Each year a Western Australian artist is chosen to create the commemorative pieces for the winning partnerships recognised in the Western Australian Business and the Arts Partnership Awards (WABAPA). In 2007 Eve Arnold, Felicity Peters and Pippin Drysdale created the pieces that now adorn the offices and boardrooms of the six winning partnerships and the business and arts leaders.

The artist who has created the unique commemorative pieces for WABAPA 2008 is Britt Salt. Britt’s work was chosen because her pieces embody the innovation and synergy that is demonstrated in the partnerships that will be recognised at the Awards.

Using transparent material such as aluminium mesh and perspex, the drawn and printed images of these works merge and separate. An indivisible space is experienced between the layers of each work. The images within them are constantly created and recreated when the viewer moves around them. The theme for WABAPA 2008 is Transformation and Renewal and these pieces encompass this concept.

Britt says what is the most interesting thing about working with mesh and perspex is their ability to form movement, be it on a two-dimensional surface, or a within a three-dimensional structure. She points out that as the mesh is layered upon itself, more lines jump into action, flickering across the surface.

The challenging part of working with these kinds of mediums Britt says is contorting her body inside the folds she is making as she twists the mesh into a sculptural form.

Britt’s work has recently been acquired by Artbank, a not-for-profit organisation that buys Australian artworks and makes them available to corporations, government agencies and departments and private individuals to rent. The money made through renting out art work is then used to buy more works by Australian artists. Being part of Artbank’s acquisitions is an exciting way for an artist to expand their audience and be recognised by individuals that may not otherwise see their work.

Britt has exhibited in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne and has also been named as a finalist in the Bankwest Contemporary Art Award, the ABN Amro Emerging Artist Award and the New Design Award.

In 2008 Britt was awarded a Development Grant by the Department of Culture and the Arts to create new works for her first solo exhibition in Melbourne at Helen Gory Galerie from 16 October- 12 November. This year she has also been nominated as one of Australia’s Most Collectable Artists by Australian Art Collector Magazine.

When asked where Britt would like to take her art in ten year’s time she said

“I want to complete an overseas residency developing my practice in Berlin and have been considering ways to create a series of monumental architectural structures that people interact with as they move through them. I’d love to be able to collaborate with architects both Australian and international to create spaces that hover between architecture and art.”

The 15^th anniversary of the Western Australian Business and the Arts Awards will be celebrated on Friday 24 October at the Art Gallery of Western Australia followed by an artistic showcase at the Western Australian Museum.

The Awards will recognise six business-arts partnerships that have demonstrated innovation in their collaborative ventures. One of these winning partnerships will receive the special honour of the Minister’s Award for the Most Outstanding Partnership. Two leaders will also be recognised from the business and arts sectors for their long-term commitment, leadership and advocacy in culture and arts in WA.

For more information on the Western Australian Business and the Arts Partnership Awards and where to purchase tickets go to www.dca.wa.gov.au/wabapa