Armidale-based artist Deborah Page was announced as the 2019 recipient of the Helen Dangar Memorial Art Bursary at the opening of a new exhibition at the New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) on Friday 27 September 2019.
The award, now in its third year, has been established in memory of well-known Armidale arts supporter Helen Dangar (1944-2015) to celebrate her contribution to the region’s cultural life and to continue the generosity, passion and support towards the arts that was evident throughout Helen’s life. Each year the bursary supports a local artist from the New England region to participate in a professional or creative development activity that will assist the artists in developing their creative practice and to advance in their career path.
Deborah Page will receive a $1,500 grant towards the costs of attending a one month Lightning Ridge Residency where she will research the lived experience of female settlers in an isolated, desert-like landscape, concentrating on domestic objects of the everyday.
“The residency will provide access to specialist resources such as archives, collections and museums,” said artist Deborah Page. “It will allow me the space and time to focus on enriching my practice away from the restrictions and pressures of everyday life and working in a new environment will provide the opportunity to develop work and creatively explore new ideas.”
“This year we again received an excellent standard of applications with very interesting activities proposed,” said Art Museum Director, Rachael Parsons. “The selection panel had a difficult task in selecting one project and engaged in a detailed assessment process to make their decision.”
Deborah Page is currently completing a Bachelor of Art and Design at Southern Cross University. She has exhibited at the Armidale Art Gallery and has been the President and a volunteer at the New England Art Society (NEAS). Her work takes components of domesticity and reassembles their representations into large-scale paintings.
“I am honoured and grateful for the support and encouragement by being this year’s bursary recipient,” said artist Deborah Page. “Residencies are vitally important for artists such as myself. They allow artists to immerse themselves in self-directed research and creativity. The bursary will assist me enormously in consolidating my skills while remaining a proud Armidale resident.”
NERAM would like to thank Bill Dangar, the Dangar Family, Friends of NERAM, Packsaddle and the many donors and supporters who have donated to establish and build the Bursary fund.
The New England Regional Art Museum will be next calling for applications for the bursary from artists across the entire New England region in July 2020.
