Powerhouse announces two photography commission recipients

Sydney's Powerhouse has announced the recipients of two major photography commissions, the Powerhouse Photography Architectural Commission and the First Nations Right of Reply Photography Commission.

Guwa-Koa, Gungarri, and Kuku Yalanji photographer Jo-Anne Driessens and Architecture photographer Tasha Tylee have each been awarded a $20,000 photography commission, which will see them collaborate with Powerhouse over the next 12 months to develop major new works.

The First Nations Right of Reply Photography Commission invited an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander photographer to undertake a commission that responds to the Powerhouse Collection with the intent to Indigenise, counter and investigate narratives of the applied arts and sciences through a First Nations lens.

Jo-Anne Driessens has developed her photography practice documenting community and place in urban, remote and regional Aboriginal communities over the past 30 years.

For Driessens the camera is an important tool for capturing the preservation of living culture in First Nations communities.

This tool will remain central in Driessens’ commission project as she collaborates with Powerhouse staff, First Nations knowledge keepers, cultural advisers and Country to create an experimental pinhole camera with natural materials.

The Powerhouse Photography Architectural Commission aims to develop new perspectives on Australian architecture and the built environment, with a focus on construction, urban development, housing, infrastructure and sustainability.

Tasha Tylee’s slow, deliberate approach to documenting spaces has resulted in working with some of Australia’s top firms, most notably capturing Naples Street House by Edition Office, the 2024 AIA National Winner of The Robin Boyd Award for Residential Architecture.

Focusing on themes of sustainability and climate, the Melbourne-based photographer will document innovation in architecture and the Australian built environment by following newly developed sustainable materials from their natural form, through to manufacturing, fabrication, installation, and their final use in a completed build.

Powerhouse Chief Executive Lisa Havilah said, ‘Powerhouse is excited to be collaborating with Jo-Anne Driessens and Tasha Tylee on these unique commissions for Powerhouse Parramatta.

These photographers showcase the diversity of Australian photographic practice, documenting our past and present through the lens of culture and environment.’

Both commissions are initiatives of Powerhouse Photography, an industry-led program dedicated to amplifying the profile of Australian photography and lens-based practice.

You can learn more about Powerhouse Photography and the successful photography commission recipients here.