Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art 2023 Call for Entries
The Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art (NPCA) is awarded every two years and is open to emerging and established artists working in any medium across Australia. The Prize is presented in association with Montsalvat.
The competition includes four monetary prizes:
Open Prize: $20,000
Local Prize: $10,000
Mayor's Award: $500
People’s Choice Award: $500 cash prize sponsored by Montsalvat
The Open Prize and the Local Prize are acquisitive. This means that the winning artworks become part of the Nillumbik Shire Art Collection.
2023 NPCA FINALISTS EXHIBITION
Thursday 20 April - Sunday 11 June 2023
Barn Gallery, Montsalvat
ENTRIES OPEN
Entries for the 2023 NPCA Prize responding to the theme 'Future' are now open.
Please read the Conditions of Entry - Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art - Conditions of Entry 2023(PDF, 881KB)
The NPCA is presented in association with Montsalvat.
Entries close on 14 November 2022.
SHORTLIST SELECTION PANEL
The submitted artworks will be shortlisted by judges:
Jane Trengove - Artist and disability advocate
Steph Noah – Curator, Banyule City Council
Spiro Panigirakis – Head of Fine Art Department, Monash University
PRIZE JUDGES
The winners will then be selected by a separate judging panel including:
Hannah Presley – Senior Curator, Museums and Collections, University of Melbourne
Melissa Keys – Senior Curator, Heide Museum of Modern Art
Jason Smith – Director and CEO, Geelong Gallery
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To find out more about the NPCA, visit the webpage here or contact:
Curator and Collections Management Officer
Phone: 9433 3111
Email: artsinfo@nillumbik.vic.gov.au
People's Choice and Packers' Prize - Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art 2021
Difficult, Arrayah Loynd, 2020, archival inkjet print on cotton rag paper, 21 x 200 x 1cm
Montsalvat is proud to announce the winners of both the People’s Choice Award and the Packers’ Prize for the Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art 2021.
The People’s Choice Award of $500, sponsored by Montsalvat, was awarded to Arrayah Loynd for her piece, Difficult.
Below is the artist statement courtesy of Arrayah Loynd:
”A return to and reclamation of our rebellious nature - of being difficult women that refuse to be silenced.
Difficult is a project inspired by an Emily Dickinson poem They shut me up in Prose, and the way language and words are used against women to silence their voice and quell discussion. The long-term goal of this project is to include a more diverse and intersectional response to the female experience in relation to gendered language and power.”
The Packers’ Prize, selected by Montsalvat’s volunteers and staff, was awarded to Linda Judge for her piece, Our Daily Bread.
Below is the artist statement courtesy of Linda Judge:
”I began to collect bread tags after seeing photographs of malnourished marine birds that had died after ingesting small fragments of plastic. When a Birch tree in my garden died after the drought I combined the tags and tree into a series of objects. The bread tags, each with a use-by-date, are a call to arms for our environment, and a plea to return to a time when consumption was based on need.”
Our Daily Bread (detail), Linda Judge, 2019, wood, recycled plastic, 2 parts: 102 x 50 x 50cm and 80 x 20 x 20cm
Awards - Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art 2021
Media Release courtesy of Nillumbik Shire Council
For the first time, the prestigious Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art has been awarded to a digital artist.
James Nguyen, of Murumbeena, was presented the $20,000 prize for his moving image, The Camelia Economy.
The 20-minute, 29-second moving image tells the story of a handful of seeds given to the artist by his late grandmother on his return to Vietnam.
In Australia, his family grew the seeds into tea plants which they use to trade and swap with community, symbolising the preservation of their culture of storytelling, care and entrepreneurship that has survived war and political exile.
excerpt from The Carmelia Economy, James Nguyen, 2019, moving image, artist’s proof and edition of 3, 20:29min
The Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art is a contemporary biennial acquisitive art prize open to artists working in any medium in Australia.
The winners were announced last night at the official opening of the Finalist Exhibition at Montsalvat’s Barn Gallery.
Georgia Cribb, Director of Bunjil Place Gallery and one of the three prize judges, said it had been immensely challenging to determine a winner from a strong field across a range of media.
“We are delighted to learn that this is the first time that the prize has been awarded to an artist working in a digital medium,” she said.
