Wollumbin art wins in regional award

HANNAH Lange has won the 2024 Wollumbin Art Award (WAA) with her tribute to traditional First Nations weaving, Weaving by the River. The Tweed-based Wiradjuri artist won $15,000 and a two-week residency at the Gallery’s Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence Studio.

The WAA Bundjalung Award went to Byron-based Arakwal Bundjalung artist Nickolla Clark for her painting Ngalawaa ma lee la Brunswick Balun (Gathering on Brunswick River), signifying the role the Brunswick River has played for the Bundjalung nation.

Byron Shire-based artist Joshua Vogel received the Emerging Artist Award for his painting, On the inside there was an innate tenderness, an intimate glimpse into a private world.

The biennial Wollumbin Art Award celebrates the calibre and diversity of artists in the Northern Rivers and Gold Coast region. Of the 602 entries in the 2024 award, 123 artworks were selected for the finalist exhibition.

Guest judge, Hazelhurst Arts Centre Director and descendant of the Burramattagal people of Western Sydney, Sebastian Goldspink, announced the biennial non-acquisitive $30,000 prize winners at the gallery last weekend.

“Every time I visit, I am struck by what incredible country it is, Bundjalung Country; framed by mountains and the ocean, intersected by rivers,” he said.

“It’s a place where lots of different things meet, and this is reflected in the award – works that come from Country, look at Country, and reflect the diversity that exists here. This is a special place that generates creativity, a place where ideas and art flourish.”

Blair Davis (5 – 8 years), Chloe Dyer (9 – 12 years), Amelia Laurie (13 – 15 years) and Peri Hynes (16 – 18 years) won The Wollumbin Youth Art Awards.

Curator of the Children’s Gallery at HOTA, Home of the Arts, and guest judge Jodi Ferrari, said the award provided fantastic insights into the way young people see and experience the world around them.

“I was impressed by the diversity of work by this year’s finalists in their choice of medium, approach and subject matter. I congratulate these young artists for boldly sharing their work with us,” she said.

Finalist exhibitions will be on view until Sunday, November 24. To find out more, visit gallery.tweed.nsw.gov.au/Home