Episode 265 - 2026 Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize Winners - Scott Duncan & Nahum Mclean, Ben Styles and Stefan Lie
Art WankShow Notes
We interview the winners of the 2026 Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize, presented at Manly Art Gallery & Museum in August 2026. Ceramicist Scott Duncan took out the Art category with his work Choice Quality, a ceramic piece inspired by everyday packaging materials such as fruit box cardboard. Drawing on his experience as a chef, Duncan explores cycles of consumption, waste and renewal through his practice. The work incorporates handmade beads created from recycled waste clay, transforming discarded material into something valuable and enduring. In this episode, Scott discusses what winning the prize means to him, his connection to Manly, and his creative practice at Kil.n.it Studio in Glebe. We also talk about the ideas behind Choice Quality and how his work encourages us to reconsider the materials we use, discard and overlook in everyday life.
Scott is represented by Arthouse Gallery in Sydney
We speak with Nahum McLean, Ben Styles and Stefan Lie, winners of the Design category at the 2026 Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize, about their project Motherboard. Designers, researchers and surfers, the trio work at the Material Ecologies Design Lab at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), where they develop innovative materials from diverse waste streams. Their work explores how design can help address environmental challenges by rethinking the materials and systems that shape everyday products. Motherboard responds to a long-standing tension within surfing: the sport's deep dependence on healthy coastal ecosystems alongside the environmental impacts of the petrochemical materials traditionally used to manufacture surfboards. The project reimagines the surfboard by replacing its conventional foam core with a material grown from kombucha SCOBY, offering a glimpse of a more sustainable future for board design. In this episode, Nahum, Ben and Stefan discuss the research and experimentation behind Motherboard, the potential of bio-based materials, and the role of design in creating alternatives to resource-intensive manufacturing. We also explore how their shared passions for surfing, environmental stewardship and material innovation have shaped this award-winning work.
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