The $10,000 local prize was won by Eltham artist Nusra Latif Qureshi for Remnant Blessings-1, an acrylic, graphite, gouache and gold on illustration board.
Remnant Blessings-1, Nusra Latif Qureshi, 2020, acrylic, graphite, gouache and gold on illustration board, 32 x 42cm
Forty established and emerging artists from across Australia were selected from 323 entries for the Finalist Exhibition, responding to the theme 'Return'.
Nillumbik Mayor Peter Perkins said this year marked the 17th anniversary of the prize, which was highly regarded around Australia.
“This is a prestigious exhibition for artists to showcase excellence in contemporary art and is a celebration of Nillumbik’s rich artistic and cultural community,” Cr Perkins said. “Council prides itself on being a strong supporter of the arts on all levels.
“Congratulations to the winners and all the finalists for their impressive and inspiring works.”
Sculptor Clive Murray-White, of Dunmoochin in Cottles Bridge, took out the $500 Mayor’s Award for his work, Assisted Suiseki No: 9.
Cr Perkins said, “This striking piece can be viewed from any angle and immediately caught my eye as it is both contemporary and timeless.”
Assisted Suiseki No: 9, Clive Murray-White, 2020, chillagoe marble, bluestone, timber, 147 x 57 x 40cm
The open and local prizes are acquisitive and the winning works will be included in the Nillumbik Shire Art Collection.
The biennial prize was judged by Miriam Kelly, Curator at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art; Georgia Cribb, Director of Bunjil Place Gallery and Victoria Lynn, Director of TarraWarra Museum of Art.
The finalists were shortlisted by an independent panel of industry experts: Francis E. Parker, Curator of Exhibitions at Monash University Museum of Art, Jade Bitar, Visual Arts Officer at the City of Stonnington and Helen Walpole, independent art and museum curator.
The Finalist Exhibition is now open at Montsalvat until 1 July 2021. Entry is free. Montsalvat is currently open Thursday to Sunday, 10am-4pm.
Visitors are encouraged to vote for their favourite artwork in the People’s Choice Award, which will be announced on 15 July 2021.
For more information about the Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art, go to nillumbik.vic.gov.au/npca
Awards - Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize 2019
Montsalvat congratulates the winner of the Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize 2019, MICHELLE ZUCCOLO for her painting titled Augury.
The prize of $20,000 (non-acquisitive), sponsored by Rick Amor, was judged and awarded by Prudence Flint, who commented that “Michelle Zuccolo’s Augury has a striking delicacy in regard to its narrative, rendering of ‘self’ and it’s painterly space. The profile offers the viewer room to swing and move and think about the implied tensions and intensities throughout the work”.
Augury - Michelle Zuccolo
Special mentions were also given to DANIEL VUKOVLJAK for his work Self Portrait, which Prudence Flint complimented for “its candid unrelenting stare and mesmerising completeness in painting application”, along with LIZ GRIDLEY for Isolated Self, TOM PARSONS for Self Portrait with 3D printed peeled orange and BYRON COPLAND for Studio by Door Light.
The People’s Choice Award of $1000, sponsored by Montsalvat, was awarded to JENNIFER FYFE for her work Self in Studio Landscape. The prize was judged by attendees of the exhibition throughout its duration.
Self in Studio Landscape - Jennifer Fyfe
Montsalvat once again congratulates all of the 35 finalists on a wonderful exhibition:
Tom Alberts, Gregory Alexander, Tyler Arnold, Kate Beynon, Paul Borg, Max Bowden, Isobel Clement, Byron Copland, Yvette Coppersmith, Archer Davies, Mark Dober, Lisa Dottore, Graeme Drendel, Jennifer Fyfe, Liz Gridley, Tsering Hannaford, Shane Jones, Kate Kurucz, Kevin Lincoln, Terry Matassoni, Joshua McPherson, Matilda Michell, Michelle Molinari, Jim Moody, Surya Murali, Elizabeth Nelson, Anh Nguyen, Tom Parsons, Petra Reece, Peter Roccella, Jenny Rodgerson, Damien Skipper, Daniel Vukovljak, Li Zhou, and Michelle Zuccolo.
