Shivanjani Lal awarded 2019 NSW Visual Arts Emerging Fellowship

Shivanjani Lal, is the recipient of the 2019 NSW Visual Arts Emerging Fellowship courtesy of Artspace  and  Create NSW.

Shivanjani has been awarded the prestigious $30,000 Fellowship for her work presented in this year’s exhibition.

Parliamentary Secretary for Energy and the Arts, The Hon. Ben Franklin, MLC, presented the Fellowship at the exhibition’s launch this evening, noting that Shivanjani will use the $30,000 Fellowship funding for a program of activity involving network and skills development, research, a mentorship in India and London and the purchase of new equipment, culminating in her shooting new works in Fiji, India and the UK.

“This is a fantastic exhibition which yet again showcases the strength, imagination and creativity of our emerging visual artists from across NSW.

“This is a really exciting opportunity which has a terrific history of support. Now in its 23rd year, I’m delighted that as our Fellow, Shivanjani’s program will take her to new heights internationally as she learns from others and undertakes research that will inform bold new bodies of work” said The Hon. Ben Franklin.

The Fellowship is chosen by a panel of industry peers chaired by Maud Page, Deputy Director and Director of Collections at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Shivanjani Lal is a twice-removed Fijian-Indian-Australian artist. As an artist living in Australia, she is tied to a long history of familial movement; her work uses personal grief to account for ancestral loss and trauma. She is a member of the indentured labourer diaspora from the Indian and Pacific oceans. She employs intimate images of family, sourced from photo albums, along with videos and images from contemporary travels to the Asia-Pacific to reconstruct temporary landscapes.

The 2019 Fellowship ”” included artists Harriet Body, Nick Dorey, Amala Groom, Shivanjani Lal, Make or Break (Connie Anthes and Rebecca Gallo), Katy B Plummer, JD Reforma, Linda Sok, Leyla Stevens, Shireen Taweel and Jelena Telecki.

Artspace Executive Director, Alexie Glass-Kantor said “This year when we received the list of finalists, my co-curator Elyse Goldfinch and myself felt there was a strong and timely demonstration of diversity in the practices represented, and through their work they have indeed addressed some of the most urgent cultural and political issues of our time. Shivanjani’s work presented in this year’s Fellowship represents a profoundly personal reflection on the relationship to movement and migration of people through time. Her practice will benefit greatly from the opportunities that the Fellowship provides. The Artspace team and myself are excited for what the future holds for Shivanjani and extend our warmest congratulations.”

She continues: “I’d like to acknowledge the collaborative efforts from our peers at Create NSW and the team at Artspace who have worked tirelessly to once again bring this project to fruition. We also thank the esteemed members of this year’s selection committee for their conscientiousness in what is a very difficult task. Artspace is committed to cultivating and fostering talent among new generations of Australian artists and we look forward to the evolution of this important award and the exciting futures of all of this year’s finalists.”

The 2019 NSW Visual Arts Emerging Fellowship exhibition will run until 15 December 2019.

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Photo: Richard Phillips

Artspace is supported by the Visual Arts and Craft Strategy, an initiative of the Australian, State and Territory Governments. Artspace is assisted by the New South Wales Government through Create NSW and by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. Artspace is a member of Contemporary Art Organisations Australia (CAOA).
 

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