We are proud to announce this year’s winner is Larissa MacFarlane. Congratulations, Larissa!
Larissa MacFarlane. Photography by Suzie Blake.
Through this scholarship, we honour the activism and legacy of our late Chair Lesley Hall. The program supports the winner to deliver a new arts project that challenges disability assumptions.
Larissa MacFarlane is a Naarm/Footscray based visual artist and disability activist. She works across a printmaking, community and street art practice. Her work is inspired by her lived experience of her 22-year-old brain injury. It investigates Disabled culture, community, identity, and pride. Larissa has been exhibiting in galleries and streets regularly since 2006. In 2021, she will create an arts project on Disability Pride.
The announcement was made on the International Day of People with Disability. In her acceptance speech, Larissa said:
“I am very honoured to be awarded this scholarship in the name of the great Lesley Hall. I am also delighted to join a list of great artists/activists who have been previous recipients of this award. In 2021, I hope to channel some of Lesley’s passion and fearlessness into facilitating art and conversations about Disability Pride and Mad Pride; as well as challenging the internalised ableism that for many of us has increased since Covid began.”
We can’t wait to announce more details about Larissa’s project in 2021. Stay tuned!
We received many outstanding applications and would like to thank everyone who applied.
