The winners of the 2024 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize was announced on Thursday evening 12th September with an official function at the Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf.
This year the judges selected Hannah Gartside for the top honour for her piece #19 from the series ‘Bunnies in Love, Lust and Longing’, 2024.
Crafted from second-hand gloves, the evocative sculpture continues the Melbourne-based artist’s ongoing series exploring tenderness, introspection, and intimate moments through the form of anthropomorphised rabbits.
Gartside’s work has earned her the $25,000 prize and will be added to Woollahra Council’s permanent public collection. This marks a significant career milestone and the first major prize for Gartside, who prior to her artistic practice was working as a costume maker and dresser.
In addition to Gartside, two other standout artists were recognised:
- Erica Muriata, a Girramay woman and emerging artist, was awarded the Special Commendation Prize for Recycled Jawun, 2024 a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Jawun basket, crafted from wire and paint. Influenced by personal memories and cultural knowledge, her designs embody her identity and ancestors, sharing the stories of which she is the keeper.
- Penny Howard also received the Mayor’s Choice Award for her nostalgic work After School, 2022. Her work depicts iconic Australian after-school snacks of the 1960s and ‘70s and was selected by the Mayor for the strong childhood memories it evoked.
All winning sculptures, along with this year’s finalists, are now on display at the Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf until 20 October 2024.
This year’s exhibition showcases a diverse range of artistic voices from across Australia and beyond, with all pieces available for sale to the public.
