Lola Greeno has been honoured with the prestigious Red Ochre Award, for outstanding lifetime achievement at the 12th National Indigenous Art Awards presented by the Australia Council for the Arts at the Sydney Opera House.
ADC CEO and Artistic Director Lisa Cahill said, "Many congratulations to our dear friend and colleague Lola Greeno on this well deserved recognition. It has been an incredible honour to work with Lola and we are delighted to have played our part in bringing her work to the attention of audiences across Australia and internationally".
This marks the beginning of National Reconciliation Week in which we honour all First Nations Australians particularly the exceptional artists that we present in contemporary craft and design.
The National Indigenous Arts Awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding work and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. Presented on the evening along with the Red Ochre Award, was the Dreaming Award for recognition of young people and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Fellowship to support an artist to create a major work. We congratulate all the winners of the 2019 Awards.
Lola Greeno is a highly respected Tasmanian Indigenous shell worker, sculptor, installation and fibre artist. She is originally from Cape Barren Island but now lives in Launceston, Tasmania. With more than 30 years of traditional shell necklace making; the knowledge and customs that were passed down from mother to daughter; Lola is one of a small number of women shell stringers who have been responsible for ensuring the craft is passed on from their Elders and continued to the present day.
In 2015, the Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet recognised Lola in the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women for service to Aboriginal Affairs and the Arts. Her visually captivating creations play a pivotal role in maintaining Indigenous culture and storytelling tradition.
In 2014, Lola Greeno’s award-winning talent in shell-working was presented in Australian Design Centre exhibition Lola Greeno: Cultural Jewels, the eighth in the Living Treasures: Masters of Australian Craft series. The exhibition featured 50 highly visual and textural works, each uniquely championing the traditions and culture of the Indigenous women of Tasmania’s Cape Barren and Flinders Islands. The exhibition toured to 18 venues across Australia including the regional gallery network, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and JamFactory through ADC On Tour, supported by Visions Australia and the Gordon Darling Foundation, finishing in 2019.
The complete exhibition was acquired by the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston.
Lola's work was also part of an exhibition curated by Lisa Cahill and Steven Pozel for the2nd International Triennale of Craft: The Arts - Grounded in Region at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Japan in 2013.
Lola Greeno’s work is held in the public collections of the Museum of Arts and Applied Sciences, National Gallery of Australia, Queensland Art Gallery, Art Gallery of South Australia, National Gallery of Victoria, National Museum of Australia and Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
Explore the exhibition Lola Greeno: Cultural Jewels here
Images: Lola Greeno address the audience at the opening night speech of Lola Greeno; Cultural Jewels, 2014. Photo: Jamie Williams
Lola Greeno, Teunne (King Maireener Shell Crown) detail, 2013. Photo: John Leeming