Each year in the lead up to Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi six Australian based sculptors receive significant support for their careers thanks to the Helen Lempriere Bequest and the Clitheroe Foundation. We are excited to reveal the recipients of three $30,000 Helen Lempriere Scholarships and three $10,000 Clitheroe Foundation Emerging Sculptor Mentorships!
The following artists have been named recipients of the prestigious $30,000 Helen Lempriere Scholarships for 2015:
Here are a few comments from each artist about receiving the scholarship:
“I am humbled to receive a Helen Lempriere Scholarship and wish to extend my gratitude to Sculpture by the Sea and Perpetual for this amazing opportunity. A number of Australian sculptors, who I would regard as mentors, have received this accolade and to be included in this honour is most exciting. The scholarship will enable me to travel abroad to draw and study particular sculptural masterpieces that continue to inspire my interest in the field.” – Dale Miles
Dale Miles, sacred space, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2013. Photo Clyde Yee.
“I am honoured to receive the prestigious Helen Lempriere Scholarship and enormously grateful for the opportunities it makes possible. The Scholarship represents one of the most significant development opportunities in my experience as a practicing artist and I would like to sincerely thank the trustees of the Helen Lempriere Bequest for their generosity and ongoing investment in Australian artists.” – Samantha Small
Samantha Small, stalemate, Canberra Museum and Gallery, 2015. Photo supplied by the artist.
“Being awarded the Helen Lempriere Scholarship provides me with a very exciting opportunity to study, first hand, works which I’ve come to realize have for years been influencing the way I approach making sculpture. In other words, to more fully explore what goes into making my work. It’s a realisation that constantly grows and develops. Receiving this Scholarship will play a major part in that process. Thank you to Perpetual Trustees and Sculpture by the Sea for the assistance which they are providing and for their contribution to my life as a sculptor.” – Orest Keywan
Orest Keywan, above the line, Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi 2011. Photo Samantha Burns.
As one of Australia’s most prestigious annual awards for sculptors in Australia, the Helen Lempriere Scholarships foster and promote contemporary Australian sculpture. The recipients will each receive $30,000 to further their artistic development through travel, study and to develop their studios and for the documentation of their work.
As stipulated by the Helen Lempriere Bequest tertiary level academics select the artists to receive the scholarships. This year’s academics on the Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi Curatorial Panel to select the scholarship recipients were:
The Clitheroe Foundation Emerging Sculptor Mentorships of $10,000 have been awarded to the following three artists or artist groups:
The annual Clitheroe Foundation Emerging Sculptor Mentorship program was established in 2006. As part of the mentorship each artist receives funds towards the cost of exhibiting in Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi, while the artist and the mentor of their choosing receive funds to enable them to undertake a twelve month mentorship focused on the development of their artistic and technical skills.
Says the exhibition Founding Director, David Handley, “It is a privilege to provide these artists from across Australia with this generous support to help them reach the next stage of their careers. These scholarships and mentorships, in recognising artists at different stages of their careers, provide a significant boost to Sculpture as an Art form in Australia. Thank you to the generous benefactors and well done to the artists whose works we look forward to seeing on the Bondi coastal walk from 22 October.”
Perpetual’s National Manager of Philanthropy, Caitriona Fay, said: “It’s a fitting legacy for Helen Lempriere to be remembered in perpetuity through such an iconic event as Sculpture by the Sea. Philanthropy is about making an impact and importantly Helen’s legacy is making an impact not only on the talented sculptors who benefit from the Scholarships, but on everyone who visits the exhibition and enjoys their works.”
Background to the Helen Lempriere Bequest
As one of Australia’s most prestigious annual prizes for sculptors in Australia, the Helen Lempriere Scholarships foster and promote contemporary Australian sculpture. The Scholarships are a realisation of a bequest made by the late Keith Wood to honour his wife, Helen Lempriere. Helen was one of Australia’s leading female artists in the mid-20th century, attracting national and international acclaim for her painting, printmaking and sculpture. Serving as a fitting legacy for Helen Lempriere and her belief in supporting the arts, the Scholarships fulfil Keith’s aims of making a significant philanthropic contribution to the arts while commemorating Helen, a leading figure in the development of a unique Australian aesthetic. The Scholarships serve to advance artists’ careers through study or research and are held in partnership with Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi. Managed by Perpetual as a charitable trust operating in perpetuity, the Helen Lempriere Bequest has provided more than $1.5 million in funding support for Australian artists since the trust was established in 1996.
About Perpetual Philanthropic Services
Perpetual is one of Australia’s largest managers and distributors of philanthropic funds with $2.2 billion in funds under advice (as at 31 December 2014). Perpetual is trustee for more than 990 charitable trusts and endowments and provides individuals and families with advice on establishing charitable foundations and structured giving programs. Perpetual also assists charities and not-for-profit organisations with investment advice and management.
Background on Clitheroe Mentorships
In 2006, the Clitheroe Foundation and Sculpture by the Sea established the Clitheroe Foundation Emerging Sculptor Mentorship Program. The program awards $10,000 to each of the artists to undertake a mentorship with their chosen mentor. The mentor program aims to encourage professional connections and lasting relationships between emerging sculptors and established practitioners and advisers. Benefiting Sculpture by the Sea’s established organisational framework, the program facilitates an exchange of skills and provides a forum for the professional and technical development of the emerging sculptors by virtue of the mentor and mentee relationship.