Mosman Art Gallery's award winning year
Mosman Art Gallery has recorded its most successful year ever following last month’s awarding of the 2016 International Prize for Video Art, which capped a string of achievements.
SYRIA, by Australian video artist Khaled Sabsabi, was awarded the 2016 Video Art Prize at the International Audio-visual Festival for Museums and Heritage (F@IMP Awards). The awards are organised by AVICOM, the International Council of Museums’ Committee for Sound, Image and New Technologies. The work was nominated by Mosman Art Gallery after a successful showing in 2015.
“2016 has been a year of extraordinary achievement for the Mosman Art Gallery – it has achieved record attendances, increased community and philanthropic support as well as attracting national and international recognition for its programs,” Mosman Mayor Peter Abelson said. “Council is very proud of our gallery and the contributions it continues to bring to the community.”
Since mid- 2015 the gallery has received a string of major awards including:
- National Winner of the Museum and Galleries National Awards (the highest award that can be given to a cultural institution in Australia)
- Winner of the Museums and Galleries National Award for Indigenous Programs
- Highly Commended in the National Local Government Awards
- Winner of the RH Dougherty Award for Innovation in Special Events
- Winner of the IMAGINE Award for best exhibition in NSW
- Winner of the International Award for Video Art from the International Council of Museums
The work of the gallery is increasingly being recognised internationally. In September 2016 the gallery’s Bungaree’s Farm project was acknowledged as one of the 28 best cultural projects in the world from the previous year and was showcased as a project of global influence at the Best in Heritage conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
“While we are a relatively small organisation, we run an ambitious program that seeks to harness the creativity of the people and places that surround us,” Gallery Director John Cheeseman said. “Everyone at the gallery works hard to bring interesting and engaging exhibitions and projects to life, and we feel honoured and humbled that our efforts continue to be recognised and awarded on the world stage.”
Community support is also at an all-time high, with more than 100,000 people attending the gallery and its programs over the past year. In addition, volunteers and philanthropists continue to assist council resource the organisation’s many programs including children’s art education and collection management.
The gallery plans to build on its current level of success in 2017, touring and staging major exhibitions and planning events that will engage all members of the community. For details of the 2017 program go to www.mosmanartgallery.org.au