'the churchie' 2019 Finalists Announced
2 August 2019
‘the churchie’ Committee and the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane have announced the finalists for the churchie national emerging art prize 2019. From over 450 entries submitted, 19 artists have been selected as the Australia’s top emerging visual artists.
The 2019 Finalists are:
- Ronnie Allen (WA)
- Jordan Azcune (QLD)
- Caroline Garcia (NSW)
- Dennis Golding (NSW)
- Nadia Hernández (NSW)
- Joy Ivill (NSW)
- Nicolette Johnson (QLD)
- Mason Kimber (NSW)
- Tracey Lamb (VIC)
- Callum McGrath (QLD)
- Sarah Poulgrain (QLD)
- Gidon Sack (NSW)
- Kaspar Schmidt Mumm (SA)
- Jane Skeer (SA)
- Ben Soedradjit (NSW)
- Louise Tate (VIC)
- Shireen Taweel (NSW)
- Melanie Jame Wolf (VIC)
- Min Wong (NSW)
The 2019 pre-selection panel consisted of Madeleine King (IMA Assistant Director), Tess Maunder (independent curator), Robert Andrew (artist), and Ben Hugheston-Roberts (Churchie Visual Arts Teacher). Tess Maunder comments “Contemporary Australia is best represented through its multiplicities, and the entries we received this year were representative of this layered sense of identity across the country. It was excellent to see this come through with the submitted practices”. She continues “For instance, practices representing First Nations, culturally, and lingually diverse perspectives sat alongside people representing a wide range of positions from the LGBTIQ+ community. These entries were not tokenistic, but instead pushed the very frameworks of the assumptions we place upon these communities. Alongside this, there was a strong focus on the return of ceramics, the hand-made, and process-based practices.”
The 2019 prize winners will be determined by guest judge Amy Barrett-Lennard, Director of Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA). The Major Prize and three Commendations will be announced at the official opening of the exhibition at the Institute of Modern Art on Friday 13 September, 6–8 pm.
The exhibition will remain open until 21 December and will feature artworks from each of the 19 finalists. The overall prize winner will be awarded a $15,000 non-acquisitive cash prize sponsored by long-time supporters of ‘the churchie’, BSPN Architecture, along with two Commendation Prizes of $1,000 each (sponsored by Madison Cleaning and Painting Services) and a Highly Commended Prize of $5,000 (sponsored by Fardoulys Constructions). The People’s Choice Award of $3,000 (sponsored by Rob Whiteley of Madison Cleaning Services) will be awarded following the completion of the exhibition.
Image: 2018 Finalist; Matthew McAlpine, 'The colonial frame (deflating the James Stirling portrait frame 1,2,3)', 2018, cast and acrylic paint, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Matthew Stanton.