Awards - Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art 2019
Congratulations to the 2019 prize recipients.
Open Prize winner: Julia deVille for As above, so below.
Local Prize winner: Karena Goldfinch for Legacy .
Mayoral Award: Fionna Madigan for Barreenong Rd.
People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Montsalvat: James Barden for Pat's House.
All entries were assessed by the Nillumbik Prize assessment panel, comprising of Kirsten Matthews, Consultant and Board Member, Bundoora Homestead and Art Centre, Patrick West, PhD Associate Professor in Writing and Literature, School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University and Grace Longato, Curator and Creative Industries Officer, Nillumbik Shire Council.
All the works selected for exhibition in this presentation of the Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art are of a very high professional standard. It should be said that this made judging the prize challenging. This is a very good start to this new phase of the award(s) and the organisers of the award and the Nillumbick shire should be congratulated along with the artists represented.
The more than fifty works on show evidence a highly pluralistic arts culture. Within the exhibition, painting, drawing, printmaking. photography, sculpture, sculpture/jewellery, video, sound works, neon and site specific works are presented. Within most of these categories there are modes of significant divergence.
Amongst the three judges aspects of this plurality and divergence of preference and taste was apparent. It should be mentioned however the the two award winners were on each of our shortlists. The decision of the judges was happily and harmoniously unanimous. Our congratulations to all and on this occasion particularly so to Karena Goldfinch and Julia De Ville.
-Godwin Bradbeer
Congratulations also to all of the 2019 finalists: Lyn Ashby, Robert Baines, Anindita Banerjee, Elizabeth Banfield, James Barden, Lisa Bartolomei/David Coen/Donald Gray/Gillian Lever/Josh Peters, Kate Beynon, Aldo Bilotta, Suzie Blake, Julie Bradley, Fleur Brett, Kiri-Una Brito Meumann, Michelle Caithness, Samraing Chea, Isobel Clement, Kevin Chin, Lou Conboy, Emma Coulter, Peter Daverington, Jennifer Dellaportas, Julia deVille, Megan Evans, Anna Farago, Silvi Glattauer, Erika Gofton, Karena Goldfinch, Amala Groom, Sophia Hewson, Martin King, Tracey Lamb, Hayley Lander, Chris Langlois, Kimberley Liddle, Fionna Madigan, Clare McCracken, Leanne Mooney, Eunice Napanangka Jack and Tobias Titz, Naomi Nicholls, Yuria Okamura, Jasmine Poole, Oliver Poppert, Elvis Richardson, Nina Sanadze, Megan Seres, Daniel Sherington, Julie Shiels, Jason Sims, Vipoo Srivilasa, Tim Sterling, Camilla Tadich, Michael Vale, Damien Veal, Carole Wilson, Susan Wirth.
Image: 2019 Winner Julia deVille, As above, so below.
Video: 2019 People’s Choice Winner James Barden, Pat's House. Video courtesy of Araluen.
Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art 2019 Call for Entries Open
Nillumbik Shire Council presents the Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art, a biannual acquisitive art prize open to emerging and established artists working in any medium across Australia. Artworks, responding to the themes of Place and Space can take any form, including (but not limited to) sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, textiles, photography, installation, sound digital, video, performative. The Prize is presented in association with Montsalvat.
Three monetary prizes are applicable to the Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art including:
Open Prize: $20,000 acquisitive
Local Prize: $10,000 acquisitive
People's Choice Award: $500 cash prize sponsored by Montsalvat
Shortlist selection panel
Kirsten Matthews, Consultant and Board Member, Bundoora Homestead and Art Centre
Patrick West, PhD Associate Professor in Writing and Literature, School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University
Grace Longato, Curator and Creative Industries Officer, Nillumbik Shire Council
Finalist exhibition
Thursday 30 May - Sunday 21 July
Barn Gallery, Montsalvat
7 Hillcrest Avenue, Eltham
Prize Judges
Godwin Bradbeer, artist
Charlotte Day, Director, Monash University Museum of Art
Danny Lacy, Senior Curator, Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery
Key Dates
Entries open: 10am, Monday 11 February
Entries close: Midnight, Friday 12 April
All entrants notified by: Friday 26 April
Finalists to deliver works by: Sunday 26 May
Exhibition opening: 6.30-8.30pm, Thursday 30 May
Finalist exhibition: Thursday 30 May-Sunday 21 July
People's Choice Award announced: Monday 22 July
How to apply
Apply online through the Nillumbik Shire Council website here
To complete the online form you will need the following:
Artist CV (no more than one page for each artist)
Artwork statement (max 100 words)
Image or video of artwork (up to two still images, JPG format, no less than 1MB; digital video or sound file formats)
Credit card for payment of entry fee
Read the conditions of entry in Related Information
For more information contact Grace Longato, Curator and Creative Industries Officer on 9433 3131 or grace.longato@nillumbik.vic.gov.au
Article: Jo Lane's 'drawing strength' exhibition
Montsalvat’s current Barn Gallery exhibition ‘drawing strength’ by Jo Lane has been featured in Art Almanac!
