Amanda Bennetts Wins Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize for Disability-Focused Video Work

Sunshine Coast artist Amanda Bennetts has been awarded the $25,000 Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize for her 11-minute video artwork Carve Crevice from Grace, announced at the exhibition’s official launch over the weekend.

Shaped by Bennetts’ own experience with multiple sclerosis and a rare muscular disease, the video work explores labour, productivity and usefulness through the lens of living with disability. The piece depicts the artist methodically chiseling and breaking apart a large sandstone block, creating a powerful metaphor for the erosion of both body and landscape under extractive systems.

Fraser Coast Regional Council Arts spokesperson Cr Michelle Govers praised the work’s significance: “Amanda’s work is a remarkable piece of art that embodies everything this national prize stands for. In the film, Amanda methodically chisels and breaks apart a large sandstone block, echoing the erosion of both body and landscape under extractive systems. It’s powerful and moving.”

Originally commissioned by Accessible Arts and the Sydney Opera House, Carve Crevice from Grace will now join the Hervey Bay Regional Gallery collection alongside works by other leading Australian artists.

The prize attracted more than 250 entries nationwide, with the winner selected by a distinguished judging panel including Waanyi artist Judy Watson, Michelle Newton (Head of Visual Arts, Creative Australia), and Sarah Thomson (Director of Hervey Bay Regional Gallery).

Co-judge Michelle Newton described Bennetts’ piece as “a compelling performance that highlights the futility of labour under capitalism,” noting its “ritualised, Sisyphean endeavour” that “becomes a poetic encounter, where the inexplicability of her actions adds a layer of unexpected humour and poignancy.”

The biennial prize exhibition runs alongside Strange Kinship, featuring Australian and international artists exploring human-animal connections through mythology, spirituality and encounters with non-human life.

Hervey Bay Regional Gallery Director Sarah Thomson emphasized the prize’s environmental focus: “Girra provides an incredible opportunity for the Fraser Coast to showcase spectacular artworks from across the country that address our relationship with the environment.”

The finalists’ exhibition spans multiple mediums including painting, glass, ceramics, photography, video and kinetic sculpture. Visitors can vote for the Hervey Bay Boat Club People’s Choice Award, with the winning artist receiving $2,000. Voting closes on 16 November.

Both exhibitions run from 23 August to 16 November 2025 with free entry. The prize is sponsored by Fraser Coast Regional Council, Hervey Bay Boat Club and IAS.