Articles - 29 February 2008

Australia Council Emeritus Awards

I would like to acknowledge the original owners and custodians of this land.

One of the most enjoyable roles I undertake as Chair of the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council is this annual opportunity to acknowledge those in our sector who make remarkable work and continue to improve the working environment for other artists through their commitment to their own professional practice and to assisting and promoting the work of others.

The American President John Quincy Adams said that:

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

He might well have been speaking about our two Emeritus recipients this afternoon, Mari Funaki and David Williams. Both are vociferous and effective advocates for the arts, both are skilled facilitators able to provide the necessary environments for artists to flourish and both are enthusiasts whose passion is transmitted to others with great energy and panache.

The artist honoured in 2007 with the Visual Arts Emeritus Award 2007 is certainly someone who has shown leadership in her field of contemporary jewellery.

The American Philosopher Henry David Thoreau said: "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them'.

Mari has done just that. This Award is given in recognition of her acclaimed metal and jewellery work as well as her role in the promotion of contemporary jewellery design in Australia. These are the firm foundations she has constructed for contemporary jewellery in Australia over the past thirty years.

Mari was born in Matsue, Japan and came to Australia in 1979, where she studied Painting and Gold and Silversmithing at RMIT in Melbourne. She is widely respected for her metal and jewellery work as well as for her role in the promotion of Australian contemporary jewellery through her role as Director of Gallery Funaki in Melbourne.

She has exhibited widely in Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Austria, USA, UK and Germany. Her recent solo exhibitions include Space Between (2006) and Shifts (2000) at Gallery Funaki and Recent Work at the Craft Council of ACT.

Mari's work is represented in major Australian and international public collections including Die Neue Sammlung, Munich Germany, National Gallery of Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, Powerhouse Museum, Art Gallery of South Australia and RMIT University.

I first encountered Mari's work in 2001 because in that year we were planning the OZGold exhibition and seeking advice from leading jewelers and curators from across the country and internationally for their recommendations on artists we should invite to participate. Mari's name was at the top of everyone's list. I immediately sought it out and understood why. Her distinctive works are as Paul Derrez has explained '... concerned with the tension and balance of three-dimensionality, with contrast and complexity, with subtle details and shading effects'. Meticulously constructed they have an immediacy of engagement that comes only through long and thoughtful consideration.

From 2004 until 2007, Mari also worked with the AsiaLink Arts Program on the visual arts advisory committee giving her unique perspective on promoting the work of Australian artists to our Asian neighbours.

Over the years Mari has won numerous awards including the prestigious Herbert Hoffman Prize, twice, in 1996 and 1999.

Before presenting the Emeritus Award for 2007 I would like to thank Marian Hosking, Senior Lecturer, Monash University for nominating Mari for this award.

Ladies and Gentlemen it is my great pleasure to ask Mari Funaki to come forward and accept her award and the beautiful pin made by Marsha Moje.

Well I may have come late to Mari's work but I've known David and his work for over thirty years. I first met David during the planning for the INSEA World Congress in Adelaide in 1978 and even then it was obvious he was a mover and shaker. Importantly David was an artist who came to the task of creating the environment for the arts to flourish with the knowledge and experience of a practitioner. Adlai Stevenson once commented that " ... It's hard to lead a cavalry charge if you think you look funny on a horse', well David had a good seat and lead the charge for better facilities, better recognition and more support for visual artists with great confidence and flair.

He is acknowledged today with the award of the Emeritus Medal for his substantial influence in art education, cultural development and visual arts activities regionally, nationally and internationally as a steadfast advocate for the visual arts.

David is currently a visiting fellow with the ANU Research School of Humanities (RSH). Prior to this appointment he was director ANU, School of Art 1985 - June 2006. Before that he was director of the Australia Council Crafts Board from 1978 until 1985 and a Lecturer at Melbourne State College from 1973 until 1978.

Over the years He has been an active member of the visual arts community, a leader in the John Quincy Adams mode, '... inspiring others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more'. Through his work in promoting collaborations with our neighbours in South, East and North Asia, though his work with the APT Asia Pacific Triennial, with ACUADS, the Australian Council of University Art & Design Schools (Which was NCHADS when I first worked with him on this group. Apart from the obvious reason of showing some decorum, the name was changed in large part because of David's commitment to widening the membership base from the National Council of Heads of Art & Design Schools to include others teaching in the sector).

And the acronyms don't stop there.

David was also chair of the ACTADB, (the ACT Arts Development Board), the ACTCC (ACT Cultural Council) ANCA (The Australian National Capital Artists), Asialink and PHACAC (The Parliament House Art Collection Advisory Committee). He is currently Chair of the Art Monthly Australia Board, the ANU Visual Arts Foundation, and Deputy Chair Canberra Glassworks Board.

As well as being able to remember them all and pronounce them, from personal experience of working with him I can confirm that he is an assiduous member, totally engaged, totally committed and strategically canny in all these roles.

David's research interests focus on contemporary Australian and Asian Art. He has written widely in this field, curated exhibitions and travelled extensively in SE and North Asia, and Europe and is a regular contributor to conferences, seminars, publications and committees on art education, cultural development and visual arts activities.

In acknowledgement of his extraordinary contribution to the visual arts in this country he was awarded the Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters from the French Ministry of Culture and Communications in 2004 and in last year's Queen's Birthday Honours list, he was made a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for his services to the arts as an educator and administrator.

Before presenting the Emeritus Medal for 2007 I would like to thank Robyn Daw, President, CRAFT Australia for nominating David for this award.

The old Chinese proverb reminds us that 'It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness', and with that advice in mind I ask David Williams, the candle lighter par excellence, to step forward to receive his award.

Professor Ted Snell
Chair of the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council