Peter Dailey

Image source Artsource

Peter Dailey has been balancing his vocation as an artist with his living as an art teacher for decades. As the selected artist for a remarkable sculptural opportunity Peter is finally free to dedicate himself completely to his art practice and life couldn’t be better.

Philanthropic group, The Syndicate, commissioned Peter to create ten life-size sculptures interpreting the figure for The Syndicate Project II – Apparition. For two years now he has had complete creative and financial freedom to do this, allowing him to cut back on his duties at Midland TAFE for the first time in 20 years.

One of a new generation of contemporary sculptors emerging through The Claremont School of Art, Peter originally sat on a panel to write the three-year Environmental Art & Design course for TAFE and was then asked to teach. This has not been without its bureaucratic challenges, and to say that Peter was simply a teacher of art at Midland is an understatement according to colleagues, who believe that Peter was instrumental in preserving, overhauling and almost single-handedly holding together a unique art school.

Reviewing the impact of such a commitment, Peter explains, “To me teaching is about giving, about fulfilling my social obligation to community, but there was a time when my practice was almost swamped by education. As an artist though, I’d made a pact to my vocation so I kept pressing on with practice.

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