1996 Nillumbik Art in Public Places Award (installed late 1997). A biennial program that ceased in 2007. The program commissioned artists to make and install public art in various sites around the Shire. Award judges that year were Tony Trembath and artist Peter D. Cole. Susie Kumar has a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from RMIT and Naomi Kumar has a Bachelor of Fine Art in photography degree from VCA. The Kumar sisters designed the sixty meter gently curving bench in response to the topography of the site, Conventry Oval. The sculpture is designed to describe the boundary between the formal oval and the natural creek bank and a considered relationship to the bike track and the river. It forms a link between the activities and aesthetics of its environment. The work is a comical interpretation of the utilitarian public bench. From a distance the bright red runners (the colour of the local football team's stripe) appear to float about the surrounding green. One end of the work is straight and finished. The other remains 'unfinished' hence allowing for the concept of unlimited extension. The 'legs' (steel hurdles) are arranged with a sense of movement and rhythm in sympathy with the activities happening around the work and with the stands of trees in he background. 'Benchmark' also serves as a functional purpose; providing a choice of places to sit to watch action on the oval. Stainless steel, timber (Victorian Ash) and red enamel paint. Sixty meter long red bench that gently curves in response to Conventry Oval. Bolted on top of evenly spaced stainless steel hurdles, four rows of timber runners are joined to provide unbroken continuous lengths. The bench stands on a framed bed of crushed rock (Lilydale topping).N/Abench, sport, wood, victorian ash, stainless steel, public art, ekphrasis2017

Brendan Michael COOPER (13/5/1968 - ) Born Papua New Guinea Arrived Australia 1974. Bachelor of Visual Arts (Fine Arts) with distinction in 2016 Established printmaker and sculptor predominantly concerned with the urban and natural environment, who works with conceptual art and sacred geometry. 2018 completed an honours in Fine Arts with distinction at RMIT, and started a Masters Fine Arts at RMIT in 2019. Three limited edition prints Aluminum etching over eucalyptus transfer on 350 gsm archival Wild Letter Printing Paper brendan cooper, artwork, printmaking

Juli HAAS (26 April 1952- 02 March 2014) Born Melbourne Juli HAAS (1952-2013) Born Melbourne Juli Haas mainly produced watercolours, artist’s books and limited edition prints using the printmaking technique of Drypoint. She often explores the lives of everyday people with her work often portraying the darker side of human nature in an interior world filled with fantasy and absurdity. Themes throughout her work incorporate the use of childhood memory, place and a sense of personal history. Inspiration is derived from observing her own environment, which is then developed into a portrayal of the absurdity and drama of everyday human situations. Haas applies layers of intense and vibrant colour, which also serves to reinforce the narrative element that runs through the work. The psychological drama that informs this narrative exposes the darker side of life, expressing elements of anger, violence and isolation. Juli Haas obtained the following qualifications: * 1994-95 Master of Arts (Research). Monash University, Victoria * 1989-90 Graduate Diploma of Arts (Visual Arts), Monash University, Victoria * 1987-89 Bachelor Of Arts (Visual Arts), Gippsland Institute of Advanced Education, Victoria (now Federation University Australia) * 1971-74 Fine Arts, Caulfield Institute Of Technology, Victoria. Haas exhibited in most states of Australia and participated in numerous group shows. She is represented in most major Australian collections including the National Gallery of Australia. Career highlights include winning the Sir John Sulman prize in 1995 at the Art Gallery of NSW and in 1994 and 1997 the Martin Hanson Memorial Works on Paper Prize. In 2008 her artist’s book A Wife Of Silver was acquired for the Public Art Collection of the Arts Centre Melbourne as part of the Maxwell and Merle Silver Bequest. Career highlights include winning the Sir John Sulman prize in 1995; and in 1994 and 1997 the Martin Hanson Memorial Works on Paper Prize. Framed limited etching by Julie Haas. juli haas, gippsland campus, churchill, gippsland institute of advanced education, alumni

'Home' is a symbol of hopes, dreams, comfort, love, family and future. It is both a place and an idea, nor does it remain in time and space. It can also represent a time of sadness , fear and loss. Through the roller-coaster of the past year, I have used a series of homes belonging to family and friends. Each artwork of home tells a different story about its occupants, their story, and what home mean to them. Sarah CANHAM Sarah has had a life-long love of creative arts and a passion for nature she has pursued in her career. She has a Bachelor Applied Science degree from Charles Sturt University, a Masters of Environment from University of Melbourne, and works in natural resource management and conservation. Studying part time Sarah Canham completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts at Federation University Arts Academy in 2021. Her art is an expression of the awe she has for the natural world, and concerns for the future, including for our indigenous culture, and native flora and fauna in Australia. She also reflects on the current and past women and mother artists who have experienced the challenge of juggling art, career and motherhood, and have been under-represented in the arts community for millennia.Three handbuilt, slab construction, stoneware formsceramics, sarah canham, dvc art award, alumni

These works are a display of my frustration of hour our family were lucky we were not beheaded, scalped, taken away and impaled as a warning to others not to enter farming lands, which had been traditional lands of the Nganyaywana country. The word 'Policy' represents the White Australia Policy, the word "Lost' stands for those lost including hundreds of family members, 'Jobs' asks why Aboriginal people can only find employment if through Aboriginal positions and policies. The number 3 symbolises myself and my siblings, red is for bloodshed, blue is for secrets and black the family history. Patrice MUTHAYMILES MAHONEY OAM Anewan/Nganyaywan/Dunghutti country. Patrice Mahoney is a printmaker, sculptor, weaver, drawer and painter. Her work challenges mainstream and Aboriginal Australians and is profoundly influenced by space, place and country, taking inspiration from nature, environment and looking forward to a time when she can return to her family's traditional country to make work. In 2012 the artist completed a Bachelor of Visual and Media Arts at Monash University’s Churchill campus (from 2014 Federation University's Churchill Campus). The Victorian Indigenous Art Awards 2014 were exhibited and judged at the Art Gallery of Ballarat.This unique edition triptych involves the techniques of intaglio copper plate, pigment, soft ground, open bite, aquatint, spit-bite, stamping, relief, drawing and burnishing on paper. It was awarded the 2014 Victorian Indigenous Art Awards Federation University Acquisitive Award for for work by a Victorian regional artist. Text, colour, metaphor and Aboriginal symbolism are important components of her work. This work expresses the artist's frustration with unjust situations experienced by traditional owners of Nganyaywana country. The word 'Policy' refers to White Australia Policy, 'Lost' the hundreds of lost family members, and 'Jobs' highlights the difficulty of Aboriginal peple obtaining work, especially outside Aboriginal positions and policy. The number 3 symbolises Patrice Mahoney's siblings, with black used to denote family history. The violently splattered red represents bloodshed, with the blue washing across the work obscuring details and representing secrets. The Selection Panel of the 2014 Victorian Indigenous Art Awards made the following comments on the work: 'The selection panel for the Federation University Acquisitive Award for 2014 were highly impressed by this work and applauded the vigorous use of symbolism and metaphor in a well scripted visual composition. The poignancy of connectedness to the past, memory, place and country is palpable and enhanced by the suggestive employment of text and minimal colour. A provocative and evocative work of art!artist, artwork, patrice mahoney, aboriginal, victorian indigenous awards, jobs, culture, printmaking, drawing, policies, lost, victorian indigenous art awards, available, alumni