2022 was the 30th anniversary of the passing of Vicki Torr (1949 – 1992). It was also the United Nations International Year of Glass.
This prize competition honours the spirit of Vicki’s legacy and celebrates the ongoing vitality of the contemporary art glass movement in Australia.
This is a contemporary glass art competition. It acknowledges the innovation, excellence and creativity of glass artists within Australia and looks to showcase work that displays creative, conceptual and technical risk-taking as well pieces rooted in established and traditional practices.
It is a non-acquisitive prize of $10,000. The competition was open to artists at any stage of their career, who are an Australian citizen or permanent resident and presently working in Australia.
There were twenty four finalists, which were then whittled down to eight. The exhibition of the final eight and judging for the winner occurred in Melbourne at the ACU Gallery in Fitzroy in conjunction with the Ausglass conference. The judges were Geoffrey Edwards, Anna Grigson (Sabbia Gallery) and Brian Parkes.
The finalists were Nicole Ayliffe, Annette Blair, Hannah Gason, Lee Howes, Jessica Murtagh, Peter Nilsson, Emma Varga and Emma Young. We are thrilled that Emma Varga was a finalist with a goregous work (as above). Hannah Gason who was also a finalist will be exhibiting in a solo exhibition at Sabbia in July 2023.
It was a difficult decision but the prize was awarded to Annette Blair for her work A Quiet Afternoon in May, 2022 (below). Annette was also the winner of The People’s Choice Award. Congratulations to Annette and all the finalists.