CIAF 2024 announces Art Award winners

PREMIER’S AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE – The Queensland Government $25,000

Joel Sam is a patient and inspiring teacher. His work commands us to listen to Country. Through his work Journey from Saibai to Muttee Heads, he extends a gentle hand to an intergenerational story of resilience and strength, and charts new waters of what we know of Australian histories, migrations, dispossession. The story brings an attention to the empathy and emotions of settling in new places – and what it means to have space created for you, and to be welcomed. The canoe carries lives and livelihoods, but also heartache and courage. This work collapses time – telling stories of historical moments but foreseeing future moments of dispossession of people from their Country. This is an important global story, inviting us to invest in empathy and consider what it means to move – and make space for other Countrymen forced to undertake these journeys. This story will be our collective legacy.

ART CENTRE AWARD – Cairns Regional Council $10,000

The Yarrabah Arts & Cultural Precinct celebrates a true sense of collectivist in their presentation at CIAF 2024. What shines so brightly is the way that Country itself is a collective effort, a collective knowing and a collective whole. This presentation demonstrates a special place where collective knowledges are explored and expressed - a space of resilience and persistence where things are not just brought together, but where they are agreed upon, upheld and maintained.  Yarrabah expresses a collective commitment to the continuity of strong culture and its future.

INNOVATION AWARD – Holding Redlich $10,000

Badu Island artist, Matilda Nona’s work is striking. She dares to bring to attention the whispers of Country and holds us accountable to the moments that so strongly herald what is to come. Through her work, she demonstrates evocatively what it means to listen and respond to Country Speaking. Nona zooms right in to small moments and distils within this moment its power and capacity to magnify terrifyingly quickly. Nona explores the scale and power of Country within these moments of noticing. A vulnerability of Country is expressed in the work and is courageously tethered to the story of power, strength, scale, grace and fear, wrapping it up in embodied personal stories that are true expressions of the self and of Country.

3D DESIGN, SCULPTURE & INSTALLATION – Ports North $5,000

Kowanyama artist, Tanya Major’s work New Ghosts Lost on Country 1, 2 and 3 reminds us that Country holds absolutely everything that has gone before and everything that lies ahead. It importantly recognises the role and place of spirit and spirituality within Country. Using sustainable materials and familiar techniques, she brings forth new expressions of Country that remind us of the power of spirit and the contemporary presence and manifestation of their power. Tania does something very interesting to invoke complexities and relationships within this world, inviting us to think in more complex ways about how spirit operates within Country – how it relates to our living worlds, our ancestral pasts and of course, our futures.

EMERGING ART AWARD (ACQUISITIVE) – The University of Sydney $5,000

Salome Yeatman’s work Wirral Shells speaks to the embodied, tactile relationship of people with their Country. The hard work of hands – many hands is expressed so vividly, triggering many senses and sensations. The digging, cuts, burning, sharing and togetherness shines in this work – all familiar expressions of Country, and the way it feeds and nurtures people, family and communities. This work speaks strongly to those who have gone before us and those who continue to lead the way. Country speaking – Country Providing.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE

Echoes 2024 by Simone Arnol & Bernard Singleton – Echoes #2 – Photograph print on cotton rage paper.  Echoes in story, of the many marvels in nature’s design that represents the cyclical nature of life and the importance of attuning ourselves to the rhythms of our environment.  Within the broader theme of the exhibition “List to Country” these works invite you to engage with the ancient knowledge embedded in our cultural symbols. Miya Miya (nautilus shell) and Garna (black cockatoo) features serve as powerful metaphors for the importance of hearing the land’s echoes and embracing the healing effects they offer.  They remind us of our sacred duty to care for our Country and each other, fostering a sense of healing and unity.

2024 CIAF ART AWARDS JUDGING PANEL:

Dr Jilda Andrews, Cultural Practitioner, Research Fellow, The Australian National University

Peggy Kasabad Lane First Nations Curator Court House Gallery, Mulgrave Gallery, Tanks Arts Centre

Dennis Hunter, Cultural Development Officer, Djabugay Aboriginal Corporations

Judging Rationale

The judges came together initially to discuss the theme, criteria and eligibility. We set out a robust framework for the task, anchored by Country and our respective cultural lenses. We felt it important to discuss and acknowledge the Western and cultural frameworks being brought together at CIAF, and how the theme of Country Speaking compelled us to privilege Indigenous cultural frameworks and decisively discard the Western institutional mindset that often frames contemporary Indigenous cultural practice. To do this, we spoke at length, listened to the stories of the works, engaged with them, and listened to the many voices of Country that were being expressed within the room. We listened to each other and the resonances. Ultimately, CIAF 2024 presents a moment where we lay down a new legacy that recognises the rightful power of the Country to speak outside of the industry and the Western frameworks – and to talk honestly to our histories and our futures. CIAF is a chance to stake this claim decisively – so that it can be a space where we can collectively express Country with the integrity it demands.