THE Bankstown Koori Elders Group have won the prestigious People’s Choice Award in the 2022 Indigenous Ceramic Award (ICA).
With the Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) extending its full and hearty congratulations to the group, the Bankstown Koori Elders Group garnered over 20 percent of the popular vote, sharing $1,500 in prize money.
The winning artwork, titled Waterhole of Kinship (2020), is a large circular work consisting of several individual ceramic tiles pieced together and is reminiscent of the cracked earth found in creek beds during drought.
Each tile is decorated with its own unique pattern; the collaborative nature of the work acknowledges how individual experiences and cultural knowledge intermingle, like water flowing through creeks and rivers to form pools of water.
In their artist statement, the group dedicated the work to new generations of First Nations People in the hope that they will remain connected to Country and carry a deep love and respect for all living things.
The winning Bankstown Koori Elders Group consists of Lorna Morgan (Waka-Waka, Darumbal), Lillian Johnson (Waka-Waka, Gubbi Gubbi), Gloria Peronchik (Waka-Waka, Gangulu), Beverley Gilmartin (Wiradjuri), Victoria Woods (Wiradjuri), Margaret Foat (Buandik) Lola Simmons (Wailwan) and John Simmons.
The 2022 ICA exhibition closed at SAM on December 4; however, visitors will be able to view the People’s Choice Award winner outside the SAM Café entrance on level 1 of the museum throughout January 2023.
