The next generation rewarded

THE winners of the Art Gallery of Ballarat’s Next Gen 2022 student exhibition have been revealed.

The announcements were held as part of an awards event that took place at the gallery in late February, with the recipients taking the prize for the categories of creativity, innovation, and excellence.

Amelia Green received the award for creativity for her textiles piece, A Nature’s Yarn.

Phoebe Tol won in the innovation category for one of two ceramic works titled There is no perfection and only beautiful versions of brokenness.

The award of excellence was given to Sparky Sainsbury for their print Perceptions of a human.

With 38 works exhibited out of 150 entries, gallery director Louise Tegart said the event provided the culmination of another successful year despite the ongoing pandemic.

“It was a great opportunity for the students to come together and celebrate their accomplishments with their families,” she said.

“We’ve been hosting these awards for many years and these last two have been particularly challenging for students having to produce the work in isolation.

“But even through that, it’s been another really high-quality exhibition which I think shows the standard of teaching in the region.”

The awards were announced by City of Ballarat mayor Cr Daniel Moloney, and other guest speakers included Wadawurrung artist Dr Deanne Gilson and previous Next Gen finalist Demi Gerard.

Artists Koji Hoashi and Dr Anindita Banerjee were the judges that decided on the winning pieces, and over 70 people arrived at the event to witness their results.

The Next Gen 2022 exhibition will remain open until Sunday, 24 April, and a people’s choice category is currently open for those who wish to vote on their favourite work.