The Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award celebrates the diversity and strength of Australian textile art. Building on Wangaratta's long and prominent history of textile manufacturing, and craft making, the award furthers this unique tradition and social history by elevating and promoting the development of contemporary textile practice in Australia.
Winner
John Parkes was the winner of the Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award 2017 for his work, Conflagration, 2017.
The winner was endorsed by the Award Patron Assoc. Professor Liz Williamson from UNSW Art & Design and judged by Anthony Camm, Director Ararat Regional Art Gallery. Camm reflected on Parkes's winning work:
"In making this work, Parkes has engaged in a slow and gentle dialogue with three very different pieces of cloth. He has honored the inherent memory in this material through a creative act of redemption that challenges our thinking about singularity and temporality."
John Parkes, Conflagration, 2017, cotton, wool cloth, cotton thread, hand stitch, discharge and overdye, enamel paint stains, 137 x 125cm. Winner of the Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award 2017.