WAMA Art Prize

2023 ONLINE EXHIBITION IS NOW OPEN

Entries are now open, until May 19, 2023 .   

Please read the Terms & Conditions of the award competition before applying.

KEY DATES

April 1, 2023

May 19, 2023

June, 2023

August 19, 2023

August 26, 2023

November 12, 2023

Entries Open

Entries Close

Finalists’ notified 

Exhibition opens at Ararat Gallery TAMA and online

Acquisitive Prize and Awards of Excellence announced

People’s Choice Award announced


Days
Hours

AWARDS

The Major Acquisitive Prize

$15,000

Awards of Excellence

$2,500 each
(non-acquisitive)

People’s Choice Award

$2,500
(non-acquisitive)

WAMA ART PRIZE FAQS

The WAMA Art Prize is entered online via the WAMA website. An online submission form will be available when entries open. Images of the works being submitted must be uploaded to the website for the judging process.

There is a limit of two entries per person.  Please note that only one artwork per artist will be selected for exhibition.

$33 (incl. GST) administration fee per entry.

For all WAMA Art Prize enquires, please email us at art@wama.net.au

The WAMA ART PRIZE, Works on Paper, is a $25,000 biennial national award in excellence

Inviting a multi-disciplinary range of nature-inspired Australian artists, the award celebrates connection with nature and raises awareness of the importance of conserving our precious, unique Australian environment.

Indigenous artists are encouraged to apply. 

Finalists will be displayed in an exhibition at Ararat Gallery, TAMA and within WAMA’s on-line gallery.

PAST WORKS AND WINNERS

WAMA Art Prize 2021

Exhibition dates:

18 Sept 2021 – Jan 31 2022
(extended to June 30 2022)

0
Entries
0
Finalists

The quality and number of artists who entered the Art prize demonstrates the resonance that the theme of art and nature has within our creative community, with their work reflecting the many environmental issues facing us all.

 Jacky Healy, Chair, WAMA Arts Advisory Council

In the inaugural year, the major acquisitive prize of $15,000 was awarded to Tasmanian artist Melissa Smith for her work Listen Deeply – Lake Sorell.

MAJOR ACQUISITIVE PRIZE 2021 WINNER

Listen Deeply - Lake Sorell, 2021

MELISSA SMITH

Intaglio collagraph print on magnani paper
76.0 x 120.0 cm (triptych)

In Susan Sontag’s essay, The Aesthetics of Silence, she makes reference to absolute silence: coming to an end of mental activity. This state is both absolutely vacuous and completely full…like empty wisdom. In this silence there is an opportunity for thoughts beyond thoughts.

Lake Sorell on the central plateau in Tasmania is an environment that provides a sense of quietness, layered in its own history and stories. Through listening deeply to this landscape, a sense of harmony and understanding can be found.

This period of isolation as a consequence of the pandemic has provided the opportunity for many to experience the beauty and solace nature can provide. There has been an ‘awakening’ associated with such environments where a unique sense of self-awareness is realised that is difficult to describe that in turn emanates a sense of life and hope within our ever-changing world that balances on a tipping point.

AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE - 2021

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PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD WINNER - 2021

Cape gooseberry, 2021

AMANDA BLAKE-SUTTERBY

Watercolour on arches paper
29.0 x 29.0 cm

Physalis peruviana, commonly known as the Cape gooseberry is irresistable to paint. My parents grow these golden delicious delights on their certified organic farm at Bellellen, near the foothills of the Grampians National Park.

It is a South American plant native to Peru, Ecuador and Columbia and part of the nightshade family. After the flower falls off, the Calyx expands, ultimately forming a beige papery husk that encloses the bright yellow little fruit. The papery husk is almost translucent and sometimes shiny, exposing the intricate network of tiny veins and fibres that make up the husk.

For a botanic artist that thrives on detail, I found this to be a fabulous subject. Just the appearance of the pretty shiny fruit, sneaking a glimpse at the world from within its little paper home is a sight to behold.

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