Announced at the closing ceremony on the weekend internationally renowned art collective Glue Society + James Dive were the recipients of the Kids’ Choice Prize of $5,000 for ‘Hot with the Chance of a Late Storm’. The melted Mr Whippy truck returned to Tamarama beach as part of the exhibition’s 25th celebrations after first exhibiting in 2006, where it became one of the most shared pieces of public art, a meme for heatwaves everywhere and ultimately an icon for climate impact. The sculpture took home both the Allens People’s Choice Award and the Kids’ Choice Prize in 2006. The Kids Choice Prize is donated by Rebel Penfold Russell OAM and voted by the children visiting the exhibition.
The Glue Society said, “For all of us at The Glue Society, there is no greater accolade than knowing we have captured the imagination of our kids. After all, they are surely the most fearfully honest art critics we could hope to encounter. As a collective we aim to make work that contributes to, or starts a conversation and we hope we have inspired our younger audience to question the world they live in. To all those kids who voted for us, thank you. You deserve an ice cream!”