Analysis – Carol Altmann

[dropcap style=”color: #a5cecd;”] I[/dropcap]t sounds almost inconceivable, but the wonderful and extremely popular Warrnibald portrait prize has been wrecked within just 12 months of falling under the control of the Warrnambool Art Gallery.

How?

By quietly turning it into a “prestigious” art prize where many of the local artists of all abilities and ages who entered will not have their works shown.

Indeed those works deemed not good enough have already been returned to the artists who took the time and effort to capture someone from the local community who they considered worthy of being painted.

As a result, only 16 of the original 26 entrants are on display – spread thinly across the gallery space and under ambient lighting – and in contention for the $2000 main prize and $2000 People’s Choice Award.

But it is not about missing out on the chance to win a sizeable prize donated by WDEA (Western District Employment Access) that has disappointed those artists and supporters who contacted Bluestone in disgust – it is about the spirit of the prize being ruined.

[dropcap style=”color: #a5cecd;”] A[/dropcap]s one artist said, the person she had chosen to paint was bitterly disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to take her family and friends along to see her finished portrait on the walls of the Warrnambool Art Gallery.

Another amateur artist said that she was embarrassed to have her work rejected after being encouraged to enter by a friend for the first time after being convinced it was “a lot of fun”.

To add insult to injury, those who missed out had to forfeit their $30 entry fee.

Anyone who knows the history of the prize knows that it was never meant to be a professional art prize where only the best artists get to have their work exhibited.

It was the polar opposite.

Under the control of WDEA, which runs the Artlink program for people with disabilities, anyone who wanted to “have a go” at painting the portrait of someone who they believed deserved recognition for their contribution to the local community was urged to do so.

It meant lesser known and amateur artists got to hang their work alongside some of the region’s best talents.

It also meant, even more importantly, that the “quiet heroes” of our community – neighbours, volunteers, charity workers – could be honoured alongside the higher profile people of our region.

It was a winning formula, with the Warrnibald attracting people who might not normally even visit a gallery, but would do so to see paintings of faces they might know.

[dropcap style=”color: #a5cecd;”] W[/dropcap]hen WDEA passed the hosting of the prize to the Warrnambool Art Gallery, it did so with every expectation that the spirit of the prize would continue and, in 2015, it did: all 40 entries were displayed at WAG.

But this year’s prize contained a significant change in the small print of the entry form.

You can read it for yourself:

[box]This in 2015: “All entries will be accepted for inclusion in the exhibition, except in the case of there being more than 50 entries. In this instance, the Judges will determine the final selection. Artists whose work is not exhibited will have their entry fee refunded.” (emphasis added)

And this in 2016: “The final exhibition will be selected from received entries. Works are not automatically included, and entry fees are forfeited if an artwork is not selected for display.” (emphasis added) [/box]

And with that, the whole thing changed from inclusion to exclusion.

So how did this happen and who changed it?

We asked the new gallery director Vanessa Gerrans and in an emailed reply she said:

“While the Warrnibald has always had an element of fun, it also carries a certain prestige and showcases the talent within our region. With this in mind, WAG and WDEA decided to compile a shortlist for exhibition in 2016.

“Via the application form, artists submitting portraits were informed that not all works would automatically be included in the final exhibition. This is a standard format in competitive exhibitions such as the inspiration for this exhibition – the Archibald Prize.

“The passionate debate that surrounds which works are included, the selection of the winner by the guest judge and the work identified as the Peoples Choice provides great opportunity for discussion and robust expression of points of view. And ensures the relevance of this event.”

Ms Gerrans mentions that WDEA agreed to the shortlisting process, but Bluestone has been told that WDEA was stunned and angry to learn that only 16 paintings had made the cut.

[dropcap style=”color: #a5cecd;”] S[/dropcap]o who picked the shortlist?

“Usual curatorial processes were applied to selection,” Ms Gerrans said via email.

We can only assume that WAG curator Gareth Colliton had to be excused on the grounds of a conflict of interest, given that one of the 16 portraits selected was that by last year’s winner, the sublimely talented Madeleine Peters, who Mr Colliton now employs at his new gallery business, Wisharts, in Port Fairy.

I want to stress that this is no reflection on Madeleine’s work – it more than deserves to be there – but for Mr Colliton to exclude himself would surely be in line with normal Warrnambool City Council protocols.

The winner of the 2016 Warrnibald portrait prize, as judged by Hamilton Art Gallery director Sarah Schmidt will be announced at the Warrnambool Art Gallery tomorrow night (Friday 29/7/16).

It will be a packed house, no doubt, but to my mind the glaring blank spaces on the walls reflect the holes in the prize: the surprise, joy and communal spirit that is now missing from the Warrnibald.

Let’s hope that spirit returns next year.

