Q&A: Thea Anamara Perkins on her La Prairie Art Award

Thea Anamara Perkins is an Arrernte and Kalkadoon artist based in Sydney. In 2023, she received the La Prairie Art Award for her four works The Graduation, Bondi Beach, The Bungalow and Warren Ball Avenue.

A partnership between the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Swiss luxury skincare house La Prairie, the La Prairie Art Award champions the work of women artists. It comprises of the acquisition of artwork for the Art Gallery collection and an international artist residency. As part of the award, the recipient travels to Zurich, Switzerland and attends the Art Basel international art fair as a guest of La Prairie. We asked Thea Anamara Perkins about this experience.

How has receiving the La Prairie Art Award influenced your practice and career over the past year?

The support provided by the La Prairie Art Award 2023 has had an immeasurable impact on my practice. It’s given me precious time to absorb and generate. Deep thinking about my practice has allowed me to consider what I have worked on, where I am, and given a sense of where I’d like to take my work. It has allowed me to have a greater understanding of the broader context of my work, and to plant seeds for the future.

Could you tell us about your international residency? What were the highlights? 

There are too many highlights to name them all, but here are a few. In a way, I appropriate the language of the Western art canon, so it was interesting to see it in the context of its inception, and consider how I related to it as a First Nations person.  It was wonderful to attend Art Basel and see the scale of the international art scene, as well as  seeing the paintings that I had only seen as reproductions in books, in galleries like the Uffizi in Florence and Morandi museum in Bologna. I also undertook a two-month residency at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris. I’d never done anything of the kind, and it was inspiring to be immersed in the community there.

The La Prairie Art Award focuses on supporting and showcasing Australian women artists. How important is it to you that these opportunities exist for women artists practising today?

There is still a long way to go in terms of gender equity, so it’s important to foster women's voices. I look forward to a greater breadth of stories and experiences that will be shared by women artists.

After a momentous year, what is on the horizon for you?

I’m currently in residence at Artspace in Sydney which is fantastic, and I’m looking forward to working there. I intend to use the time to hone and consolidate all that I absorbed during my La Prairie Art Award residency. 

What advice would you pass on to a future recipient of the La Prairie Art Award?

Lean into the experience and embrace the opportunity – make it your own!

The 2024 recipient of the La Prairie Art Award is announced on 12 March 2024.