In the 17th year of the Margaret Flockton Award for Scientific Botanical Illustration, our connection to artists from all over the world is keenly felt. 63 artworks were sent to us in February – a larger representation than any previous year. From Norway to Spain, the UK to the USA, Thailand to Bulgaria, 46 artists from 21 countries submitted works in a time before the world paused.
Astoundingly, the total number of entries in 2020 reflected as a 50% increase on previous averages, with countries Bulgaria, Switzerland and Norway represented for the first time. Ink was far and away the most favoured medium for illustrating, with pencil a distant second of the traditional forms, while digital and mixed media continue their slow rise in the ranks.
Due to the unprecedented number of excellent entries this year, the judges selected 4 for Highly Commended awards. The judges observed that, collectively, the 6 awarded images reflect very well the diverse range of styles and media that comprise the body of entries this year. Additionally, in recognition of the extraordinary global circumstances of 2020, the Margaret Flockton Award Committee and the Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Gardens will give $AUD500 for each Highly Commended work in 2020.
The judges observed that, critically, quite a few artworks lacked signatures and dates. Lack of attention to submission requirements created an obstacle for some entries, with file size and file type exceeding standard journal publication recommendations (such images prove timely to download and manipulate for printing in botanical journals). While individual features may have been beautifully rendered, poor balance or confusion of details compromised otherwise lovely drawings.
2020 is a year like no other for us all. At a time when the Margaret Flockton Award Committee would be frantically co-ordinating the exhibition opening and award presentation at the Joseph Maiden Theatre, our international community is in lock-down, our sites closed, venues empty.
To all of our artists, from this year and all previous, we send our most sincere wishes and thoughts, while together we begin to recover and repair our communities after this hard time. May this year’s digital launch of the largest ever Margaret Flockton Award exhibition, with the wide array of botanical subjects, media and styles, be a space for you to intimately reconnect with nature and be quietly inspired to continue drawing, wherever you may be. Stay safe.