Artists Ryan Lee and Jemila MacEwan have been named the winners of this year's BigCi Environmental Awards.
Part of their prize will be a stay at the Bilpin creative space to complete works as artists in residence.
"This year, we focused on the Australian artists and received a large number of submissions covering many different disciplines: painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, installation art, performance art, video/film making, ceramics, activism, multi-media art, art-science, sound art, dance, musical composition, collage art, embroidery, writing, textile art," said BigCi artistic director Rae Bolotin.
"We would like to say big thank you to all the artists who felt enthusiastic about our residency program and put time, effort and creativity into their applications."
Determining the winners were independent judges: Museum of Contemporary Art Australia director Elizabeth Ann Macgregor; Darug elder, artist and cultural educator Chris Tobin; and Guardian Australia environmental reporter Lisa Cox.
Of the winners, the judges said: "We gave Ryan Lee the award because of the urgency of the situation and the need for art to provide a call to action, which his films invite. Ryan's emotionally engaging and poignant work is a strong reminder of recent catastrophes for nature; it draws attention to options for the future and the need for traditional knowledge to be an integral part of that.
"Jemila MacEwan's application approached a challenging subject with humour and a light touch. She captured the urgency of this point in time with an idea that was refreshing and interesting and which has the potential to draw in new audiences."
Artist Jenny Pollak's entry was highly commended by the judges.
Ms Bolotin said that she looked forward to hosting the winners at the BigCi.
"We anticipate that their projects will creatively respond to the unique wilderness on our doorstep and the current challenges it faces, adding a valuable voice in the fight to protect the environment," she said.
