Painter, sculptor Robert Hannaford receives Ruby Awards for lifetime in oils and bronze
PAINTER and sculptor Robert Hannaford received a double accolade at this year’s Ruby Awards winning both the Lifetime Achievement and Best Work prizes.
AT a mere 70 years of age, sculptor and portrait artist Robert Hannaford felt that accepting the Lifetime Achievement prize at last night’s Ruby Awards might be premature.
“I am as excited by art and what I am doing even more now than ever,’’ he said.
Mr Hannaford has painted prime ministers, been a finalist in the Archibald Prize more than 20 times, was commissioned to paint the Centenary of Federation for Canberra’s Parliament House and has made his mark on the Adelaide landscape with sculptures ranging from Sir Donald Bradman at Adelaide Oval to Roy “Mo” Rene on Hindley St.
“You realise that your contemporaries are talking about retiring — but I feel that I am still ‘on my way’ as much as I ever have been,’’ he said.
It turned into a double accolade for the artist when the new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial at Torrens Parade Ground, for which Hannaford sculpted the figures, was named Best Work.
The memorial, the first of its kind in Australia, was a collaboration with artists Lee-Ann Buckskin, Tony Rosella and Michelle Nikou, bronzed by Tim Thomson.
“Aboriginal culture has always been a fascination for me,’’ said Mr Hannaford, who was also recognised with an AM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours earlier this year.
“I discovered in my youth what had happened to the Aborigines, not only where my family developed the land but all over the country. The tragedy of contact between Aboriginal and white settlers has weighed heavily on conscience all my life.’’
Hannaford, whose wife Alison and daughter Tsering also are artists, is currently working on another sculpture of a local Ngadjuri woman holding a young child for his home town of Riverton, to signify the future of indigenous culture there.
“It’s my hope that it will go some way to restoring interest in that culture that had been around for tens of thousands of years.’’
Mr Hannaford is also working on 13 paintings for a new theatre project by the Big hArt company called Blue Angel, which will be part of the 2016 Adelaide Festival.
This year’s Ruby Awards for SA arts and culture took the unusual form of an interactive installation created by two past recipients, designer Geoff Cobham and director Andy Packer, at the Queen’s Theatre and featured live performances.
The Art Gallery’s 2014 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Dark Heart, and the newly combined Adelaide Film Festival/Festival of Ideas were named joint winners of the Best Event category.
2014 RUBY AWARDS WINNERS
BEST WORK: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander War Memorial — artists Lee-Ann Buckskin, Tony Rosella and Michelle Nikou; sculptor Robert Hannaford and bronze caster Tim Thomson.
BEST EVENT: (Joint winners) Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Dark Heart (Art Gallery of SA) and Adelaide Film Festival/Festival of Ideas.
COMMUNITY/REGIONAL IMPACT (Under $100,000): Sons and Mothers, by No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability. Written and directed by Alirio Zavarce.
COMMUNITY/REGIONAL IMPACT (Over $100,000): Pom Pom: Children’s Contemporary Art Space, Carclew and Playford Communities for Children Plus.
INNOVATION:Adhocracy by Vitalstatistix — a national arts hothouse for experimental and interdisciplinary projects with public programs at Port Adelaide.
ARTS ENTERPRISE: Bowerbird — Adelaide’s Design Market. A self-funded marketplace for artisans and designers to promote directly to the public.
SUSTAINED CONTRIBUTION (Organisation/Group): Helpmann Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts has assisted more than 5000 emerging artists since 1994.
SUSTAINED CONTRIBUTION (Individual): Shane McNeil, for more than 30 years mentoring filmmakers, with the Media Resource Centre and establishing Flinders University’s Screen Studies Department.
GEOFF CROWHURST MEMORIAL AWARD: Bob Daly and Kalyna Micenko. The Port Adelaide duo have created artworks and productions across Australia to help schools and communities to find their creative voice for three decades.
PREMIER”S AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Robert Hannaford.