Disintegrating head a winner for Alice

A digital video work of a slowly disintegrating clay figure, backed by meditative cello music, has taken out this year’s Alice Prize.  ‘Ichor’ by Alice Springs local artist Pip McManus, was one of 60 artworks selected for the 35th Alice Prize Exhibition from 250 entries.

The winning entry was judged by well-known art critic Susan McCullough who said she was surprised and impressed by the variety and calibre of the entries. “Judging only one winner from such a strong field was very difficult,” McCullough said.
Two other artists were highly commended by McCullough, Eubena Nampitjin (WA) and Catriona Stanton (NT).

The Tammy Kingsley People’s Choice Award of $1,000 will be announced once the exhibition closes on 8 June at the Araluen Galleries at the Alice Springs Cultural Precinct.

Pip McManus’s work ‘Ichor’ is named after ‘the ethereal fluid flowing in the veins of the gods which is poisonous to mortals. Creating video-based work is a new frontier for McManus who is best known as a ceramicist. Her works have been exhibited in galleries across Australia and she has undertaken major commissions for public spaces including the Darwin Mall and the Darwin Botanic Gardens.

Further information www.aliceprize.com

Many of the projects in this newsletter have been supported by the Regional Arts Fund, an Australian Government initiative supporting the arts in regional, remote and very remote/isolated Australia.

Regional Arts Australia promotes the development of the arts for the one-in-three Australians who live in regional, rural and remote parts of the country. Our members give country Australians access to outstanding cultural experiences that are either home grown or tour from other towns and cities. In this way, Regional Arts Australia gives a voice to artists and puts culture at the heart of community life across country Australia.