Winner of the 15th annual Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Program Announced

Melbourne artist Elyse De Valle has been announced as this year’s winner of the Australia Glenfiddich Artists in Residence Program.

Now in its fifteenth year, the program offers Australian and New Zealand artists the chance to win a prize worth over 20K, including a three-month residence to live and work at The Glenfiddich Distillery near the historic town of Dufftown, Scotland.

This year’s prize winner was selected by an assembly of judges made up of Sydney Contemporary Advisory Council members Evan Williams, Dr. Gene Sherman, Mark Hughes, Groups Fair Director Barry Keldoulis and actress Rachel Griffiths.

The judges narrowed the entries down to five finalists, and De Valle took first place following a final tally of votes and a concluding round of judging by Artist in Residence Program Curator Andy Fairgrieve.

“It was the craft and skill of Elyse’s talent that won the day,” says Fairgrieve, “I am sure her practice is one that will be fully appreciated by the skilled crafts persons who work at Glenfiddich and for her part I know the exposure to the historic architecture of Scotland will feed and inspire her residency.“

Fairgrieve has mentored more than 100 artists through the distillery doors, each one of them always interpreting the distillery with their own unique view.

A Melbourne born and based artist, De Valle is an emerging artist who utilises materials and sites to express the conceptual concerns of her practice. “Memory and narrative play a key role in my work and I hope to share some great stories and shared experiences during my time there, maybe even over a whisky or two,” say De Valle. “This, along with the extensive archives kept by Glenfiddich, will lead me along interesting paths for my work. I cannot thank the William Grant & Sons Group and the Glenfiddich Distillery enough for this opportunity.”

The residency will take place in 2018 where De Valle will have the opportunity to live and work at the Glenfiddich distillery in Scotland alongside other winning artists from all over the globe.

For more information about the winner and the program visit http://www.glenfiddich.com/.

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