Curator Jo Lane, with Montsalvat Arts Manager Jeannette Davison, brings a group of international and Melbourne-based artists together for ‘drawing strength’, an exhibition of works offering up new ways to experience and think about drawing. Once seen as a preparatory phase for other artworks, and at times discarded in favour of finished work, drawing is now recognised as one of the most explosive forms of contemporary art making.
28 November 2018 | Art Almanac
To read the entire article please visit the website here
Image credits:
Top image: James Bonnici, Cavity, 2018, charcoal and carbon pencil on 600gsm paper, 76 x 56cm unframed
Bottom image: Jo Lane, Paon, 2018, graphite and colour pencil on black card, 97 x 71cm
Shinobu Kobayashi - Studio Furniture 2018 Exhibition
Montsalvat studio artist, Shinobu Kobayashi, is exhibiting in this year’s Studio Furniture 2018 Exhibition.
AWR Studio Furniture 2018 is an exciting landmark exhibition produced and sponsored by Australian Wood Review magazine and Bungendore Wood Works Gallery, and presented by Felder Group Australia.
One hundred and five submissions were received from Australia, New Zealand, USA, Denmark and Romania. The works created by 70 shortlisted entrants include beautifully designed and handcrafted tables, drinks cabinets, drawer chests, credenzas, chairs, chaises, rockers, boxes, mirrors, lighting and wall hung cabinets.
The exhibition will run from October 20, 2018 to January 31, 2019 at Bungendore Wood Works Gallery, NSW. All works are for sale.
Awards valued at over $21,000 will be presented at the opening on October 20, 2018 during the inaugural Wood Dust Australia festival. These include:
Bungendore Wood Works Gallery, NSW – $10,000, $3000, $2000 cash awards.
Felder Award for Fine Woodworking – Hammer N4400 bandsaw valued at $3166.
The George Ingham Fine Chair Making Award sponsored by Adrian Potter.
Interwood Design Award sponsored by Interwood.
Emerging Designer Maker Award sponsored by Studio Woodworkers Australia
For more information please visit the Wood Review website here
Morag Fraser AM Steps Down
From 2006 Morag Fraser was chair of the Board of Montsalvat, Australia’s oldest continuing artists’ community. After 12 years of exemplary work she stepped down at the Montsalvat Board AGM on 9th November 2018.
From 2006 Morag Fraser was chair of the Board of Montsalvat, Australia’s oldest continuing artists’ community. After 12 years of exemplary work she stepped down at the Montsalvat Board AGM on 9th November 2018.
Her other achievements are many and varied. She graduated with honours from Melbourne University and took her MA and Diploma in Education from La Trobe University. Her career encompasses writing, teaching, journalism, publishing, literary judging, reviewing, music performance and the dramatic arts.
Her journalism spans 50 years and includes editing Melbourne University’s Farrago, Eureka Street magazine and contributing features, opinion pieces and arts reviews to most of Australia’s metropolitan newspapers and many of its journals and magazines. She was Adjunct Professor in Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University, 2003-2009.
She has been chair of Australian Book Review, a member of the Victorian Law Foundation board, and chair of the John Button Prize judging panel. She was for seven years one of the judges of the Miles Franklin Literary award and from 2009 to 2011 she judged of the Mildura Festival’s Philip Hodgins Memorial Prize. She was a member of the advisory board of the Adelaide Festival of Ideas, 1999–2007 and chair of the Melbourne Writers Festival for three years.
