseph for her work, Ellery Creek.

Belle editor, Tanya Buchanan, said of the winning piece: ‘The judges were impressed with the terrific degree of painterly skill exhibited by Sleepwalker, combined with its effective use of a textile overlay. The contrasting formal elements coalesced beautifully with the work’s subject matter to evoke a feeling of vulnerability and a disquieting yet highly compelling mood.’

Belle Artstart is open to young artists between the ages of 16 to 25 who are not yet currently represented by a commercial art gallery.

Image: Harrie Fasher’s, Transition (2016), Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe 2018, Photo: Clyde Yee.

Rio Tinto Sculpture Award winner revealed

Rio Tinto in partnership with Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe, has announced NSW-based artist Harrie Fasher as this year’s winner of the Rio Tinto Sculpture Award for her abstract steel work, Transition (2016).

Fasher’s sculpture will be gifted for permanent public placement to the City of Busselton by Rio Tinto.

‘I am overwhelmed and honoured,’ Fasher said. ‘Transition embodies everything that it is to be an artist – dreams, struggles and persistence. It’s a very important sculpture in my creative practice and I’m delighted it will have a public home in the City of Busselton.’

The acquisitive award, worth $50,000 was presented by Chris Salisbury, Rio Tinto’s Chief Executive, Iron Ore.

Salisbury said: ‘Rio Tinto’s principal partnership with Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe is part of a broader program to enhance the social and economic prosperity of Perth and regional communities in Western Australia. We are pleased to support a number of awards and grants through the partnership and I congratulate Harrie Fasher for receiving the 2018 $50,000 Rio Tinto Sculpture Award for her sculpture Transition.’

Also awarded was Fremantle-based artist Sally Stoneman, who received the $10,000 Western Australian Sculptor Scholarship.

Stella Prize shortlist announced

The shortlist of books for the 2018 Stella Prize has been announced. The six shortlisted titles are:

The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar (Wild Dingo Press)
Terra Nullius by Claire G. Coleman (Hachette Australia)
The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser (Allen  & Unwin)
An Uncertain Grace by  Krissy Kneen (Text Publishing)
The Fish Girl by Mirandi Riwoe   (Seizure)
Tracker by Alexis Wright (Giramondo)

Fiona Stager, Chair of the 2018 Stella Prize judging panel said: ‘The six titles shortlisted for the 2018 Stella Prize showcase the incredible breadth of talent in the writing by women in Australia today. The personal interweaves seamlessly with the political as these authors investigate the past, examine the present and re-imagine our future. Ideas about family, identity in all its forms, and politics at both its most profound and intimate levels are themes that connect these six diverse, engaging and original books.’

The 2018 Stella Prize winner will be announced on the evening of Thursday 12 April.

Playwright Travis Cotton and Griffin’s Lee Lewis. Image supplied.

2018 Lysicrates Prize winner revealed

Griffin Theatre Company and The Lysicrates Foundation have announced playwright Travis Cotton as the 2018 Lysicrates Prize winner for his play, Starfish. Cotton wins $15,000 to go towards Starfish‘s completion.

He said: ‘Firstly, I would to congratulate my fellow playwrights for their outstanding work. It was a joy to listen to their words. Secondly to Griffin, not only for the grand prize, but for the support and fanfare the three finalists receive. Writing can be a very lonely job. Months can pass by – heck, years – whilst receiving little to no encouragement. Hundreds of thousands of words can be written in a void of self-doubt that, quite simply, must be overcome. To listen to actors speak the words I have written, and to have people discuss my work, makes my heart soar, and strengthens my resolve as I work towards being a great Aussie contemporary playwright.’

Other recent winners.