Litterarty Judge

 

Dr. John Dahlsen - Environmental Artist, Ocean Lovers Festival Ambassador

 

John was the featured artist at the Inaugural Ocean Lovers Festival in 2019 with a 20-year retrospective exhibition. He is a lecturer, Higher Education Bachelor of Visual Arts, School of Visual Art, University of Canberra Southbank

 

John won Australia’s oldest art award, the prestigious Wynne Prize in 2000 and was a finalist in 2003 and 2004. In 2006 he was a finalist in the Sulman Award. He has won other significant art awards including at the 2003 Florence Biennial. 

For 25 years he has had solo and group exhibitions in Australia, the USA and Europe. John was appointed "Cultural Ambassador" for Friends of the United Nations, on World Environment Day June 6th 2011

 

 “The Inaugural ‘Litterarty’ award and exhibition entries are commendable and set an exciting and very good benchmark for this event.
 

I am aware of the issues inherent with the materials used to create this art. The students have responded with some excellent aesthetic resolutions to their works. Examples include the sophisticated entry by Adena Sheps from The Emanuel School (Y12) and Synyee Hong from Sydney Girls High (Yr 10).

 

South Coogee Year 2 and South Coogee Kindy also presented resolved works, which exhibited both some humour and activist statement simultaneously. The submission Sea Sick by the Bondi Beach School, of large plastic sheeting with floating bottles and debris attached underneath, is a very interesting and developed concept.
 

There is a broad spectrum of flavours and indeed levels of success with the works that have been entered this year and I congratulate all schools for their participation.”