Sydney photographer Lyndal Irons was recently named the recipient of the 2015 Pool Grant. Irons will use the $10,000 grant to complete her series documenting life on Sydney's Parramatta Road. The grant, for emerging photographers with less than three years' full-time professional experiences, stipulates that the recipient has 12 months to complete the work, after which time they will be given the opportunity to produce their own solo exhibition showcasing the completed photographic series.
For the third time in a row, Alasdair Foster was invited to be an external judge for the grant. In selecting the winning proposal, he stated that Irons’ images demonstrate a skilful eye and the ability to apply a varied approach to image making that suits the kind of diverse subject matter that the project will afford. “This is a timely project, in that the area will change radically in the coming years: Lyndal will be recording environments and ways of living and working that will soon disappear. The project has a very clear focus and locality, with the potential to produce a valuable long-term social and community document,” Foster said.
About the Pool Grant
The POOL GRANT is an initiative that provides $10,000 to an emerging artist for the fulfilment of a single photographic series for exhibition. Founded in 2009, the Pool Grant was created as a means to give back to the wider photographic community. The Pool Collective artists saw a need to support the development of fresh talent in the industry and have spent the past six years sharing their expertise and acting as mentors to each year’s Pool Grant recipient throughout the creative process.