Pip McManus Receives $20,000 Public Art Fellowship

Alice Springs artist Pip McManus is the inaugural recipient of the $20,000 Declan Apuatimi/J Bird Public Art Fellowship, Arts and Museums Minister Marion Scrymgour announced today.

“Ms McManus is an outstanding Northern Territory artist who fully deserves this Fellowship,” Ms Scrymgour said.

“She has been a strong advocate for public art in the Territory during the past 25 years and was involved in consultations for the NT Government’s Public Art Policy.”

Many of Ms McManus’ works are located in and around Alice Springs and Darwin to feature entrance ways such as the Alice Springs Desert Park, the Alice Springs Cultural Precinct and the Darwin City Mall.

She has also worked on several public art projects with Indigenous artisits including the Uluru Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre.

Ms McManus said she was surprised and delighted to have received the Award, which will enable her to continue studying art through RMIT in Melbourne.

“The course at RMIT is one of just a few anywhere in the world,” Ms McManus said.

“While this course offers a broad theoretical and historical understanding of the discourses around the practice of art in public space, it also has a strong practical focus.

“My hope is that I will be exposed to the latest ideas and technologies employed in working in public areas and that I will make useful contacts with experienced artists and other professionals in this area.

“The ultimate goal is to bring this expertise back to the Territory and hopefully to have the opportunity to apply these skills, whether in a mentoring or co-ordinating role, or in the production of newly commissioned artworks.”

She said the Fellowship demonstrates a growing understanding by the NT Government that art in public spaces can be a dynamic and innovative means of engaging people with their environment, whether locals or visitors.

The annual Art Fellowship was named after leading Tiwi song man, painter and sculptor Declan Apuatimi, and J Bird, a prominent Territory writer and passionate metal sculptor who lived in both Darwin and Alice Springs.

Ms Scrymgour said nominations for the second annual Public Art Fellowship would be advertised later this year.