The Rigg Design Prize will celebrate the most interesting object and furniture design being achieved in Australia today. Showcasing seven of Australia’s leading contemporary designers each artist will present a body of work in seven dedicated spaces. This thought-provoking and inspirational exhibition celebrates the designers, their process and practice creating objects of beauty, skill and meaning.
The shortlisted designers for the 2015 Rigg Design Prize include:
- Adam Goodrum (NSW)
- Brodie Neill (TAS)
- Daniel Emma (SA)
- Kate Rohde (VIC)
- Khai Liew (SA)
- Korban Flaubert (NSW)
- Koskela (NSW) in collaboration with the weavers of Elcho Island Arts (NT)
The triennial prize, the highest accolade for contemporary design in Australia, awards $30,000 to an Australian contemporary designer displaying outstanding creative achievements in design production. Established in 1994 and now curated by the newly established Department of Contemporary Design and Architecture at the NGV, the invitational prize will for the first time include designers from across Australia.
‘The Rigg Design Prize is unparalleled in its ambition to champion the value of contemporary design in Australia,’ said Tony Ellwood, Director, NGV. ‘We are particularly pleased to be able to offer this national prize for the first time and through this celebrate the artistic and creative contribution of design on the Australian culture. ‘
The exhibition is an opportunity for audiences to explore and engage with contemporary Australian design that inspires, delights and challenges. Working across different materials, mediums and object types, the seven designers will each present a new work for consideration. The NGV is honoured to announce two of the biggest names in the contemporary design world – Gijs Bakker and Wava Carpenter – as judges for the 2015 Rigg Design Prize.
For audiences the prize and exhibition presents an unprecedented opportunity to enjoy a diversity of contemporary design practices.
The designers’ presentations will appear as both purpose-built installations and collections of new and existing works. The presentation of Daniel Emma for instance will appear in the form of a small dwelling complete with furniture and objects designed by the pair. Visitors are invited to peer into their designed world.
For acclaimed furniture designer Khai Liew the visitor can imagine entering a dark, quiet, sacred space where his finely crafted pieces seem to levitate in the space. Kate Rohde will present a life-sized diorama with an exuberate Palace of Versailles-style dining room of table, chairs and mirrors injected with kaleidoscopic colour and Brodie Neill will present his collection of exquisite one-off and limited-production hand-crafted furniture. Each work while entirely useful as furniture, morphs into an extraordinary object worthy of contemplation.
The prize is part of a long-term design strategy that embeds design within the institution and informs an ambitious program of design and architecture exhibitions and programs. Tony Ellwood added, ‘Design and architecture has become an integral part of the NGV’s thinking across all aspects and platforms of the institution. Our future plans in this terrain are bold and ambitious, aimed at positioning NGV and Australia firmly on the world stage as a leading hub for contemporary art, design and architecture.’
The Rigg Design Prize is generously supported by the Cicely & Colin Rigg Bequest, managed by Equity Trustees. The prize is a legacy of the late Colin Rigg (1895–1982), a former Secretary of the NGV’s Felton Bequests’ Committee.
Past award recipients of the prize include: Neville Assad (1994), Robert Baines (1997), Louise Weaver (2003), Sally Marsland (2006), Simone LeAmon (2009) and Marian Hosking (2012).