2024 GAMAA trophies by artist Monique Burkhead. Photograph by Katie Bennett.

Engagement

Organisations with Paid Staff

Winner

Jane Nicholson, Madeline Brewer and Makiko Ramsay accepting the award for The Condensery, Somerset Regional Art Gallery. Photograph by Katie Bennett.

The Condensery, Somerset Regional Gallery

Healing Garden

Developed in collaboration with internationally renowned Japanese-Australian artist Hiromi Tango, local artist-educators Jane Nicholson and Makiko Ramsay, and members of the Somerset community, the Healing Garden created an immersive, sensory garden installation that engaged, transformed, and supported the mental health and wellbeing of all participants.

The Healing Garden was a vibrant, playful initiative. The project, which comprised 23 community workshops, encouraged participants of all ages to co-create individual artworks inspired by local flora. These artworks combined to form a wondrous and immersive textile garden, showcasing the healing properties of native Australian plants endemic to the local region.

By working with Traditional Custodians, and prioritising community connectedness and resilience, the Healing Garden reached new audiences in towns across the Somerset region. The overwhelmingly positive response from local community members, who contributed over 700 handmade fabric flowers to the project, demonstrated the project’s widespread impact and relevance.

Highly Commended

M&G QLD Chairperson, Karina Devine, presenting Michael Wardell with Logan Art Gallery’s Highly Commended presentation. Photograph by Katie Bennett.

Logan Art Gallery

Robyn Daw Young Visual Artist Scholarship

The Robyn Daw Young Visual Artist Scholarship was established to honour the memory of Robyn Daw, who served as Logan City Council’s Creative Industries Program Leader from 2012 until her passing in January 2022. The project was designed to uphold two of Robyn’s passions: supporting emerging artists and celebrating Logan City’s multicultural community. The scholarship, funded by a generous donation from the Daw Friend family, will operate for five years, with the first scholarship culminating in the inaugural finalists’ exhibition at Logan Art Gallery in 2024.

The project was developed in three stages. Stage one involved working with freelance art consultant, Debbie Abrahams, to establish the aims and objectives of the scholarship and design the overall structure. Stage two focused on publicising the scholarship within the Logan community to attract a diverse range of applicants. The final stage entailed selecting the finalists and providing them with professional mentoring to prepare their work for the group exhibition at Logan Art Gallery.

The Robyn Daw Young Visual Artist Scholarship, supports the aims and planned outcomes of Logan City Council’s Arts, Culture and Heritage Strategy (2018–2022) and future strategies. Feedback from the first round of scholarship finalists clearly demonstrates the extraordinary benefits they have gained from participating in this valuable program.

Finalists

M&G QLD Chairperson, Karina Devine, presenting Rebecca McDuff with Bundaberg Regional Galleries’ finalist presentation. Photograph by Katie Bennett.

Bundaberg Regional Galleries

Phantom: Off the Drawing Board

Phantom: Off the Drawing Board was an incredible multi-exhibition takeover at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery that celebrated the world of Lee Falk’s iconic creation ‘The Phantom’. The exhibition featured four separately-themed exhibitions across all four gallery spaces. Gallery One showcased the main exhibition Phantom: Off the Drawing Board, curated by Director Rebecca McDuff, in consultation with Frew Publications. This exhibition acknowledged the internationally acclaimed work of Shane Foley, a Bundaberg-based illustrator for The Phantom series and featured original cover artworks, a recreation of his home-based studio, and original drawings and illustrations by renowned Phantom artists. The exhibition also included rare first editions of The Phantom published in Australia, collectibles, and a rare Condoman poster.

Gallery Two presented The Phantom Response, which showcased the works of artists Leah Emery, Shane Foley, Todd Fuller, Malki Studio, Jennifer McDuff, Reg Mombassa, Brian Robinson, Dylan Sarra and Cate Verney. Each of the artists were selected for their connection to The Phantom and were invited to reinterpret The Phantom’s persona through their own, creative lens.

The Gallery’s Vault space was recreated as a theatrette, screening The Phantom Serial (1943), and the Imaginarts space featured an interactive exhibition to introduce The Phantom to a new generation of readers. The project also included extensive public programming and merchandising, with a highly successful opening weekend that welcomed visitors from across Australia and included comic book signings and a pop-up Comic Festival.

Through Bundaberg Regional Galleries’ incredible efforts and research, they established important connections with national and international Phantom groups and collectors, which led to veteran Phantom illustrator, Sy Barry, loaning never-before-seen works from his private collection for the exhibition.

Holly Riding and Samantha Bourke accepting the Finalist presentation for State Library of Queensland. Photograph by Katie Bennett.

State Library of Queensland

Meet the Artists

Meet the Artists was a celebration of Australian renowned contemporary artists and art world figures, highlighting SLQ’s James C. Sourris AM Collection of Artist Interviews to build engagement with their collection, and promote awareness of this valuable resource and documentation of art practice. Curated by Julie Ewington and produced by SLQ, the exhibition was displayed in slq Gallery from 25 February until 9 July 2023.

The exhibition highlighted filmed interviews with prominent artists, gallerists, and curators who have lived, worked, or exhibited in Queensland. Developed since 2010, the James C. Sourris AM Collection of Artist Interviews, provides insights into the thinking processes and studio methods of leading Australian artists, ranging from senior figures such as Richard Bell, Jennifer Herd, Vernon Ah Kee, and William Robinson to younger artists, including Sandra Selig and d Harding.

In addition to the digital collection, the exhibition displayed physical artworks from eight Queensland artists, allowing visitors to experience an unknown side of the artists’ processes, influences, and transitions in their practice over the years. The featured artists included Vernon Ah Kee, Luke Roberts, Fiona Foley, Judith Wright, Leonard Brown, Anne Wallace, Sandra Selig, and Eugene Carchesio.

As part of the exhibition, a hardcover publication was produced to profile each of the 35 artists in the collection, along with commissioned photographic portraits and imagery of the featured artists’ works. The exhibition also comprised a suite of dynamic online and onsite public programs, including professional development opportunities, sound and music performances, and critical discussions with the exhibiting artists, aimed at reaching new audiences and building knowledge and accessibility with the James C. Sourris Collection of Artist Interviews.

Collaborating with the Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, SLQ sought to engage art enthusiasts, professional artists, and students while also increasing awareness of the State Library’s resources and collections.

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