The Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award at Werribee Park was Australia's most financially rewarding prize for sculpture, instituted in 2000, and providing a total of A$145,000 in prizes to award recipients each year. The last award was made in 2008. In 2009, the trustees of the Helen Lempriere Bequest announced that the Helen Lempriere National Sculpture Award would not be made, and the award is now defunct.
Withholding of the award in 2009
In 2009, the award was withheld when a new selection process for finalists resulted in what The Age newspaper called 'a disaster', when an insufficient number of entries of good standard led to the withholding of the exhibition and award for that year. The trustees of the Helen Lempriere Bequest, Perpetual Private Wealth, announced in December 2009 that the award would no longer be made. Rather than being organised under its own auspices at Werribee Park, the award would instead be absorbed into the Sydney-based Sculpture by the Sea award.
The 2010 scholarships
On 23 December 2009, David Knowles of Perpetual Private Wealth announced that the new manager of the Lempriere award would be the Sculpture by the Sea organisation, and that in 2010, the award would comprise three A$30,000 scholarships for sculptors.
Exhibition
Until the award's restructuring in 2009, an exhibition of the finalists was held each year in the grounds of Werribee Park, Werribee, Victoria, Australia. The award was acquisitive, and winners were brought into the collection displayed along the Sculpture Walk at Werribee Park. The local government authority, Wyndham City Council, would also purchase works for deployment as sculptural installations in the municipality. The future of the collection at Werribee Park remains unresolved; Perpetual Private Wealth has announced a separate review.
2016 Jennifer Turpin, operation crayweed Geoffrey Bartlett, embrace Hanna Hoyne, cosmic trumpet & embrace 2 Norton Flavell, just another 2015 Orest Keywan, and the ship sails on Dale Miles, parallel thinking space Samantha Small, stalemate Mk II 2014 Elaine Clocherty, gamma gamma – storm Jock Clutterbuck, oceania cartouche Koichi Ishino, wind stone – the threshold of consciousness 2013 Lucy Humphrey, horizon Francesca Matagara, a to b Paul Selwood, the museum 2012 Lou Lambert, red herring Philip Spelman, tête à tête Tom de Munk-Kermeer, luchtkasteel 2011 Alessandra Rossi, comfort zone James Rogers, hokusai’s child Marcus Tatton, the ruin 2010 David Horton, jarrett in london Matthew Harding, centripetal Michael Le Grand, anaconda
