Basil Sellers AM at the opening of the 2022 Basil Sellers Art Prize. Pictured with Eurobodalla Shire Council coordinator of creative art development Indira Carmichael, Trish Ellis OAM, Mayor Mat Hatcher and Eurobodalla Shire Council director of community arts and recreation Kathy Arthur. Photo: Supplied.
Philanthropist Basil Sellers AM has always been a keen sportsman and is also a patron and collector of art. A chance connection between these two interests led him to establish the Basil Sellers Art Prize (BSAP) in 2004.
At the time he was supporting a respite centre for elite athletes in Moruya. The then chaplain of the Australian cricket team, who managed the facility, remarked it would be good to have some art on the walls. Mr Sellers wasted no time offering a $15,000 art prize, a considerable sum at the time.
In the early years the competition was for Eurobodalla artists and it was run by South East Arts. When Eurobodalla Shire Council employed a full-time arts coordinator, it took over the prize and extended it to the whole South East region.
The council’s coordinator creative arts development Indira Carmichael oversees the biennial BSAP and has met Mr Sellers often since 2015.
“He is an amazing man, an incredible thinker and he always tells us to think big,” Ms Carmichael says.
“On first meeting him I asked him for his thoughts about the prize. He said he was happy to keep it going as long as it evolved.”
Plans were made to extend the prize to NSW and ACT artists.
“We aimed to create a larger prize with great visibility while maintaining close ties with our creative community,” she says.
In 2019 the Eurobodalla Award for local artists was introduced and in 2022 the prize went national with a $25,000 prize.
Basil Sellers at the opening of the BSAP in February 2019. Photo: Supplied.
This time last year Mr Sellers suggested she look into Krasi Arts Centre in St Joseph on Lake Michigan. Like Moruya it has a busy summer season and much quieter winter, and the arts centre serviced the community very much the way the Moruya gallery does.
“He said they are us in 40 years’ time. See what you can glean from their journey. He kept saying think big while you are there about how you take your work to the next level.”
He funded Ms Carmichael and her supervisor Kim Bush to go there on a research and development trip.
It was an “extraordinary gift” for looking at gallery management, artist support and management, and how the centre managed its money. “By the time we left we had a complete strategic plan for our arts centre,” she says.
“With the BSAP’s 20th anniversary approaching I began thinking about art prizes in a whole new way, with a sensitivity to the realities of making art in Australia.”
An artist herself, she understands how difficult art prizes can be. She went through all their processes and mapped out every point where they intersected with artists, asking how it could be improved.
“We’ve made some fantastic changes aimed at centring artists in our processes,” Ms Carmichael says. “We want to align with their creative principles and ensure they have a good experience when they enter. At the very heart of it is building and maintaining relationships.”
This year Mr Sellers sent two people from the Sydney Cricket Ground on a similar research and development trip ahead of setting up a sporting museum. “He facilitated a meeting to share experiences and we found a lot of common ground. Another great example of Basil helping to build great relationships,” Ms Carmichael said.
Kim Bush, Eurobodalla Shire Council divisional manager community development and participation, Tami Fauver, director of Krasi Arts Centre in St Joseph, Michigan, and Indi Carmichael, Eurobodalla Shire Council coordinator of creative arts development. Photo: Supplied.
In 2015 the Little Sellers Art Prize was established for school-aged children. The kids work to a theme and translate it into a piece of art.
“It’s a great way to bring families into the gallery and build creative experiences from a young age.”
A scholarship was added to the Little Sellers Art Prize in 2021. It provides $2000 to a Year 11 or 12 student to support a career path in the arts.
Starting in 2025, a new collaboration with the Australian National University will support a graduating artist to exhibit at the BSAP and engage with local Year 11 and 12 students about pursuing careers in the arts.
“The BSAP entry fees make those programs and much more possible. They’re a direct contribution to local culture, enabling us to support creative literacy, employ artists, provide professional development opportunities, inspire the community and be inspired in return.”
Mr Sellers made a sizeable contribution to the gallery that opened in February 2019, gifted two Terrance Plowright sculptures and purchased the naming rights, providing the council additional financial support.
“We never cease to be thankful for the support Basil has given,” Ms Carmichael says. “It isn’t just the money but also the opportunity to think about it differently.”
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