http://www.fuseglassprize.com/news/

The judges reviewed 78 high quality and diverse entries from across Australia and New Zealand. The winner of the FUSE Glass Prize Established Artist Category will receive a $20,000 cash prize, with the winner of the David Henshall Emerging Artist Prize receiving a $2,500 cash prize plus a professional development opportunity at JamFactory valued at $2,500.

The finalists for the 2020 FUSE Glass Prize are:

FUSE GLASS PRIZE
ESTABLISHED ARTIST CATEGORY:
Kate Baker (NSW)
Clare Belfrage (SA)
Penny Byrne (VIC)
Cobi Cockburn (NSW)
Nadège Desgenétez (ACT)
Wendy Fairclough (SA)
Marcel Hoogstad Hay (SA)
Jeremy Lepisto ( NSW)
Madeline Prowd (SA)
Yusuke Takemura  (NSW)
Hiromi Tango (NSW)
Kathryn Wightman (NZ)

FUSE GLASS PRIZE
DAVID HENSHALL EMERGING ARTIST PRIZE
Hamish Donaldson (SA)
Billy James Crellin and Bastien Thomas (VIC)
Alexandra Hirst (SA)
Erica Izard (NSW)
Ayano Yoshizumi (SA)
Madisyn Zabel (ACT)

The exhibition of finalist’s works was shown at JamFactory from 6 July to 20 September 2020 with a comprehensive digital showcase of the work, profiles of the artists and the aim to reopen to the public part way through this period. The exhibition is then scheduled to tour to the Austrlaian Design Centre from 9 October to 18 November 2020.

The 2020 FUSE Glass Prize judges are Justine Olsen, Curator of Decorative Art and Design at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington; Eva Czernis-Ryl, Curator at Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, Sydney; Robert Cook, Curator of 20th Century Art at Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth; Jessica Loughlin, 2018 FUSE Glass Prize Winner and Brian Parkes, Chief Executive Officer at JamFactory, Adelaide.

Parkes says of the judging process that, ‘the judges were thrilled to see so many leading artists from across Australia and New Zealand enter this year. With the current travel restrictions in place, a robust and lengthy video conference was required to make the very tough decisions to arrive at just twelve established and six emerging finalists.’

Established in 2016, the biennial FUSE Glass Prize is supported in 2020 by founding donors for the prize, Jim and Helen Carreker along with Susan Armitage, the Hon Diana Laidlaw AM, Sonia Laidlaw, David McKee AM, Pam McKee, Trina Ross, and additional anonymous donors. The David & Dulcie Henshall Foundation have also generously supported the Emerging Artist Category of FUSE through the David Henshall Emerging Artist Prize.

The FUSE Glass Prize is also supported through cash and in-kind sponsorships from the South Australian Tourism Commission, The Louise luxury accommodation in the Barossa, the Mayfair Hotel, Pitcher Partners, Seppeltsfield Wines and Canvas Group. Together these donors and sponsors have contributed all funds for the prizes, marketing and program costs, enabling JamFactory to continue to present Australasia’s richest prize for glass, and one of the world’s premier recognitions for artists working in this dynamic and seductive medium.