The annual City of Wanneroo Art Awards were launched last Friday, as Mayor Tracey Roberts said the competition had attracted a high calibre of artists and many entries from the northern suburbs.
‘The consistently high number of entries, over 200 this year, illustrates the high value the community of the City of Wanneroo places on the arts,’ she said.
‘Most of the entries are local artists living here in the northern suburbs from our local arts groups and we are delighted that there are many entries from further afield in WA.
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READ NOW‘I am very proud that Wanneroo has a rich heritage in the visual arts and is fast gaining a fine reputation with our Wanneroo Library and Cultural Centre.’
This year, the prize pool was $16,000.
The City gave the open award winner, Rowena Keall Walsh, $7000 and acquired her piece for its collection.
Judges said the Nedlands resident’s piece, Pinnaroo, was an ‘energetic painting’ with ‘freshness and vitality’.
‘We enjoyed the use of light and colour,’ they said.
Alexander Heights resident Judy Rogers won the $2000 prize for the best City of Wanneroo resident, with the judges describing her mixed media painting, Resting, as a demonstration of ‘adept technical skills through poignant and engaging choice of subject matter’.
Mel Dare (Mt Lawley) won the overall painting prize for a ‘sensual yet alien composition’ in Continuum, while Linda O’Brien (Karrinyup) received the commendation for her ‘luminescent landscape’ entitled Arid Ambience.
The winning sculpture overall was Yokine artist Jana Braddock’s ‘Skulls Always Look Happy’, which judges said had a strong use of repetition, form and pattern.
They gave the commendation to Jeannette Rein (Singleton) for her ‘delicately executed’ wood sculpture, Spinose III.
Two Rocks resident Suzanne Logue won the overall prize in the works on paper category for a piece created from photographs and acrylics, entitled Two Rocks Revisited.
‘This artwork consists of beautifully executed studies which work both individually and as a group,’ the judges said.
‘The images create a strong sense of environment through their attention to detail.’ Susan Hoy from Mindarie won the commendation in the same category for her ‘striking use of gouache’ in Nest Building in Mindarie.
The exhibition will be on display for the public to view for free from Saturday, May 25 until Sunday, June 23.