Creative Communities
Supporting Creative Communities reflects Kyamba's values in action: Creativity builds confidence; Cultural participation sparks leadership; Artistic practice fosters innovation and personal growth.
Wangaratta Art Gallery
Each area that the Foundation supports is personally meaningful to a member of the John G and June F Brown family. In the case of the arts, that connection is June Frances Brown. Through June, the Kyamba Foundation's connection to the Wangaratta Art Gallery spans nearly four decades. A founding member of the Foundation, June has also been many things to the Gallery since its establishment in 1987 - a volunteer, benefactor, advocate, artist, and supporter. One of June’s textile works, Gimlet Adventures, is showcased on the Impact page.
Kyamba is proud to have supported the Wangaratta Art Gallery since the Foundation’s establishment in 2017. Most recently, Kyamba has funded the Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award, a nationally acclaimed biennial acquisitive award and exhibition celebrating the diversity and strength of Australian textile art, while honouring Wangaratta's rich and enduring legacy in textile manufacturing, and craft making.
Since 2023, our funding has enabled a significant increase in the prize money for the Award- recognising and supporting the artists who are shaping Australia's contemporary textile landscape. This contribution helps draw creative energy to Wangaratta, and highlights the exceptional skill, innovation, and dedication that defines this field.
You can learn more about the Award and explore the remarkable talent it showcases at: https://www.wangarattaartgallery.com.au/Award.
Dr Cynthia Brown, John G Brown AO, June F Brown OAM
Jemima Wyman was awarded the Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award 2025 for her work, Haze 19, 2024.
The work, a custom-printed Chiffon curtain spanning over 6 metres in length, forms part of a series of ‘Haze’ curtains which, according to the artist, function as ideological textiles. Coined by Wyman, this is a term for textiles that carry political ideas in their fibres, like soviet era propaganda textiles, war rugs, military camouflage and protest attire. At the same time, they’re decorative, deceptive and tactical devices for conflict.
The winning work, Haze 19 is derived from Wyman’s hand-cut photographic ’Haze’ collages, which weave together smoke clouds that occur during global protests. According to the artist “the titles for each work in the ‘Haze’ series list archival details about each individual piece of smoke: the colour, protest, place and date. For Haze 19 the unabridged title is 5074 words long.”
While the artist considers protest smoke as a cloud to be contemplated she also notes: “It’s a warning sign of past, present and future discontent, yet also an empowering reminder of collective resilience and hope for change, illuminating the biosphere we inhabit today.”
Photo credit: Tyler William Parker
Sepideh Farzam, a Sydney based Iranian contemporary artist, was the recipient of the Wangaratta Contemporary Textile Award 2023 for her work Losing Eyes for Freedom, 2023.
The collaborative work was driven by the Farzam’s observation and deep concern around the ongoing discrimination and severe restrictions of women’s rights in Iran. The work is inspired by the recent protests by women on the streets of Iran, following the death in police custody of young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the morality police for wearing her hijab or hair covering incorrectly. As a result, hundreds of people have been killed and thousands more imprisoned for demonstrating against the regime. Protesters have been violently attacked, and 500 were blinded as a consequence.
Inspired by these terrible events, Sepideh Farzam commissioned a craft-woman (unnamed) to hand weave a carpet representing the young women hand in hand. Farzam then hand-stitched waxed threads through each girls’ face to represent the bleeding and blind eyes.
