The Ranamok Glass Prize, formerly RFC Glass Prize (or Resource Finance Corporation Glass Prize), was an annual award given to

glass artist Studio glass is the modern use of glass as an artistic medium to produce sculptures or three-dimensional work of art, artworks in the fine arts. The glass objects created are typically intended to make a sculptural or decorative statement, rathe ...

s who live in Australia or New Zealand. The award was established in 1994 by Andy Plummer and Maureen Cahill in order to promote glass art to the public. Plummer and Cahill announced that 2014 would be the final year of the prize.

History

Andy Plummer, a coal industry executive and glass artist, and Maureen Cahill, a gallerist and glass artist, created the Resource Finance Corporation Glass Prize, aka RFC Glass Prize, in 1994 in order to recognise contemporary glass artists in Australia and New Zealand. Plummer, a mining executive, had met Cahill in the early 1990s, when undertaking a glass-making short course at the

Sydney College of the Arts The Sydney College of the Arts (SCA) is a contemporary art school that was a faculty of the University of Sydney from 1990 until 2017, when it became a school of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Until the end of 2019, the campus was locat ...

. Cahill was an established artist, who had created Australia's first glass course in 1978. Plummer was looking for an arts focus to be the beneficiary of funding by corporations in his sector. Resource Finance Corporation went through various changes of names and mergers, through

Whitehaven Coal Whitehaven Coal is an Australian coal mining company. History Whitehaven Coal was established in February 1999. In September 2000, mining operations commenced at the Canyon open cut mine near Gunnedah. Further mines were established at Werris Cr ...

, Eureka Corporation and Excel Corporation, and the prize became the Ranamok Prize. The first exhibition of finalists was held at the Earth Exchange Museum in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1995. In August–October 2010, an exhibition of the finalists' work toured to the National Art Glass Gallery in

Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 57,003 as of 2021, it is an important agricultural, m ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. In that year, New Zealand glass artist Lisa Walsh was awarded the prize for her piece titled ''Across the Lines''. In 2014, Plummer and Cahill announced that they were ending the prize, in part to focus on their own work as glass artists. The final exhibition was held at the

Canberra Glassworks Canberra Glassworks is an Australian gallery and glass art studio in Canberra. The studio is open to the general public to view the glass artists working. Opened in May 2007 by Jon Stanhope, it is the largest dedicated glass studio facility in ...

, before touring to Sydney and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. By this time, Cahill was exhibiting her work regularly, and was running the Glass Artists' Gallery in

Glebe, Sydney Glebe is an inner-western suburb of Sydney in New South Wales. Glebe is located southwest of the Sydney central business district in the Inner West region. Glebe is surrounded by Blackwattle Bay and Rozelle Bay, inlets of Sydney Harbour, in t ...

. One of her works was hung in

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. Plummer had retired, and was then aged 64, and was still working on his practice, planning his first exhibition in 2015. The winning pieces, collected each year by Ranamok Glass Prize Ltd, were donated to the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

. After the demise of the Ranamok Prize, a new prize, the biennial

FUSE Glass Prize JamFactory (formerly spelt Jam Factory) is a not-for-profit arts organisation which includes training facilities, galleries and shops, located in the West End precinct of Adelaide and on the Seppeltsfield Estate in the Barossa Valley, north of ...

, was established by Jim and Helen Carreker at

JamFactory JamFactory (formerly spelt Jam Factory) is a not-for-profit arts organisation which includes training facilities, galleries and shops, located in the West End precinct of Adelaide and on the Seppeltsfield Estate in the Barossa Valley, north of ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Description

The prize was open to artists of any level, and was considered the most prestigious glass award in Australia and New Zealand. An annual showcase of finalists was held, and the winner received a cash prize and the publicity resulting from a major multi-venue exhibition. The award, which was known for pushing boundaries, attracted entries from glass artists of all levels, including established leading artists. The winner was chosen by a board of directors which included Plummer and Cahill. It was an acquisitive award, with the winning piece going to the Ranamok (formerly RFC) Collection. (later donated to

). Many of its winners and finalists went on to become well-known artists, with work exhibited around Australia.

Award winners

References

{{Reflist, 30em Contemporary art awards Australian visual arts awards New Zealand visual arts awards Awards established in 1994 Awards disestablished in 2014 1994 establishments in Australia 2014 disestablishments in Australia