WAMA Art Prize, Works on Paper 2023

Medium / category: Works on paper

Requirements: Entrants must submit a work on paper that is inspired by the natural environment

Eligibility: Australian residents

Associated institutions: Creative Victoria, Ararat Gallery TAMA, Ararat City Council

Exhibition dates: 19 August – 19 November 2023 at Ararat Gallery TAMA, Victoria

The WAMA Art Prize, Works on Paper, is a $25,000 biennial national award. Inviting a multi-disciplinary range of nature-inspired Australian artists, the award celebrates the deep interconnection between art and nature. The award endeavours to raise awareness of the importance of conserving the Australian environment. Indeed, the centre of art, dedicated to art inspired by the natural environment, is placed among woodlands, wetlands and botanic gardens.

First Nation artists are encouraged to apply. This year the judging panel will include artist Dr Vicki Couzens, art historian and art critic Robert Nelson, contemporary art gallery director Suzanne Davies, and Dr Jacqueline Healy, Chair, WAMA Art Advisory Council. The finalists will then be displayed in an exhibition at Ararat Gallery, TAMA and within WAMA’s online gallery. In 2021 there were 600 entries, 40 finalists and three award winners selected by the judges.

Awards

Awards include the $15,000 Acquisitive Prize, the $2,500 Award of Excellence and the $2,500 People’s Choice Award. The Award of Excellence and the People’s Choice Award are non-acquisitive prizes.

Previous Judges

2021:

  • Anne Virgo, Curator, Printmaker
  • Robert Nelson, Art Critic
  • Suzanne Davies, Art Gallery Director, Curator
  • Jacky Healy, Curator
Previous Winners and Finalists

2021:

  • Melissa Smith, Listen Deeply – Lake Sorell, 2021

Winner: Major Acquisitive Prize

  • Diane Fogwell, The Dead Tree Scroll – Silent Extinction, 2021

Winner: Award of Excellence

  • Janet Mathews, Just Flying through – Red Tailed Black cockatoos, 2021

Winner: Award of Excellence

  • Juanita McLauchlan, Found, 2021

Winner: Award of Excellence

  • Amanda Blake-Sutterby, Cape Gooseberry, 2021

Winner: People’s Choice Award

For Artists

What you need to know

Artists must be residing primarily in Australia, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists are encouraged to apply. For the purposes of this prize, a ‘Work on Paper’ is defined as a work made on or with paper as the primary medium, and may be two- or three-dimensional. The work must have been completed in 2022 or 2023.

Dates for your diary

Open for Entries: Entries open 1 April 2023 and close 19 May 2023

To enter, To enter, contact the WAMA team at art@wama.net.au

For more information, visit the WAMA Art Prize website here, or check out their socials on Facebook or Instagram.

Feature Image Credit: 

2021 inaugural WAMA Art Prize major winner, Melissa Smith, Listen Deeply – Lake Sorell 2021 

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Telstra National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Art Awards (NATSIAA)

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