Pamela Lofts

Last updated • 5 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Pamela Lofts (9 August 1949 – 4 July 2012), also known as Pam Lofts, was an Australian children's book illustrator and exhibiting artist based in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. She is best remembered as the illustrator of the Australian classic children's books, Wombat Stew by Marcia Vaughan and Koala Lou by Mem Fox. [1] Although known for her book illustrations, she was also a photographer, painter, and sculptor.

Contents

Biography

Lofts was one of two children born to Dorothy and Rory Lofts. [2]

Lofts first moved to Alice Springs in 1980. [3] In response to a lack of contemporary arts activity in Alice Springs, she and four other local artists, established an artists-run initiative called Watch This Space in 1993. [4] Lofts became its first coordinator. [5]

During the 1980s, Lofts illustrated some of Australia's best known children's books, including Marcia Vaughan's Wombat Stew in 1985 which has been widely translated and inspired a series of children's road safety posters in New South Wales. It has also been voted the most popular book in the children's book awards' KOALA Hall of Fame with 13 nominations. [6] She also worked closely with children's author Mem Fox, illustrating Koala Lou, Hunwick's Egg and Sail Away: The Ballad of Skip and Nell.

Lofts was a successful exhibiting artist in the mediums of drawing, painting and performance who had 27 solo shows across Australia from 1992 to 2002 and was also represented in almost 70 group exhibitions including four Togart Contemporary Art Award exhibitions. [5] [7] She was also visiting artist at the Australian National University's National Institute for the Arts in 2002. [8] Her work is held in the collection of Araluen Arts Centre. [9]

Lofts died 4 July 2012, [10] having had Motor Neurone Disease for two years. [11]

Selected works

Books

Artwork

Lofts' work is held in the following permanent collections:

Her (created with Pip McManus) sculpture Storyleaves is displayed in the Public Art Precint, Alice Springs Airport. [16]

Awards

Exhibitions

Legacy

Following her death Lofts made a bequest to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, which is funded by the royalties from her books, and this bequest has already resulted in The Yirara Mix Book, [22] written and illustrated by students of Yirara College in Alice Springs. [23]

Watch This Space's annual Lofty Awards, which recognise an individual's contribution to the arts in Alice Springs ("The Pam Lofts Award for High Endeavour in Central Australian Contemporary Art" [24] ), are named after her. [25] [26]

Institutions that hold ephemera relating to Lofts include the State Library of Victoria, [27] and the Art Gallery of NSW. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Springs</span> Town in the Northern Territory, Australia

Alice Springs, is the third-largest town in the Northern Territory, Australia. The name Alice Springs was given by surveyor William Whitfield Mills after Alice, Lady Todd, wife of the telegraph pioneer Sir Charles Todd. Known colloquially as 'The Alice' or simply 'Alice', the town is situated roughly in Australia's geographic centre. It is nearly equidistant from Adelaide and Darwin.

<i>Blinky Bill</i> Childrens book by Dorothy Wall

Blinky Bill is an anthropomorphic koala and children's fictional character created by author and illustrator Dorothy Wall. The character of Blinky first appeared in Brooke Nicholls' 1933 book, Jacko – the Broadcasting Kookaburra, which was illustrated by Wall. Wall then featured Blinky Bill in a series of her own books, including Blinky Bill: The Quaint Little Australian, Blinky Bill Grows Up, and Blinky Bill and Nutsy. The books are considered quintessential Australian children's classics, and have never been out of print in Australia.

Sally Jane Morgan is an Australian Aboriginal author, dramatist, and artist. Her works are on display in numerous private and public collections in Australia and around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mutitjulu</span> Town in the Northern Territory, Australia

Mutitjulu is an Aboriginal Australian community in the Northern Territory of Australia located at the eastern end of Uluṟu. It is named after a knee-shaped water-filled rock hole at the base of Uluṟu, and is located in the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Its people are traditional owners and joint managers of the park with Parks Australia. At the 2011 census, Mutitjulu had a population of 296, of which 218 (71.2%) were Aboriginal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Araluen Cultural Precinct</span>

The Araluen Cultural Precinct, formerly the Araluen Centre for Arts & Entertainment, in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia, is a cultural precinct which includes the Araluen Arts Centre, the Museum of Central Australia, Central Australian Aviation Museum, Kookaburra Memorial, Yeperenye Sculpture, Central Craft, a cafe, and Aboriginal sacred sites.

Kintore is a remote settlement in the Kintore Range of the Northern Territory of Australia about 530 km (330 mi) west of Alice Springs and 40 km (25 mi) from the border with Western Australia. It is also known as Walungurru, Walangkura, and Walangura.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mem Fox</span> Australian academic and childrens writer

Merrion Frances Fox AM is an Australian writer of children's books and an educationalist specialising in literacy. Fox has been semi-retired since 1996, but she still gives seminars and lives in Adelaide, South Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Freeman</span> Australian writer

Pamela Freeman is an Australian author of books for both adults and children. Most of her work is fantasy but she has also written mystery stories, science fiction, family dramas and non-fiction. Her first adult series, the Castings Trilogy is published globally by Orbit Books. She is best known in Australia for the junior novel Victor’s Quest and an associated series, the Floramonde books, and for The Black Dress: Mary MacKillop’s Early Years, which won the NSW Premier's History Prize in 2006.

Yanggarriny Wunungmurra (1932–2003) was an artist, yidaki player and leader of the Dhalwangu clan of the Yolngu people of northeast Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia.

