Uralla Arts Sculpture Prize 2007

Artists across Australia were invited to submit entries to the 2007 Uralla Arts Sculpture Prize. There was a screening of entries, and a 25 sculptures were selected for final judging in early November 2007.

The selected sculptures were installed in McGrath’s End Garden, Uralla as part of Armidale St Peter’s Garden weekend (www.armidalegardens.org.au) on 3rd & 4th Nov 2007 . The garden was also open for the next 3 weekends until 25th Nov 200.  This is an iconic garden in the New England region. The one hectare garden encompasses classical beds, ponds, arbours as well as some heavily treed areas and open expanses, and offered a tremendous opportunity to display a range of sculptures from small and dainty to large and dramatic.

The Winner

The winner of the Uralla Arts Sculpture Prize was announced on the 3rd of November by our judge - Jim Croke, former Head of Sculpture at the National Art School in Sydney. The winning sculpture was “Totem”, a collaborative piece created by Michael Jarochowicz & Gabrielle McGrath. Michael and Gabrielle created TOTEM as a comment on climate, specifically climate change and drought; the organic/natural element entrapped in a man-made environment. Whilst the stones themselves are entrapped in a cage of steel, they stand awaiting the wet!

Fortunately the “wet” held off today for the judging and the many visitors who came to McGrath’s End Garden, which was a superb backdrop to the 21 sculptures.

The judge’s comments about the winning sculpture were that Totem is a very strong work. The containment and compression of the rocks is powerful because the scale of the steel is heavy enough to make the rocks feel as though they are really trapped. The angularity of the steel barrier works well as a contrast to the round “soft” organic shapes of the rocks. It is a robust sculpture that has real presence.

And overall the works exhibited show a tremendously varied approach to sculpture. Some of the smaller pieces were well resolved and would suit being reproduced on a larger scale. The beautiful garden setting enhanced the sense of discovery as the sculptures revealed themselves.

The feedback from Jim to Uralla Arts was also great – “Over time such an acquisitive prize is a brilliant way of creating a significant collection for the whole community. Uralla should be very proud of having the vision to support such an enriching worthwhile project and long may it continue.”

Jim has generously provided feedback on each entry which will be forwarded to the individual artists.

The winning sculpture, Totem, is to be installed in the Glen on the highway as you leave Uralla to north. The Uralla Shire Council is assisting with its relocation and it should be in place early in the New Year.

The People’s Choice prize

The people's choice prize was announced on the 25th November and the winner was Woman With a Pearl Earring, Joan Relke’s sculpture. Congratulations Joan!

Uralla Arts wish to thank you all for supporting the event and look forward to your interest when the Prize is run again.

Uralla as a Centre for Arts

Uralla Arts and the Uralla community have a long history of promotion of the visual arts. Many of you will have seen the first of the nine pieces of the “Constellations of the South” sculpture project as you drive by “The Glen”, a park at the northern entry to Uralla on the New England Highway. It is already home to classic sculptures by local artists Carl Merten and Joan Relke and the New Zealand sculptor Peter Booth.

The Uralla Arts Garden Sculpture Prize is designed to extend Uralla’s public display of visual art and has been launched to enrich our town with new and creative works.