The Ellen José Art Award is a $15,000 non-acquisitive triennial award designed to support young female artists in the early stages of their career. Ambitious and ground-breaking, the six finalists are MeiMei Hodgkinson, Clare Jaque Vasquez, Casey Jeffery, Jenna Lee, Amalia Lindo, and Jacqui Shelton. The award is held in honour of Ellen José, a pioneering Indigenous artist, radical activist and social justice campaigner and is a partnership between the Ellen José Memorial Foundation and Bayside City Council.

Image credit: Clare Jaque Vasquez, Silent weapons for quiet ambitions 2025, acrylic and impasto on stretched canvas, 200 x 200 cm. Courtesy the artist and Vivien Anderson Gallery. Photography: Simon Anderson