2024 NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) Finalists Revealed

Co-presented by Artspace and Create NSW, the NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) is intended to allow artists establishing their practice to develop and expand their career. It has existed in some form since 1900, and 2024 marks the 27^th year that Artspace has presented the current fellowship. Previous winners include Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran, Eddie Abd and Consuelo Cavaniglia.

This year’s finalists are made up of Kalanjay Dhir, Remy Faint, Charlotte Haywood, Gillian Kayrooz, Kien Situ and Talia Smith. Works by each artist will be part of the finalists exhibition at Artspace’s The Gunnery, after receiving mentorship from the Artspace curatorial team.

“My co-curators, Sarah Rose and Yuanyu Li and I, are inspired by this opportunity to collaborate with these six artists”, says Artspace’s Executive Director Alexie Glass-Kantor. “We look forward to seeing how the 2024 NSW Visual Arts Fellowship (Emerging) will find its own form, integrity, and identity as it returns to The Gunnery building for the first time since 2020.”

Kalanjay Dhir is a Sydney-based artist who explores popular culture and myth through sculpture and video work. Remy Faint is a Sydney-based artist whose cross-cultural works adapt painterly abstraction to examine themes of exchange and hybridisation. Charlotte Haywood is a multidisciplinary artist based in northern NSW, whose collaborative works assess biodiversity, regeneration and joy. Gillian Kayrooz is a Sydney-based artist whose community-based works elevate underrepresented voices. Kien Situ is a Sydney-based artist with a practice that encompasses architecture, sculpture, film and installation, deconstructing notions of space. Finally, Talia Smith is a Sydney-based artist of Cook Island, Samoan and Pakeha heritage with a photographic and moving image practice that explores the complexities of culture and diaspora.

“Under the curatorial expertise and mentorship of Artspace, this fellowship program is a pivotal moment for these artists, with an opportunity to develop their practice and present their talents in an exceptional and highly anticipated visual art exhibition”, says Annette Pitman, Create NSW Chief Executive.

The Finalist exhibition for the Fellowship will take place in July 2024.