Dean Cross inaugural Good Initiative recipient

Indigenous artist Dean Cross has been announced as the inaugural recipient of The Good Initiative, a new $20,000 award for a major commission presented by Goulburn Regional Art Gallery.

Launched in July, The Good Initiative calls for artists in the early stages of their careers and who were born or currently live in the Goulburn region to submit a proposal for a solo exhibition at the gallery.

Cross’ solo exhibition will be presented in 2021, showing some of his new works created from and in the region where he spent the early guiding years of his practice. He was born and raised on Ngunnawal/Ngambri Country and is of Worimi descent. His multi-disciplinary practice is informed by his ancestry and he dabbles in a variety of media ranging from painting to installation to present powerful work that expresses his poetic thoughts on politics.

“I am thrilled to be announced as the inaugural recipient of The Good Initiative,” says Cross. “Regional galleries are crucial to a vibrant arts sector – and I cannot wait to work closely with the team at Goulburn Regional Art Gallery to push the limits of my practice.”

Gina Mobayed, director of Goulburn Regional Art Gallery, said they were pleased to be able to support Cross and his work. “Dean is an artist whose work needs to be seen, considered and discussed now. The ideas in his proposal were a vital and fascinating commentary on who we are and what is happening in contemporary society.”

Dean Cross is represented by Yavuz Gallery, Sydney and Singapore.

Image: Dean Cross, Ngunnawal Country (self-portrait), 2020. Pure pigment on cotton rag, 87 x 65cm. Courtesy: the artist and Yavuz Gallery, Sydney and Singapore.