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Visual Arts: Black Swan Prize for Portraiture 2018

5 November 2018

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27 Oct – 26 Nov @ Art Gallery of WA ·
Presented by Art Gallery of WA & Artrinsic Inc. ·

The Black Swan Prize for Portraiture is celebrating its twelfth anniversary in 2018 and its third year at the Art Gallery of WA.

40 finalists from across Australia have been chosen from over 500 artists who entered this year’s prestigious prize, the second largest total since ARTrinsic Inc conceived the event 12 years ago.

Amongst this year’s finalists 25% were Western Australian artists, 38% were from VIC, 28% from NSW, with the remaining 9% from SA and TAS.
Many of the finalists’ works involve subjects that play a significant part in their lives or they have chosen to look within and present a self-portrait. A number of previous finalists have made this year’s list, including Benjamin Aitken, Mark Tweedie and Josh Cocking.

Pre-Selection Panellists Ted Snell, Margaret Moore, Penny Bovell, Anna Richardson and Dunja Rmandic, said the works revealed a real sense of intimacy with their subjects and told powerful stories, whilst the self-portraits offered authentic perspectives and a chance to connect with artists in a personal way.

The finalists’ artworks will be on display at the AGWA, in the Centenary Galleries from 27 October to 26 November 2018. The Awards will be announced on 2 November at the 2018 Awards Night.

Established in 2007 by ARTrinsic Inc, the Black Swan Prize for Portraiture is the third richest prize in Australia after the Archibald and Moran competitions. This year’s selected finalists are in the running for $70,000 worth of prizes – including the main $50,000 Lester Group Prize, $10,000 Toni Fini Foundation Artist Prize, the $7,500 Baldock Family People’s Choice Award and two Highly Commended $500 gift vouchers from Oxlades Art Supplies.

The Lester Group Prize, Tony Fini Foundation Artist Prize, and two Highly Commended Prizes will be announced on 2 November 2018. The Baldock Family People’s Choice Prize will be announced on 28 November 2018.
Thirty youth finalists were also announced as part of the Black Swan Prize for Portraiture. These works along with the Salon des Refusés works will be on public display from 29 October – 23 November 2018 in Towers 1 and 2 of Brookfield Place. Winners of the Youth prizes will be announced on 7 November 2018.

More info:
W:  www.artgallery.wa.gov.au/exhibitions/black-swan-prize-2018.asp
E:   admin@artgallery.wa.gov.au

Pictured:
Winner of the 2017 BSPP Tony Fini Foundation Artist Prize Marie Mansfield Mertim 2017 oil on board 41.5 x 31.5 cm Photographed by the artist

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Author —
Maureen Levy

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