The Wai Tang Commission has been able to highlight and support artists to expose their talent at a pivotal time of their career. Stacey and I are delighted to continue supporting Australian artists through this award, which honours Wai's passion for the arts and the legacy of her contribution to the Museum of Australian Photography.
Kee Wong
The Wai Tang Commissioning Award is an initiative of the MAPh Foundation as part of the William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize. Paula Mahoney and Janelle Low were the first two artists to be awarded the $10,000 commission, followed by artist duo The Huxleys in 2023.
The recipient of the Wai Tang Commissioning Award for 2024 is Bowness Photography Prize finalist Deborah Paauwe for her work 'The other twin'. The artist will receive $10,000 and is invited to exhibit a body of work alongside the 2025 Bowness Photography Prize exhibition, with one work acquired into the MAPh collection.
Deborah Paauwe states, ‘I am very grateful to be selected as the latest recipient of the Wai Tang Commissioning Award. It is an honour to be acknowledged and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to make new work to be shown at MAPh. I would like to thank Kee Wong and Stacey Wang for their generous support to make this possible.’
The other twin
The Wai Tang Commissioning Award is an initiative of the MAPh Foundation as part of the Bowness Photography Prize. Paula Mahoney was the first artist selected from the 2021 Bowness Photography Prize to be awarded the $10,000 commission and the second in 2022 was Janelle Low, followed by artist duo The Huxleys. Their exhibitions coincided with the Bowness Photography Prize exhibition the following year, with one work entering our significant collection of Australian photographs in honour of Wai Tang’s legacy.
Wai Tang served on MAPh’s Committee of Management from 2018 until she passed away in 2020. Tang’s expertise included more than 30 years of experience in the retail and fashion industries where she held senior executive roles and non-executive directors’ roles in public and private companies. Her commitment to the visual and performing arts was demonstrated through her leadership roles and philanthropic support (and she had a true passion for fashion). The Wai Tang Commissioning Award has been established by her husband, Kee Wong, to recognise and honour her significant impact on the arts and preserve her legacy within MAPh’s collection and exhibition history.
We are profoundly grateful for the support of Kee Wong and Stacey Wang, as we recognise the enduring impact Wai Tang will have on MAPh and the artistic community.
In 2018, to accompany the Bowness Photography Prize exhibition, MAPh launched an annual exhibition series to showcase and explore the practice of a past finalist. This initiative provided MAPh with the opportunity to support, profile and champion past Bowness Photography Prize finalists and invites audiences to delve into their practice in more detail. The Wai Tang Commissioning Award enables the continuation and development of this initiative with a three year commitment to award a commissioning fee to a selected artist.
MAPh’s curatorial team will nominate four artists from the Bowness Photography Prize exhibition to be considered for the Wai Tang Commissioning Award. The final selection committee is comprised of MAPh Director, Anouska Phizacklea, MAPh Foundation Chair and previous MGA Director, Kallie Blauhorn and Kee Wong.
MEDIA RELEASE | Wai Tang Commissioning Award 2024 - Deborah Paauwe
MEDIA RELEASE | Wai Tang Commissioning Award 2023 - The Huxleys
MEDIA RELEASE | Wai Tang Commissioning Award 2022 - Janelle Low
MEDIA RELEASE | Wai Tang Commissioning Award 2022 - Paula Mahoney