In 2004 she was made a Member of the Order of Australia, for services to journalism.
The Montsalvat community is indebted to her for her steady, diligent, kind and insightful leadership. Her fine arts sensibilities have helped shape our vibrant programs while her sensitive care of our buildings and grounds has created the foundations to take Montsalvat safely into the future.
MEDIA RELEASE: Montsalvat Appoints New Executive Director
Montsalvat
MEDIA RELEASE
Monday October 22, 2018
Montsalvat today announced the appointment of a new Executive Director, Dr Jacqueline Ogeil.
Dr Ogeil is the Founder/director of the Woodend Winter Arts Festival, the inaugural Director of Duneira and the Founder/Director of the ARIA finalist baroque ensemble Accademia Arcadia.
Montsalvat Chair, Morag Fraser AM, said the appointment signals a fresh new era for Montsalvat and the Board is looking forward to assisting Dr Ogeil in her exciting new role.
Dr Ogeil said “I relish the challenge of making Montsalvat a player on the international artistic stage. Montsalvat has held a place in the hearts and psyche of the creative scene since its formation. I am delighted and honoured to join its community”.
Having formed not-for-profit organisations, Ogeil has directed relationship building, advocacy and communication, collaborative initiatives, fundraising, marketing, governance, strategic planning, administration and staffing, as well as maintaining her performance profile. Her creativity and wide-ranging experience have resulted in an ability to problem-solve with ingenuity.
In 2014 Dr Ogeil was a recipient of a Margaret Lawrence Bequest for Women in Arts Leadership, and in 2015 was named by Westpac and the Financial Review as one of the 100 Women of Influence.
Dr Ogeil is an internationally respected artistic leader, performer and musicologist, specialising in historical keyboards (fortepiano, harpsichord, organ) with critically-acclaimed CDs (11 in total) including world première recordings of Buxtehude cantatas, and Scarlatti sonatas performed on the world’s oldest piano (Portugal, c1750) and the historic organ in San Vicente de Fora in Lisbon. Many of her CDs have being named CD of the week by ABC Classic FM and 3MBS. Her Patrons have included Dame Elisabeth Murdoch, Sir Rupert Hamer and Barry Jones.
“In Dr. Ogeil I believe you have something of a national treasure.” Edward L. Kottick Professor Emeritus, School of Music, The University of Iowa, USA.
Jacky Ogeil will be performing with Accademia Arcadia at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Friday 23rd November 2018, 6pm
Primrose Potter Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre
For more information and to book tickets visit: https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/events/2018/musical-politics-in-the-french-court-italian-infiltration/
Jacky Ogeil will be performing with the Melbourne Baroque Orchestra on Sunday 25th November 2018, 3pm.
Church of All Nations
180 Palmerston St, Carlton VIC 3053
For more information and to book tickets visit: https://www.melbournebaroqueorchestra.com/concerts
About Montsalvat:
Montsalvat is a National Trust Listed property, located in Eltham, where emerging and established artists create, present and perform their work. It is Australia’s oldest continuing artist colony, with studios being occupied by a wide variety of artists including painters, ceramicists, jewellers, glass artists, textile artists, sculptors, writers, musicians and woodworkers. Established by Justus Jörgensen in 1934, the 48,500 m2 property is home to over a dozen buildings, houses, halls and richly-established gardens. It is loved by locals and tourists alike and hosts a rich calendar of artistic events including concerts, exhibitions and festivals. It is also a place to learn – with a newly opened ceramics centre offering beginner to master classes, plus jewellery-making and painting courses.
Montsalvat is a not-for-profit entity and since 2006 has been managed by Montsalvat Limited, governed by a Board of Directors working on an honorary basis.
Article: Melbourne Composers' League, Elbow Room: Mini Festival
An article has been written by Alan Holley about the Melbourne Composers’ League concert held in Montsalvat’s Barn Gallery on Sunday 30th September 2018.
Holley writes:
In the historic Montsalvat in the hills just out of Melbourne two concerts of 19 new works were presented by the Melbourne Composers’ League in just one day. The MCL is a rarity in Australia - a group of composers who band together to present new music with a focus on composers from Victoria. Appropriate then that the concert was held in the grounds of the important mid-20th century artist colony, a place devoted to communal artistic endeavours.
