FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

THE NATIONAL TEACHER-ARTIST PRIZE 2021

A Zart Education initiative

Fifty artworks have been shortlisted from a whopping 760 entries for the National Teacher-Artist Prize 2021 (NTAP).

The prize was established to reward teachers by celebrating the value and quality of their individual art practice.

NTAP aspires to be one of the most important events on the art and education calendar - the only dedicated art prize for educators in the world.

We were overwhelmed by the high quality and quantity of works this year and would like to thank every teacher-artist for taking the time to submit an entry for the NTAP21.

We are very pleased to announce the NATIONAL TEACHER-ARTIST PRIZE FINALISTS for 2021:

Our very own Ms Kathy Grass has been announced as one of the 50 finalists.  We are so incredibly proud of Kathy and her work.  We are so lucky to have Kathy work at our school.  Here is her work.

Kathy:  To be selected as a Top 50 finalist out of 760 entries is a great honour for me as a teacher of art and a creator of artworks. Your children will tell you how passionate I am about art in general but especially needle felting. To have my felting artwork selected and recognized in a mixed media art competition is very special as felting is often just thought of as a craft rather than an art.

My artwork was based on a special photo that was sent to me by a friend in Belgium and it gives me great pleasure to think that the special connection between my friend and her tiny dog has led to this honour…as it encompasses my love for my art and dogs.

Here is the Artists statement that I attached to the artwork.

In 2020 I was sent a photo of my friend and her tiny puppy asleep on the couch.

I was instantly moved by the strength of the connection between human and dog.

I wanted to capture that beautiful moment but also the feeling of love, safety and serenity that the image portrayed.  Falling asleep on her couch in a cosy, warm living room after an exhausting early morning shift at the hospital and having her dogs envelop her in their love gives her the strength she needs to face each day’.

The next phase of the competition now, is to have all the 50 artworks placed on display for several weeks in a gallery in Melbourne. From these 50 artworks the Best in Show will be chosen as well as 7 State ‘Highly Commended’ awards. At the conclusion of the art show they will also announce the ‘Peoples’ Choice Winner’ (You can still vote for my artwork for this category until then).

Kathy Grass