Cossack, 1997 Oil on canvas Brian Hoey is a former caretaker of Cossack Heritage Town and founder of the Cossack Art Awards. Hoey played a key role in the restoration of many of the buildings within the township and has an undeniable connection with the area, evidenced here in the nostalgic warmth of this piece. Hoey has credited continued growth of the Cossack Art Awards to ‘local Aboriginal art communities and their willingness to become involved’. Still practicing daily and now in has 80s, Hoey states: 'art is a saviour – we need it, and during my time in Cossack, I saw what art can do for people’.