Garments the Heroes

Saturday night’s Wearable Arts-Mandurah Showcase at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre (MPAC) added more weight to Mandurah’s growing reputation as a vibrant regional centre for the arts.

 

A full house was treated to a spectacular visual arts display – with work from local and international artists.

 

Showcase Artistic Director Bernie Bernard said the night had been built around the heroes of the night – the garments.

 

The night featured singing, dancing, acting and a cinematic audio visual backdrop that worked to enhance those heroes.

 

“This was the first time I have worked in this space and MPAC is fantastic, as are the local technical crew,” Ms Bernard said.

 

“More importantly the vast majority of the cast for this performance – the singers, the dancers, the actors, were local Mandurah talent,” she said.

 

City of Mandurah Mayor, Rhys Williams, who presented the night’s big award – the Wearable Art Mandurah Artist of the Year said the event was more than a competition, it was also about building community capacity through workshops, events, and school arts projects.

 

“This is a great example of how we are now working at the City of Mandurah,” he said.

 

“Everything we do is about community pride, belief and our story – and being a cultural leader is an important element of Mandurah’s new story. This was a showcase of what we can do and it was made more special by the local talent’s contribution.

 

“Thanks must go to the major sponsors - Healthway promoting the Act- Belong -Commit message, and the Department of Local Government Sport and Cultural Industries.

 

“There was also support from a number of local sponsors – and we thank them for their commitment to the event and the City of Mandurah, “the Mayor said.

 

The winner of the major award for the night – Wearable Art Mandurah Artist of the Year was Jacq Chorlton. Her garment – Sky and Water III featured black corflute birds, inner tube feathers and handmade embossed aluminium fish.

 

“Jacq’s work was a wonderful take on Escher’s illustrations – and innovative a creative use of recyclable materials,” said one of the judges, Paul O’Connor.

 

The 2018 Wearable Art Mandurah winners are:

 

  • Wearable Art Mandurah Artist of the Year – Jacq Chorlton (Sky and Water III)
  • International Artist of the Year – Antoaneta Tica from Romania (Are You Thirsty?)
  • Creative Reuse Award – Suzette Darcey (LacusCurtivs)
  • TAFTA Inc Award – Marie Gallin and Jude Tupman (Patches Off)
  • Gillian Kaye Peebles Youth Award – Kiana Murphy (Life is a Jigsaw)
  • First Time Entrant Award – Alina Stanila (Time Travel)
  • Tertiary Highly Commended Award, presented by WA Fibre and Textile Association – Kirsten Springvloed (Star Power)
  • Tertiary Student Category presented by WA Fibre and Textile Association – Rochelle Pieres (Wild Swans)
  • Avant Garde Category presented by Onyx Hair and Beauty Crew – Larissa Murdock (Gaiascope)
  • Transformation Category – Elizabeth Morley (Takes Grit)
  • Metallic Category – Deb Hiller (Metal Maiden)
  • Youth Award presented by Reading Cinemas – Oceana Piccone (Morphett’e)
  • Powertex Award - Lynn Kennedy ( Iron Land)