Now in its seventh year, the award called on First Nations artists from across the nation to submit their works.
Twenty-seven artists were chosen as finalists by the judging panel, consisting of senior curator Yorta Yorta woman Kimberley Moulton, leading contemporary artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran and 2018 award finalist and artist Penny Evans.
Ms Moulton said it was important for First Nations artists to have a role in national and international discourse on ceramic arts.
“This national Indigenous art award shares with us the breadth of First Peoples creative practice and new ways of working,” she said.
“It’s exciting to see artists that are stepping into ceramics in experimental ways, pushing their practice and materiality, and also artists that are familiar with this medium creating dynamic works that share story and knowledge.”
Presented on Yorta Yorta Country, the award provides a national platform to share personal, historical and deep cultural learnings from artists and Country.
It was created to celebrate the diverse use of the ceramic artistic medium by First Nations artists.
There are three major prizes for finalists to secure, with the Major Acquisitive Prize of $20,000, South-East Australian Aboriginal Artist Prize of $5000 and the People’s Choice Award of $1500.
In addition to sitting on the judging panel, Ms Evans has been commissioned as this year’s feature artist who will exhibit a new body of work parallel to the finalists’ works.
The SAM ICA 2022 exhibition opens on Saturday, August 13, and will be on display until December 4.
The official opening and award ceremony will be held at SAM on Saturday, October 8, accompanied by a cultural program on October 8 and 9 celebrating the artists and the rich history of ceramics within Indigenous culture.
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