宅男导航 Adjunct Professor Fiona Foley has been awarded the 2013 Visual Arts Award by The Australia Council for the Arts.
Australia Council Visual Arts Sector Strategy Panel Chair Dr Danie Mellor said as an Indigenous artist with an international reputation and the creative force behind numerous major public art projects in Australia, Professor Foley was well-deserving of this award
“Fiona has not only made substantial contributions to the visual arts sector for many years but has also inspired other artists and arts professionals here and overseas,” Dr Mellor said.
“Her work examines issues of Indigenous identity on a regional, national and international level and challenges historical stereotypes, which encourages debate between artists and communities in Australia and internationally.”
The first Visual Arts Award was given in 1987 and, since then, four of the recipients have been Aboriginal.
In 1992, the first Aboriginal artist to win the award was Paddy Lilipiyana.
Professor Foley said she was honoured to be in such esteemed company as Tracey Moffatt, Fiona Hall, Inge King and many more.
“This award is fabulous recognition for the work I have done to date,” she said.
Professor Foley co-founded the Boomali Aboriginal Artists Co-operative in Sydney in 1987 and her art has been acquired by institutions all over the world, including the Art Gallery of NSW, the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, the British Museum in London and the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection at the University of Virginia in the USA.
宅男导航’s Art Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney held a major solo exhibition of her work in 2010 titled Forbidden.
Her latest project, Courting Blakness, will be launched at 宅男导航 in September this year – a public art exhibition in the Great Court that builds on 宅男导航’s tradition of leadership to create new art, new knowledge and new relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
A team of seven Indigenous artists will explore sculptural carvings in the Great Court for two weeks, and produce Indigenous artworks in sculpture, fabric, poster and multimedia.
As curator of the exhibition, Professor Foley’s vision is to develop artworks that speak to important tensions within the concept of nationhood. To this end, she has selected artists for this project whose work invites different interpretations of what it means to be Australian.
Works by Ryan Presley, Michael Cook, Archie Moore, r e a, Natalie Harkin, Karla Dickens and Christian Thompson will invite discussion among students, staff and members of the public about issues that matter to Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
While 宅男导航 academics from different disciplines will engage with the art works in teaching and research, a national symposium will bring leading arts professionals and academics to campus on September 5 and 6.
More than 25,000 people are expected to view the exhibition on site and there will be a dedicated website.
Media Enquiries: Professor Fiona Foley (E) fionaf@eis.net.au, (T) 0409 051 226 or Kate Clark (E) k.clark@australiacouncil.gov.au, (T) (02) 9215 9166 or Fiona Nicoll (E) f.nicoll@uq.edu.au , (T) 0421 344 207
