Fffuture Fffocused Art Prize Panel Discussion

01 July 2017. Free entry.

Panel Discussion with Sophie Davis, Francis McWhannell, and Balamohan Shingade

Saturday 1 July, 2.00pm

Invited curators, Sophie Davis, Francis McWhannell, and Balamohan Shingade will discuss the work of the four finalists, Cabbage, Salvo Las Vegas, Printo Moorth, and Clarchat Scintal. This conversation provides an important opportunity to investigate the Fffuture Fffocused Art Prize finalists from three different perspectives.

The curators will consider the all-important concept of the future in relation to the works in the exhibition and to broader contemporary practice. This discussion will constitute a valuable contribution to the discourse developing around the inaugural Fffuture Fffocused Art Prize. 

The panel discussion will occur prior to the announcement of the winner of the Fffuture Fffocused Art Prize at the Gala Awards Dinner on Saturday evening.

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Sophie Davis is Curator and Manager of Enjoy Public Art Gallery. She has a BFA in Graphic Design from the Ilam School of Art and an MA in Art History and Theory from the University of Canterbury. From 2014-2016, Sophie was a co-director of North Projects, an artist-run initiative in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Her writing has been published by Art & Australia, Art New Zealand, The Physics Room, Christchurch Art Gallery and Matters journal. She is particularly interested in the relationships between media, publishing, and creative practice.

Francis McWhannell is freelance writer, curator, and former visual arts editor of the Pantograph Punch. He has contributed to a variety of magazines, including Art New Zealand and New Zealand Books, and he writes a regular column for Art News New Zealand. Forthcoming publications include Bitter Fruit: Australian Photographs to 1963 (Michael Graham-Stewart), Painting: A Transitive Space (Auckland University of Technology), and Denys Watkins' Dynamo Hum (Rim Books).

Balamohan Shingade is a writer and curator currently employed as the Assistant Director of ST PAUL St Gallery at Auckland University of Technology. He is a Masters graduate of Elam School of Fine Arts where he was also employed as a Professional Teaching Fellow in the Critical Studies programme (2012-15). Most recently, during the redevelopment of Uxbridge Arts and Culture, he was the inaugural Manager/Curator of Malcolm Smith Gallery, a public gallery for the eastern suburbs Auckland (2015-16). He also holds a Diploma in Indian Classical Music and regularly coordinates concerts in Aotearoa New Zealand.