Hilary Peterson announced as the Joyce Spencer Textiles Fellowship Recipient

The Cad Factory, Western Riverina Arts and the Spencer Family are delighted to announce that Hilary Peterson from Pambula, on Yuin country in the South Coast, has been awarded the 2021 Joyce Spencer Textiles Fellowship.

The Joyce Spencer Fellowship is an initiative that supports textile artists based in regional NSW to develop and present new work. The $4000 fellowship will be used for Hilary to present a new exhibition in 2022 at the Spiral Gallery, Bega.

Hilary has been a practicing artist for over twenty years combining painting, drawing, printing, dyeing and stitching. Her career began as a textile designer, and in 2002 she made the move into creative practice combining her textiles knowledge with deeper philosophical concerns around our inter-connectivity to the landscape and place. Hilary often uses natural dyeing in her work to attach what she is making to place, and fixing it within time.

Sarah McEwan from the Cad Factory explains, “What the panel appreciated about Hilary’s application was her deep, ongoing and sophisticated engagement with textiles. Her exhibition exploring the ecologies of the Pambula Wetlands captured our imaginations. We can’t wait to see how Hilary will visually bring together her research into local plants, animals, environmental activism and how humans have shown continuing care for the wetlands from ancient Yuin times to now.”

“I am thrilled to be the recipient of the Joyce Spencer Textile Fellowship and grateful for her bequest that will allow me the time to produce a cohesive body of textile work that also expresses my wider environmental concerns and interest in wetlands. I am inspired by Joyce’s creativity, commitment to innovation and sharing through teaching and hope to further her legacy,” reflected Hilary.

Aanya Whitehead, Executive Director, Western Riverina Arts said that, “it is significant to move into the second year of the Joyce Spencer Fellowship and be able to support another outstanding regional artist to pursue a body of work that contributes significantly to the cultural landscape of this artform.”

Joyce Spencer (1928–2019) was an active artist and craft practitioner throughout her lifetime, having created a large body of artwork, teaching hundreds of workshops, and writing five bestselling craft books. The Fellowship is in honour of Joyce’s lifelong connection to regional making and living, both in the Southern Highlands and Narrandera. Her family and community are committed to keeping the spirit of Joyce alive through this Fellowship.

Images: Australian Sojourn (detail), 2019, Hilary Peterson
Plant dye, sublistatic printing, etching, stencilling, ochre, acrylic, stitching, cotton and poly cotton fabric Photographer: Hilary Peterson

Garden Book (detail), 2018, Hilary Peterson
Plant dye, stencilling, ochre, acrylic, stitching, cotton fabric
Photographer: Hilary Peterson

Hilary Peterson. Image courtesy of the artist.

Gallery view of Boardwalk, 2012, ANCA Gallery ACT
Photographer: Hilary Peterson

For interviews and more details please contact Sarah McEwan, sarah@cadfactory.com.au or 0405 447 490