2014 TIDAL: CITY OF DEVONPORT ART AWARD
Exhibition Dates: 13 December 2014 – 1 February 2015
Opened Friday 12 December, 7 pm
Artists: Diane Allison, Tok Basuki, Michael Brennan, Tim Burns, Matt Calvert, Gabrielle Courtenay, Joel Crosswell, Anjeleca Daniel, Amanda Davies, Isaac Fergusson, James Geurts, Janet Green, David Hawley, Petrina Hicks, Liam James, Kim Lehman, Sara Maher, Michael Muruste, Matthew Newton, Sarah Rhodes, Cath Robinson, Troy Ruffels, Paul Snell, Melissa Smith, Fiona Tabart, LeAnne Vincent, Catherine Woo
The Tidal: City of Devonport Art Award is a biennial, acquisitive award exhibited every two years at the Devonport Regional Gallery. Artists residing in Australia are invited to submit 2-dimensional artworks that reflect on the theme of tidal – the natural, cultural, personal or political concerns related to the sea and coastal regions.
The Award aims to:
• Encourage experimentation within and across mediums relative to 2-dimensional works of art
• Present a stimulating and diverse exhibition of contemporary Australian art practice to the Devonport Community and visitors to the region
• Promote excellence in contemporary visual art that reflects on natural, cultural, personal or political concerns related to the sea, coastal regions and coastal communities
THE AWARD
$15,000 Major Award sponsored by the Devonport City Council and the Devonport Regional Gallery Friends Committee.
An acquisitive award open to artists living in Australia.
$1,000 People’s Choice Award sponsored by Collins Real Estate, Devonport.
A Non-acquisitive Award selected by the viewers of Tidal. The Award will be announced at the conclusion of the exhibition.
SELECTION AND JUDGING
The 2014 judging panel consisted of two nationally recognised art experts who selected the 27 works for the finalists exhibition. This years judges were; Erica Green, Director, Anne & Gordon Samstag Museum of Art, University of South Australia.
Sean Kelly, Arts Coordinator, Moonah Arts Centre, Hobart, Tasmania.
2014 TIDAL: CITY OF DEVONPORT ART AWARD
$15,000 AWARD RECIPIENT JOEL CROSSWELL
INTERVIEW WITH JOEL CROSSWELL, 2014 TIDAL WINNER
Devonport Regional Gallery’s Droogs members, Kim Prunster and Leeya Maingay, spoke to Joel Crosswell, winner of the 2014 Tidal: City of Devonport Art Award, about his work Galaxias, 2014, 5 drawings, ink on paper.
Have you ever entered Tidal before?
No this is my first time. It’s kind of funny – I entered the Hobart City Art Prize in 2011 and I received the prize. That was the first time I entered that, and now this is the first time entering Tidal. I’m feeling very lucky! I don’t usually pray, but today I was like ‘Thank you, God’ or whatever it is – ‘Thank you, Galaxias fish!’.
Did you grow up in Tasmania?
Yes, I’m born and bred in Tassie. I’m from Hobart, but I grew up in a place called Carlton, and then when I was five I moved to Seven Mile Beach. I lived across the road from these beautiful 80 year old pine trees. Then I moved into the city when I was 16.
Did you study in Hobart?
Yes. I have a Fine Arts Degree which I finished in 2008.
What inspired this piece and who are your current influences?
The piece is about a small endangered trout named the Galaxias. It’s found in the midlands, and you can come across it in little pond areas near wider lakes. I was lucky enough when I was on this residency at the end of last year to come across a couple of these fish. So, that influenced a lot of my work I did for the residency. I actually thought the work fitted quite well with the theme of Tidal. The piece talks about existence and not just in animals but also in our own human form. As for other influences, I’m always reading and listening to music and watching different types of films – it’s the things around me that I’m influenced by. My choices can be fairly random. There are honestly too many influences to pin point, and in pin pointing one I feel like I have to tell you the other 100!
What music are you listening to at the moment?
I was listening to a little bit of Kate Bush a couple of days ago. I’ve also been listening to 2Pac, Tool, Faith no More and Isis. I have about 400 CDs, so I can’t keep track.
TIDAL: CITY OF DEVONPORT ART AWARD 2014 PEOPLES CHOICE AWARD
Congratulations to Troy Ruffels the Tidal: City of Devonport Art Award 2014 People’s Choice Award Recipient. Troy was presented with a $1,000 cheque from Award sponsors Collins Real Estate, Devonport at the conclusion of the exhibition on Sunday 1 February 2015 for his entry titled Rift.
