One of Australia’s leading artists, Joan Ross wins the second iteration of the Virtual Reality Commission for the proposed work Did you ask the river?, surpassing the proposals of five fellow artists. The Commission will enable Ross to transform her 2D animations into immersive VR worlds.
The Mordant Family VR Commission, Australia’s first Virtual Reality and mixed reality commissioning programme, was born out of a partnership between Australian collectors and philanthropists Catriona and Simon Mordant AM, ACMI and the City of Melbourne. Its inaugural edition in 2017 was awarded to Aboriginal Australian artist Dr Christian Thompson to develop Bayi Gardiya (Singing Desert). UNSW Galleries in Sydney is now holding a survey exhibition of Thompson’s work, “Ritual Intimacies”, until 14 July 2018, while his VR Commission will premiere at ACMI later this year.
The winners are selected by a panel of national and international industry experts co-chaired by Simon Mordant and ACMI Director and CEO Katrina Sedgwick, and including ACMI’s Chief Experience Officer Seb Chan and Senior Curator Fiona Trigg, author and developer John Allsopp, Curator of Digital Design at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum Natalie Kane, and Director of Shepparton Art Museum Rebecca Coates.
The AUD80,000-prize this year goes to Australian artist Joan Ross, for the development of her new proposed project entitled Did you ask the river?, an immersive exploration of Ross’ vibrant landscapes of colonial Australia.
In addition to financial support, Ross will receive expert advice and support from ACMI in the development phase, as well as a work space in ACMI’s vibrant Southbank co-working studio for the screen industries, ACMI X. Did you ask the river? will premiere at ACMI and an edition will be accessioned into ACMI’s collection.
