Attendance sought for Aboriginal Art Competition Awards

RDANI Project Officer, Kim-Trieste Hastings, New England’s Aboriginal Customer Service Officer with Fair Trading, Brett Cunningham, and Armidale Fair Trading Centre Manager, Sally-Anne Burrow with artwork entered by local Armidale artist, Elizabeth Ervine and grade 5 students from the Armidale City Public School.

The NAIDOC Week Art competition conducted by NSW Fair Trading in the New England area is taking place again this year. The project highlights and celebrates Aboriginal culture at the local level, offering over $1,500 in prize money, spread over five categories and is supported by Regional Development Australia Northern Inland NSW (RDANI). “RDANI is proud to support this art competition, as it is important to the local community and will continue to grow,” RDANI Project Officer, Kim-Trieste Hastings said.

As part of Fair Trading’s NAIDOC week celebrations, members of the public, artists and community leaders are being urged to attend the award presentation and morning tea at the Armidale Town Hall at 10am on Wednesday 7th July.

Open to Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, the competition has been organised by the New England region’s Aboriginal Customer Service Officer for Fair Trading, Brett Cunningham. According to Mr. Cunningham, the importance of art to Aboriginal culture and reconciliation has been widely acknowledged through the support that the competition has received. Sponsorship and support for this year’s competition has also come from; Armidale Dumaresq Council, Housing NSW, Oorala Centre at UNE, NSW Police Force and Indigenous Business Australia.

“The 2010 theme: ‘Unsung Heroes - Closing the Gap by Leading Their Way’ recognises the importance of respect in Aboriginal culture,” Mr. Cunningham said. Artists were able to enter any medium of creative art, which addressed the theme.

Entries closed on Friday 11th June and Mr. Cunningham said they came from throughout the New England, from as far as Inverell and Glen Innes. He described the entries as exemplary and vibrant.

The art has been submitted into the following categories:

• Open Indigenous Award - work by an Indigenous artist;
• Collaboration Award - work in collaboration between an Indigenous and non-Indigenous artist;
• Indigenous Youth Award - work by an Indigenous artist, aged 12 to 18 years;
• Indigenous Children’s Award - work by an Indigenous artist, aged 5 to 11 years;
• School Project Award - work by a group of Indigenous and/or non-Indigenous Primary/High School students

“Fair Trading has a long and proud history of supporting the Aboriginal communities within NSW. We’d like to invite people to attend the NAIDOC Week Art competition awards presentation, because it is a way of acknowledging the art and culture of Aboriginal people in this area. This competition also highlights what we are trying to do in terms of reconciliation, through involving the non-Aboriginal artists and collaborations. This is only our third year and I am confident that through further community support, this competition and the positive outcomes from it will continue to develop and expand,” Mr. Cunningham.

NAIDOC week commences on Sunday 4th July.

For further information please contact:
Kim-Trieste Hastings

RDANI Project Officer

02 6771 2790 or 0427 008 572

Brett Cunningham

Fair Trading’s New England Aboriginal Customer Service Officer

02 6761 9003 or 0423 844 286