Flinders graduate wins Australia’s richest art prize for under 40s, a Flinders University evaluation helps bolster a Red Cross prison program, and Paramedicine lecturer takes a State representative role.

Graduate wins Australia’s richest art prize for under 40s

Flinders Bachelor of Creative Arts (Honours) Visual Arts graduate Kate Bohunnis won the $100,000 Ramsay Art Prize 2021, the nation’s most generous prize for Australian artists aged under 40, with the work edges of excess.

The winning work is a kinetic sculpture. A pendulum, made from metal and fabricated by the artist herself, swings over a slumped fleshy form made from silicone. The sculpture references divination tools used in spiritual healing introduced to the artist as a child.

The judges were unanimous in their appreciation of the work and describe it as conceptually rigorous and technically resolved with an inventive approach to materials, that speaks to the precarity of our times.

Bohunnis’ Ramsay Art Prize 2021 entry now becomes part of AGSA’s collection. This year, 24 finalists were selected by a judging panel of contemporary art specialists comprised of Wiradjuri artist Karla Dickens, Dr Daniel Mudie Cunningham, Director of Programs at Carriageworks and Rebecca Evans, Curator of Decorative Arts & Design at AGSA.

The works of all finalists are on display at AGSA and you can have your say in the People’s Choice Prize, a non-acquisitive cash prize of $15,000 supported by Lipman Karas, which will be announced on Friday 13 August.

Flinders evaluation helps bolster Red Cross program

An innovative prison health and wellbeing program, run by Red Cross in prisons around Australia and internationally, continues to enjoy success after an a favourable Flinders University evaluation last year.

The Flinders University evaluation found that the Sisters for Change program, which started in Townsville in 2018, led to:

• 15% decrease in prisoner on prisoner assaults.
• 23% decrease in incidences of self-harm.
• 66% decrease in possession of illicit substances.
• 75% of volunteers feeling “not the same” as when they went in, having improved self-confidence and a sense of worth.
• 50% of volunteers feeling hopeful and positive about the future.
• Prison community reported feeling safer and that there were improved relationships between prison officers and prisoners.

 The first cohort of volunteer prisoners graduated from the Sisters for Change program in November 2019. Through COVID-19, existing volunteers supported the prison’s response through educating their community about hygiene practices and supporting the mental health of the women while regular activities and visits were suspended due to the pandemic. Recently, a second cohort of 10 women prisoners graduated from the Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre, which is one of four prisons in Australia currently running Red Cross’ Community Based Health and First Aid Program (CBHFA), with a fifth to come online soon. It is modelled on the acclaimed Irish Red Cross Prisons Program, which won the 2011 World Health Organisation Award for best practice in prison health and has seen a 13% decrease in recidivism rates among CBHFA volunteers upon release compared to the general population.

State role for Paramedicine lecturer

James Pearce, Lecturer in Paramedicine, has been appointed as the Australasian College of Paramedicine’s representative on the SA branch of the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC). The ARC is a voluntary body which represents all major groups involved in the teaching and practice of resuscitation with the aim to promote uniformity and standardisation in resuscitation. James’ role on the SA branch will see him involved with the collation and dissemination of relevant resuscitation material and provide an expert opinion as a registered paramedic on the future development of resuscitation guidelines.

Alumnus joins Premier’s Council for Women

Flinders alumnus Kirsty Mundy is one of six new faces announced in a revitalised Premier’s Council for Women. SA Premier Steven Marshall and Minister for Human Services Michelle Lensink noted that the new Council members boast a wealth of knowledge in business and span across a broad range of fields and experience.

Ms Mundy has over 25 years’ experience in the information technology industry, including 15 years working in regional Asia and Asia Pacific roles. She has qualifications in arts, politics and legal studies from Flinders University and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

She takes one of the positions vacated by six outgoing Premier’s Council for Women members, who included Flinders University’s Associate Professor Lorna Hallahan.