Rookwood General Cemetery’s popular outdoor art exhibition, HIDDEN Rookwood Sculptures, will be back in 2020, bigger than ever with a new First Nations Artist Award offered in acknowledgement of the Dharug country, on which Rookwood is located.
The iconic sculpture walk, now in its 12th year, is a unique opportunity to engage the community with Rookwood’s rich and diverse cultural landscape through the beauty of art. Approximately 55 artworks will be selected including short films and group submissions featuring a range of artistic approaches, materials and forms, including kinetic elements, performance and participatory engagements.
Artwork submissions should respond to the cemetery and engage with HIDDEN’s themes of history, culture, remembrance, diversity, love, mourning, spirituality, cycles of life and the passage of time. This year, organisers are looking to incorporate a broader span of works ranging from celebratory pieces that are big, bright and colourful, engaging interactive installations, as well as contemplative, intimate and thought-provoking works.
Exhibition curator, Kath Fries, encourages emerging, mid-career and established artists, filmmakers and student groups to submit their creative concepts for consideration. Fries is a Sydney-based curator, artist, researcher and writer who is committed to nurturing emerging local artists, students and community groups.
“Rookwood Cemetery is an ideal setting for artists to present works with layered narratives while honouring the site’s diverse cultural history,” said Fries. “I’m interested in all types of creative responses to the cemetery, from sensory engagements with tactile, audio and kinetic elements, to ritualised remembrances, reflections on beliefs and values, as well as personal stories of memory and loss.”
In addition to the major $10,000 Rookwood Sculpture Award, there will be two new awards on offer this year including the Cumberland Council Professional Development Award and the First Nations Artist Award.
The judging panel for 2020 includes Elyse Goldfinch – Assistant Curator at Artspace Sydney, and Tim Silver – a Sydney-based artist, with Wendy Ramsay – co-president of VADA NSW judging the student category and independent curator/artist Talia Smith, judging the short film category.
Applications are now open and close on Monday 6 April 2020. The HIDDEN Rookwood Sculptures exhibition runs from 19 September to 18 October 2020. For more information, visit, www.hiddeninrookwood.com.au for details.
Image: We All Are One by L&L Riverwood Creative Community (supplied)