News
Lister short-listed for Whyalla
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From over 400 entries entered in this year’s $25,000 Whyalla Art Prize, 52 works have been shortlisted to win one of the richest awards for contemporary art in any theme in Australia, with Anthony Lister from Queensland being one of this year’s finalists.
Artists from around Australia have entered the prestigious award including Mark McCarthy, Susan Wirth, Amanda Van Gils and Matthew Quick from Victoria, Lucy Ward and Geoff Overheu from Western Australia and South Australian artists Pamela Kouwenhoven and Lise Temple.
This year’s works were judged by a panel of three judges, Peter Walker, Elizabeth Raupach and Steven Carson.   Peter Walker specializes in the sale of early Australian paintings and items of historical interest as well as contemporary art, with clients including major regional and state galleries, libraries and private collectors from around Australia and overseas.
Elizabeth Raupach OAM has worked for many years in arts training and was Executive Director of the Helpmann Academy, an organization that supports the activities of the tertiary visual and performing arts schools of South Australia. In 2008 she was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for services to arts education, administration and training.
Steven Carson won 2007 City of Whyalla Art Prize with his work I Never Learned to Paint – Matchstick Version.  He is the Studio Head – Sculpture and Installation at the School of Art at the University of South Australia and has exhibited in galleries in Adelaide, Melbourne, Queensland and Tasmania.
City of Whyalla Art Prize Coordinator, Ms Merilyn Cox says the calibre of this year’s entries has been outstanding.
“This year’s City of Whyalla Art Prize features a fantastic mix of works from indigenous and abstract to landscape and contemporary works. I look forward to seeing who will be announced as this year’s winner. If you have a chance to see the exhibition, I encourage you to take the time and see the superb works on offer from artists from around the country,†she said.
Long established as a major regional art award, attracting entries from artists nationwide, the winner of the $25,000 City of Whyalla Art Prize will be announced on Friday 16 October 2009 at the Middleback Theatre in Whyalla.  Â
Also announced on the night will be the 2009 Country Arts SA Most Promising Young SA Artist 18-26 years of age, with a prize of $1500 and the 2009 OneSteel Most Promising Young SA Artist 17 years of age and under with prize of $500.
In 1972, the Whyalla Art Prize was established by the Whyalla Arts Council. Originally designed to promote regional emerging artists, the prize has flourished and developed into a significant award and is seen as an important exhibition of contemporary art in Australia.
The shortlisted artworks for the City of Whyalla Art Prize will be exhibited at the Middleback Theatre Foyer Gallery in Whyalla until 13 November 2009. Whyalla is one of the largest regional centres in South Australia. With a proud industrial history, the community enjoys its unique location, a place where the ‘Outback meets the Sea’.