Encompassing composers of differing professional development, MCL concerts can be varied but all surely offer up a few gems. There was no theme in the selection for this one day mini festival and the music presented was a cross section from some of the members. And still it ran like clockwork due to the sterling efforts of co-curators Johanna Selleck (composer/flautist) and Colin McKellar.
To read the entire article click here
Current Artist in Residence, Chalise van Wyngaardt, opens play in this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival
Our current Artist in Residence Chalise van Wyngaardt opens her new play Objectophilia as part of the Fringe Festival on the 14th of September. Written by Charlise during her residency here at Montsalvat, it’s a must see!
MELBOURNE SPOKEN WORD PRODIGY CHALISE VAN WYNGAARDT PRESENTS ‘OBJECTOPHILIA’: THE ONE WOMAN ROMANCE WITH A CAST OF TWO
What kind of love is too taboo for you to accept? Queer spoken word artist and theatre-maker Chalise van Wyngaardt throws out the question this Melbourne Fringe in her latest one-woman play: Objectophilia, a psycho-romantic drama with a not-so-conventional love interest: a lamp. Poetic spoken-word monologue and neurotic physical theatre collide as Chalise dives into the mind of the Objectophile (or Objectum-Sexual), cracking open a conversation that will make you wish you stayed home with a nice RomCom.
The core focus of Chalise’s spoken-word and theatre has always been the intersection of faith and sexuality. She received full house standing ovations last Melbourne Fringe and has toured her spoken word poetry through numerous events and festivals across Australia. Objectophilia is Chalise’s most daring step yet, towards solving the age old conundrum: What is the nature of love and sexuality?
‘It started off as a joke,’ says Chalise, ‘I was drinking beers with a mate one night, and he started impersonating a hypermasculine aussie bloke who was so lonely, he formed an intimate relationship with a lamp. He just would not let this joke go, telling me in length about all the dates he’d go on with this lamp, ‘till he started crying about the fact that the bartender laughed his relationship off and wouldn’t serve his lamp a drink at the pub. Then it struck me – this story sounds exactly like the story of being queer in a conservative right-wing society!’
Chalise’s research found an entire community of ‘objectum-sexuals’ (a term coined by the woman who married the Berlin Wall) whose coming-out stories sound all-too-similar to her own story, and to so many stories in the LGBTQI community. ‘So where’s the line?’ Asks Chalise, ‘and if there isn’t one, where’s our trigger?’
‘Chalise is in love with language, and language loves her right back. As a poet and performer she has never not impressed me.’ Steve Smart, MPU President
“Chalise has sparks of Dante, Keats, Shakespeare, Ginsberg, with even more raw power than Patti Smith…” ―Peter Davis, 3CR Spoken Word
OBJECTOPHILIA
Dates: September 14 – 21 (excl. Monday 17th)
Times: 7:45 PM (6:45 PM Sunday) (50 minutes)
Venue: Son of Loft, Lithuanian Club, 44 Errol St, North Melbourne
Tickets: Full $20, Conc. $18.50, Preview $17, Group 4+ $17.50ea
TO BOOK TICKETS visit melbournefringe.com.au or call (03) 9660 9666
For media enquiries contact: Chalise van Wyngaardt, 0402 709 606 or chalisevw@gmail.com
Jessica Jarvie - Winner, Peoples Choice Award, The Nillumbik Prize 2018
The winner of the Peoples Choice Award, The Nillumbik Prize 2018 was drawn on 18th July 2018 and the winner is Jessica Jarvie for her artwork, Winter Blues.
The People Choice award of $500 is offered to the artist of the work deemed most popular by the people throughout the duration of the Nillumbik Prize 2018 finalists exhibition.
The Nillumbik Prize is a diverse exhibition which welcomes a broad variety of mediums and this year was no exception. The 2018 call out received entries spanning video, sculpture, painting, photography, installation, textiles, ceramics and glass, to name a few. Montsalvat was thrilled to, once again, host and administer this prize from the initial call for entries, all the way through to the resulting exhibition, and have enjoyed the experience of sharing it with our visitors over its' two month duration (31 May - 22 July 2018).
