Blak Douglas, Moby Dickens, 2022. Synthetic polymer paint on linen, 300 x 200cm. Winner Archibald Prize 2022. Courtesy: the artist and Museum of Art and Culture Lake Macquarie, yapang, Booragul, NSW.

The annual Archibald Prize is eagerly anticipated by artists and audiences alike. The Archibald Prize 2022 regional tour is an opportunity to see finalist works at the Museum of Art and Culture, yapang (MAC yapang).

Judged by the trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW, the prize is awarded to the best portrait painting. Since 1921 it has highlighted figures from all walks of life, from famous faces to local heroes, reflecting back to us the stories of our times. The open competition has been awarded annually to the best portrait, ‘preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in arts, letters, science or politics, painted by any artist resident in Australasia’. Entries to the Archibald Prize must be painted in the past year from at least one live sitting.