Melbourne Art Foundation has announced a call for nominations for the refreshed 2018 Visual Arts Awards to be held on 4 August at Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA).
An anchor event of Melbourne Art Week (30 July – 5 August) together with Melbourne Art Fair (2 – 5 August), the biennial Visual Arts Awards celebrate excellence and outstanding contributions to Australian visual arts across three award categories including the Artist Award; Young Artist Award and the inaugural I AM GEORGE Curator Award.
“The revitalised awards will be a highlight of Melbourne Art Week and will be followed by the biggest art after-party of the year,” said Charles Justin, Chair Melbourne Art Foundation. “Strengthening the artistic program and celebrating our nation’s greatest visual arts contributors, for the first time thanks to our sponsors I AM GEORGE, Artwork Transport and St Ali, cash prizes will be given with each award.”
Since 2005, Melbourne Art Foundation Visual Arts Awards has provided recognition for Australia’s greatest visual arts contributors. The Young Artist Award is bestowed on an artist under 35 and seeks to support the next generation of artistic practice with a cash prize of $5,000 supported by Artwork Transport. Introduced in 2015, the inaugural Young Artist Award Past Recipient was Daniel Boyd.
The Artist Award recognises the outstanding achievement of an Australian artist for a comprehensive body of work produced within the last 2 years. The 2018 recipient will receive a $10,000 cash prize supported by ST. ALi. Past recipients have included Bill Henson (2015), Patricia Piccinini (2014) and Fiona Hall (2011).
The inaugural I AM GEORGE Curator Award celebrates the extraordinary, acknowledging a daring Australian curator who has forged their own path and made an outstanding and sustained contribution to Australian visual art. The recipient will receive a $5,000 cash prize supported by I AM GEORGE.
For more information about the awards, and to nominate, visit: www.melbourneartfair.com.au Nominations close Monday 9 July 2018 – 5.00pm AEST. For more information and Melbourne Art Week, and the Melbourne Art Fair, visit: www.melbourneartfair.com.au for details.
Image: Hiromi Tango, Lizard Tail (Dawn). Artist represented by Sullivan + Strumpf – photo by Michaela Dutková