An enormous congratulations to Jessica Jarvie!
Congratulations also to all of this year's applicants who have each brought such passion and appreciation to this annual art prize.
Image: Jarvie Jessica, 'Winter Blues', watercolour on paper, 67cm x 86cm
Siri Hayes - Winner, The Nillumbik Prize 2018
The winner of the Nillumbik Prize 2018, as well as two Highly Commended awards, were selected and announced by Mark Feary, Artistic Director of Gertrude Contemporary, at the official opening of the exhibition on Thursday 31 May 2018.
Siri Hayes was named winner of The Nillumbik Prize 2018 for her work Yellow oranges and purple browns, and Samuel Condon and Ash Keating were both awarded high commendations. Mark Feary had this to say about the Prize and his selection;
'Some 15 years after its founding, the Nillumbik Prize demonstrates its capacity to evolve and reflect the shifting nature of artistic practice. In selecting Siri Hayes as the 2018 recipient for her work 'Yellow oranges and purple browns', I was attracted to her abstraction of the photographic. It is a digital image of an image not yet formed, and indeed one that will never be revealed. With a nod to modernist abstraction in painting, the work nevertheless positions itself very much within a contemporary context.
The work of Ash Keating similarly reflects upon the medium of painting. Yet instead of a canvas, Ash uses a vast concrete wall of an unremarkable industrial facility. As if to note the blight of such bland architecture, the artist paints its entire surface as if to evaporate the vision of the building entirely. Samuel Condon’s skillfully rendered painting has a scale that encourages intimacy. Somewhat timeless in its representation, the work shows its capacity to be highly representational, while almost dispensing with the full plane of the canvas.'
The Nillumbik Prize is a diverse exhibition which welcomes a broad variety of mediums and this year was no exception. The 2018 call out received entries spanning video, sculpture, painting, photography, installation, textiles, ceramics and glass, to name a few. Montsalvat was thrilled to, once again, host and administer this prize from the initial call for entries, all the way through to the resulting exhibition, and will enjoy the experience of sharing it with our visitors over its' two month duration (31 May - 22 July 2018).
This year, the Nillumbik Prize received 182 artwork entries from 136 artists who either reside in or have a connection to the Nillumbik Shire. The selection panel consisted of Anthony Fitzpatrick of TarraWarra Museum, artist Christine Johnson and Grace Longato, Cultural Collections Officer at the Nillumbik Shire Council. We offer our thanks to the selection panel for their expert insights and integrity which resulted in a wonderfully diverse exhibition.
We would also like to thank Mark Feary sincerely for his generosity in judging The Nillumbik Prize 2018, and for his considerate and thoughtful evaluations of the many works on show.
Last, but most certainly not least, we extend our enormous congratulations to the winners, the finalists, and all of this year's applicants who have each brought such passion and appreciation to this annual art prize.
Visit the exhibition to have your say in the People's Choice Award, which will be drawn and announced on Wednesday the 18th July.
Image: 2018 Winner Siri Hayes, Yellow oranges and purple browns, 2017, inkjet on cotton rag paper, 77cm x 77cm
Lewis Miller - Winner, The Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize 2017
Congratulations to Lewis Miller, who has been named the winner of the Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize 2017.
The winner of The Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize 2017 was announced at the official opening on the 26th of October 2017 by Australian novelist and twice winner of the Miles Franklin award, Alex Miller.
Lewis Miller was named the winner of The Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize 2017 for his work Vale St self portrait, by prize judge Terry Matassoni.
Matassoni comments that while it was an incredibly hard decision with such a number of outstanding works, the honesty of Miller's self portrait won through.
The Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize 2017 celebrates excellence and diversity in self-portraiture by artists Australia-wide. We have been incredibly grateful to host and administer this prize from the initial call for entries, all the way through to the resulting exhibition, and will enjoy the experience of sharing it with our visitors for the remainder of our 2017 exhibition program.
We offer our thanks to the anonymous selectors, prize judge Terry Matassoni, Alex Miller, and of course Rick Amor, for his generosity in sponsoring such an exciting and important prize.