Deborah Mary Niland is a New Zealand–born Australian artist, known as a writer and illustrator of children's books. Some of her most popular books include Annie's Chair, When The Wind Changed, Mulga Bill's Bicycle, and Chatterbox. In 2006 she won The Children's Book of the Year – Early Childhood, with her book Annie's Chair.

<i>Possum Magic</i> 1983 picture book by Mem Fox

Possum Magic is a 1983 children's picture book by Australian author Mem Fox, and illustrated by Julie Vivas. It concerns a young female possum, named Hush, who becomes invisible and has a number of adventures. In 2001, a film was made by the American company Weston Woods and narrated by the author.

Kerry Argent is an Australian illustrator of children's books.

Dolly Nampijinpa Daniels (1936–2004) was an Australian Aboriginal ritual leader, Warlipiri speaker, renowned artist, and land -rights advocate for the Warlipiri people of the Northern Territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Honey</span> Australian writer (born 1947)

Elizabeth Madden Honey is an Australian children's author, illustrator and poet, best known for her picture books and middle-grade novels. Her books have been published internationally. She lives in Richmond, Melbourne.

<i>Wombat Divine</i> 1995 childrens book by Mem Fox

Wombat Divine is a 1995 Christmas-themed children's fiction book written by Australian author Mem Fox and illustrated by Kerry Argent. The book, written for children aged three years and above, tells the story of a young wombat who fears he will not be given a part in this year's Nativity play, but is delighted in the end to be chosen for the part of the Christ Child. A 21st anniversary edition of the book was published in 2016.

Alison Alder is an artist working predominantly within screen-printing media, technology-based works and "constructed environments" to explore social issues in Australia, including Indigenous Australian communities, and other organisations. She co-founded the Megalo International Silkscreen Collective with a collective of activists including Colin Little, the founder of earthworks Poster Collective, in 1980.

Kieran Finnane is a journalist and writer based in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. She is one of the founding journalists of Alice Springs News and has written non-fiction books.

Pantjiti Mary McLean is a Ngaatjajarra Aboriginal Australian artist.

<i>Hunwicks Egg</i> 2005 childrens book by Mem Fox and Pamela Lofts

Hunwick's Egg is a 2005 children's picture book by Mem Fox and illustrated by Pamela Lofts. It is about a bilby who finds an egg and after taking care of it comes to realise that is actually a rock, but continues to look after it just the same.

Jan Dunn born in Springvale, Victoria, Australia, was a potter, ceramicist and teacher.

References

  1. ↑ Reading, Better. "Pamela Lofts". BETTER READING. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  2. ↑ "Pamela LOFTS Death Notice". Sydney Morning Herald. 13 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  3. ↑ "Pamela Lofts, 1949 – 2012 – Alice Springs News" . Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  4. ↑ "Our History". Watch This Space. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  5. 1 2 Mcmanus, Pip. "An artist for our place and time – Alice Springs News" . Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  6. ↑ "Hall of Fame". KOALA. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "pam lofts | eyeline contemporary art magazine australia". www.eyelinepublishing.com. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  8. ↑ Lofts, Pam; Australian National University. National Institute of the Arts. School of Art (2002), What am I doing here, Australian National University, National Institute of the Arts, School of Art, retrieved 17 January 2020
  9. ↑ "Pamela Lofts | Araluen Arts Centre". araluenartscentre.nt.gov.au. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  10. ↑ Sleath, Emma (5 July 2012). "Alice arts identity dies". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  11. ↑ "Pamela Lofts". www.penguin.com.au. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  12. ↑ "Mightbe Somewhere (from the Threshold series)". araluenartscentre.nt.gov.au. Araluen Arts Centre. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  13. ↑ "NCACL Art Project Artist:Pamela Lofts" (PDF). www.ncacl.org.au. Compiled by Max Brown. National Centre for Australian Children's Literature. December 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. ↑ "NCACL Art Project Artist:Pamela Lofts" (PDF). www.ncacl.org.au. Compiled by Max Brown. National Centre for Australian Children's Literature. December 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. ↑ "NCACL Art Project Artist:Pamela Lofts" (PDF). www.ncacl.org.au. Compiled by Max Brown. National Centre for Australian Children's Literature. March 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  16. ↑ Chris Raja (May 2011). "Northern Territory: Sculpture Takes Flight". Art Monthly Australasia. No. 239. Art Monthly Australia. p. 60. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Pamela Lofts: Awards for Works". austlit.edu.au. AustLit . Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  18. ↑ "YABBA Hall of Fame". yabba.org.au. Young Australians Best Book Awards Council. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  19. ↑ Kieran Finnane (15 March 2012). "Antics and elegy guide tour into a bright land of shifting shadows and memories". Alice Springs News. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  20. ↑ "Old Stories Our Stories Now Stories". mutualart.com. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  21. ↑ Sally Priorar (11 April 2018). "Capital Life: Goldmine at Gorman". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  22. ↑ Murphy, Dan. "Bequest yields first book and 'a true message to Australia' – Alice Springs News" . Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  23. ↑ Abbott, Anne Marie; Armstrong, Melton; et al. (2015), "The Yirara mix book [catalogue entry]", Trove , Indigenous Literacy Foundation, ISBN   978-0-9924780-5-6
  24. ↑ "The Annual Lofty Awards". Watch This Space. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  25. ↑ "Artist remembered in annual award night – Alice Springs News" . Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  26. ↑ "The Annual Lofty Awards". Watch This Space. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  27. ↑ Pamela Lofts: Australian Art and Artists file, 2008, retrieved 31 March 2022– via Trove
  28. ↑ Pamela Lofts: Australian Art and Artists file, 1992, retrieved 31 March 2022– via Trove
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.