Kokatha and Nukunu woman Yhonnie Scarce has been awarded a $60,000 fellowship for remarkable First Peoples artists, as part of the Andrews Labor Government’s Yalingwa initiative.
Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley was at TarraWarra Museum of Art today to announce Ms Scarce as the recipient of the 2020 Yalingwa Fellowship, in recognition of her outstanding career as an artist, teacher and a mentor to emerging First Peoples artists.
A glass blower based in Melbourne, Ms Scarce has built a national and international reputation. From small pieces through to major public installations, her artworks are both autobiographical and ancestral in the way they explore and respond to Aboriginal culture and history.
Last year she was awarded the prestigious National Gallery of Victoria Architecture Commission 2019 with her installation In Absence, now on display in the garden at NGV International. This year her work will feature in exhibitions in Italy and Canada.
The Yalingwa Fellowship will enable Ms Scarce to undertake research and develop new artworks throughout 2020 to continue to build her practice.
The Fellowship, which is awarded to an artist who lives and works in Victoria is part of Yalingwa, a Labor Government-backed initiative to develop and celebrate contemporary Indigenous art with a primary focus on First Peoples artists from South East Australia.
Launched in 2017, Yalingwa is a Woiwurrung word that means both 'day' and 'light'. The program is delivered in partnership with TarraWarra and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) and is led by an Advisory Group that brings the gallery teams together with First Peoples community members and creatives.
In addition to the Fellowship, Yalingwa presents a major exhibition of First Peoples contemporary art. First Peoples curator Stacie Piper has been appointed to work on the next exhibition which will open at TarraWarra in 2021.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley
“This Fellowship recognises Yhonnie’s incredible works and career so far and her ongoing leadership in upskilling the next generation of First Peoples artists.”
“We’re proud to support Yalingwa as part of our ongoing commitment to putting First Peoples’ art and creativity at the heart of our creative state.”
Reviewed 30 July 2020