The suspense was palpable in the crowd on a hot and steamy Friday evening at the Bega Valley Regional Gallery as lauded young artist Abdul Abdullah announced the winner of the inaugural $10,000 National Youth Portrait Prize.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sydney based painter Liam Ambrose took the prize with his portrait of fellow painter Alan Jones.
Abdullah, whose works were featured in two major exhibitions in 2015, Primavera at the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at Brisbane’s QAGOMA, said “the work stood out for me for its fluid style” and he felt “the prize would be game changer for a young emerging artist”.
“Liam was also a finalist in the Brett Whiteley travelling art scholarship this year, and I suspect he has a successful career ahead of him.”
“The Shirl” was conceived as a sister prize to the biennial $50,000 Shirley Hannan National Portrait Award, which has run since 2002 – the 2014 winner was Shaun Gladwell with a portrait of actor Meyne Wyatt.
Shirley Hannan was a local artist and supporter of the visual arts in the Bega Valley and her bequest after her death funds both national awards.
Her son, Peter, a photographer based in Reykjavik, and the BVRG’s benefactor said he was “very happy to be sponsoring The Shirl as it gives young emerging artists an opportunity to show their work”.
“It can be very difficult for young artists to have the confidence and self-belief to follow their passion, and I hope The Shirl will provide a venue for them to bring their art to the world, and encourage them to continue to follow their path as artists,” he said.
Bega Valley Regional Gallery Curator Iain Dawson said it was fantastic to have an artist of Abdullah’s standing visit regional NSW.
“I think it’s an important opportunity for local arts practitioners and audiences to feel connected to a larger Australian art community,” Mr Dawson said.
“We are beyond thrilled that Liam’s work was chosen to be the winner of The Shirl, and we look forward to the work being in our permanent collection to share with the community.”
The Bega Valley Regional Gallery has hosted several significant exhibitions in the past 12 months including The Last Supper by Ken and Julia Yonetani, now on display at the National Gallery of Australia, and will launch it’s 2016 calendar with an exhibition of Christian Bumbarra Thompson in February followed by a blockbuster exhibition of important floral still life paintings from the Art Gallery of NSW collection, Flora Australis, featuring works from Tom Roberts, Margaret Preston Arthur Streeton and Margaret Olley plus contemporary artists Lucy Culliton, Nicholas Harding and Laura Jones.