Lastly, we wish to thank and congratulate the 38 shortlisted artists for their outstanding contributions to the exhibition.
The Rick Amor Self Portrait Prize 2017 will be showing in the Barn Gallery until 7 January 2018.
Image: Lewis Miller, Vale St self portrait, oil on Belgian linen, 81.5cm x 51cm
Anna McDermott - Winner, The Nillumbik Prize 2017
Biggest congratulations to Anna McDermott who has won The Nillumbik Prize 2017, and to Ella Dunn and Peter Ben who received Commendations.
The winner of the Nillumbik Prize, as well as two Highly Commended awards, were selected and announced by Pip Wallis, Curator of Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Victoria, at the official opening of the exhibition on Thursday 1 June 2017.
Anna McDermott was named winner of The Nillumbik Prize 2017 for her work 1. The outside limit of an object, area or surface. 2. Move or cause to move gradually or furtively in a particular direction, and Ella Dunn and Peter Ben were both awarded commendations.
We extend our most enormous congratulations to the winners, and to the other 37 shortlisted artists in the prize, all of whom offered contemporary works of excellence to the exhibition.
Pip Wallis kindly offers us some insight into her decisions by detailing the response that was elicited during her interactions with each of the winning works.
Of Anna McDermott's work 1. The outside limit of an object, area or surface. 2. Move or cause to move gradually or furtively in a particular direction - "this work asks us to consider what isn't seen as much as what is. It is formally beautiful and conceptually rich. The intimacy it captures in the photographic detail is paired with a rigorous questioning of what it is to have a body that moves through the world."
Of Peter Ben's work Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison - "this painting brings immediate joy because it so clearly conveys the artist's passion for his subject. The energy and devotion that underpins this work affords us an insight into the artist's subjectivity."
Of Ella Dunns work Night time in the Valley - "this work evocatively captures a very particular sensation at a particular moment. Dunn conveys that rare moment of clarity in which a specific mix of emotions and experiences synthesise in one mind for a brief second."
We thank Pip Wallis sincerely for her generosity in judging The Nillumbik Prize, and for her considerate and thoughtful evaluations of the many works on show.
The Nillumbik Prize 2017 is a diverse exhibition which spans a huge variety of mediums, including but by no means limited to video, sculpture, painting, photography, installation, textiles and ceramics. We have been thrilled to host and administer this prize from the initial call for entries, all the way through to the resulting exhibition, and will enjoy the experience of sharing it with our visitors over its' two month duration. Our selection panel this year was made up of artists Minna Gilligan and Michael Peck, and Grace Longato, Cultural Collections Officer at the Nillumbik Shire Council. Each offered expert discussions around the over 170 works which were entered.
We offer our thanks to the selection panel, and to our 40 finalists for the creativity and integrity they have brought to this annual art prize.
Visit the exhibition to have your say in the People's Choice Award, which will be drawn and announced on Wednesday the 26th July at 6.30pm in the Barn Gallery, Montsalvat.
Image: Anna McDermott, 1. The outside limit of an object, area or surface. 2. Move or cause to move gradually or furtively in a particular direction, 2016, digital video still printed on canson cotton rag, 105cm x 59cm
Jenny Rodgerson - Winner, Portia Geach Memorial Award 2016
Congratulations to Jenny Rodgerson, who has been named the winner of the Portia Geach Memorial Award for 2016.
Congratulations to Jenny Rodgerson, who has been named the winner of the Portia Geach Memorial Award for 2016.
The Portia Geach Memorial Award was established by the will of the late Florence Kate Geach in memory of her sister, Portia Geach. The non-acquisitive award of $30, 000 is awarded by the Trustee for the entry which is of the highest artistic merit, '...for the best portrait painted from life of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters, or the Sciences by any female artist resident in Australia during the twelve months preceding the close date for entries.'
The award is recognised as one of the most important celebrations of the talents and creativity of Australian female portrait painters and has played a major role in developing the profile of the nation’s women artists.
We are pleased to congratulate Jenny, a member of our extensive Montsalvat Arts Community, on this prestigious award.
Image: JENNY RODGERSON Bound by the big red coat, oil on linen, 157 x 176cm
-Winner, 2016 Portia Geach Memorial Award