INDIGENOUS PRIZE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Cossack Art Prize 2022 judge James Davies with North West Flora and Fauna category winner “Pilbara Wildflowers” by Yinjibarndi artist Dawn Sandy.

GEOFF VIVIAN

Judges announced the winners of the Cossack Art Awards on Saturday night, with Aboriginal artists winning first prize in four of the eight available categories.

Judith Coppin won the “Paintings by a Pilbara Indigenous Artist” category, Bianca Simson won “Emerging Young Artist'', Dawn Sandy won “North West Flora and Fauna” and Alice Guiness won “Best Work by a West Pilbara Artist”.

As Aboriginal artists had won half of the prizes available to non-Aboriginal artists, Yinjibarndi painter Pansy Sambo wondered whether an Indigenous-identified prize was still needed.

“One thing that sometimes really gets me is ‘oh, we’re looking for Aboriginal art’, but not art by an Aboriginal artist” she said. “And that should be changed, and thought of in a different manner.”

Judge Denise Pepper said there was probably no need for an Indigenous-identified prize.

“I think art sometimes gets contained into categories and I think sometimes that distracts away from being expressive,” she said. “I like the fact that art is art. I think it has a message regardless of what part of the world you come from, what race you are, what gender you are. I think art should be looked at as a whole, as having a form, a message and as a form of expression.”

Judge James Davies said he had grappled with the question for years.

“It’s a conversation I had many years ago when I was director of the Geraldton Regional Art Gallery,” he said. “I had the very same conversation about ‘do we need to actually have a specific award and do we actually look upon the art as a piece of work by an artist as distinct from an Aboriginal artist?’ - I know there would be people listening to this who would whole heartedly and vehemently disagree with me and I’m not saying I’m right. But I think it’s an interesting conversation to have… because of the number of Aboriginal artists who have picked up awards that were not actually within an Aboriginal category. I think it’s a conversation worth having and that’s a conversation we need to have with the Aboriginal community.”