[box]Bluestone is currently working subscription-free, ie. I write for nothing because I believe independent media is so important to this region, if you would like to make a contribution to keep our pulse ticking while we rebuild for 2017, you can do so here. [/box]

More Opinion and Analysis:

 

Unravelling the mystery of public art collections

Forget cover ups and roll right over Rolf

Patloch Lane an opportunity gone begging

OPINION

If you are an artist living in south-west Victoria, the chance for a big commission only comes along once in a while, so why do so many of Warrnambool’s most lucrative public art projects go to artists who live elsewhere?

The answer appears to be that the pool of local talent is not yet deep enough, or that artists don’t know about the projects in the first place.

Our interest in this question was piqued by the Warrnambool City Council’s recent unveiling of the Mortlake Rd pedestrian tunnel mural painted by Drysdale professional mural artist Scottie “Bonsai” Neoh, who grew up in Warrnambool.

There is no doubt it is a spectacular work, but what is surprising is that only a handful of people within the local arts community appeared to know about the impending project, despite the commission being worth $15,000.

Bonsai was paid another $2000 for a separate mural at Lake Pertobe that he also completed recently.

The selection of Bonsai follows the awarding of a $20,000 commission to Melbourne artist Ewan Coates in 2010 for his sculpture The Three Pillars of Gratification, on the corner of Liebig and Koroit streets, and another $20,000 commission in 2011 that was won by Ballan artist Velislav Georgiev for his work Chance Encounter, that sits on the corner of Lava and Liebig streets.

In both of those cases, however, and unlike the $17,000 paid to Bonsai, the commission was open to expressions of interest and the winner was chosen by the council’s City Art Advisory Committee. This committee, made up of council and non council people, was disbanded in May last year after running for more than 20 years*.

So what has happened on the ground since?

Well, a string of murals have popped up around Warrnambool in the past eight months thanks to the work of members of the The Artery/The F Project art collective, but these were far from lucrative commissions: they were more like labours of love.

The F Project received $30,000 in council funds to run the Hidden Histories Laneways Festival made up of 10 separate events, including the painting of five murals.

You can do the math, but $30,000 split between 10 events and five murals does not equal a big budget, but, even so, The F Project called for expressions of interest and selected a range of local artists to complete works of various sizes and complexity.

The three smallest murals, in Ozone Walk, were completed for about $1000, while one of the largest, in Patloch Lane by Nathan Pye, had a budget of $1500 plus materials.

The largest of all – a 25 m wall off Timor St – was completed by David Higgins for $2000 (including paints) with another $2000 chipped in by the owner of the wall to help cover costs.

All up, these five murals cost around $5000 in public funds, thanks to the generosity and community spirit of the artists prepared to effectively donate a lot their time.

So how did Bonsai end up with $17,000 for two murals without any call for expressions of interest?

Gareth Colliton, the Warrnambool Art Gallery’s curator of exhibitions and outreach, is more than happy to explain, because he played a major role.

It should be said that Gareth, who is an artist himself and one of those who completed a laneway mural for little charge, is seen as a major supporter of the local arts community, was a key figure in establishing The Artery, and is a very affable and popular person in the arts scene.

His involvement in the Bonsai project falls in line with the powers that he has been given in his role with WAG and the council.

As he explains it, the Bonsai project is part of a new way of approaching community art projects that he believes will be of long-term benefit to the 250 local artists on the council’s database.

First, the mural was funded as part of civic infrastructure – the building of the Mortlake Rd drain – and Gareth hopes that public art will be included in more infrastructure projects, such as the design of a roundabout, for example, and that local artists will see more commissions, not less.

For this particular project, Gareth says, Bonsai was considered the best choice: he had the skills, the availability and the local connection (he is also a cousin of Mayor Michael Neoh, but Gareth says Mayor Neoh was completely removed from the process. The selection was made by Gareth, WAG director John Cunningham and Infrastructure head Peter Robertson).

Second, the commission was a “carrot” for Bonsai to run a series of workshops later in the year for local artists who wish to learn from a top street artist. The council is seeking funding to pay Bonsai for the workshops, so that they can be offered free or at low-cost.

But why not call for expressions of interest, just to see who and what pops up?

Gareth put it this way:  “In the short term, that would be like giving a man a fish or teaching him to fish.”

“We could have given someone this opportunity immediately and it would have been done (but) there are also only a few people in town who have the technical skills to do a work of that scale.

“Far more important is teaching all of those other artists how to do this. Rather than see only the two, three or four that are out there at the moment, I want to see 30 or 40…”

Maybe so, but there are also artists keen to be considered for the talents that they already have.

As one said in an email to Bluestone this week: “I would jump at $15,000. I have been painting for years and have never been paid that much…us local artists seem to find out (about these opportunities) once the bloody project is up.”

(* The council has since confirmed that WAG is investigating setting up a new industry advisory group to provide expert advice on the delivery of its programs and its five-year plan.)