PULL FOCUS WITH EMILY PARSONS-LORD
Emily Parsons-Lord is announced as the winner of ‘the churchie’ national emerging arts prize 2020 by The Institute of Modern Art (IMA) and ‘the churchie’. Selected by curator of Asian Art QAGOMA, Tarun Nagesh, Parsons-Lord is the recipient of the non-acquisitive $15,000 cash prize donated by long-standing sponsor, BSPN Architecture.
Parsons-Lord took out the top prize for her large-scale video work Standing Still (with practice, one may learn to accept the feelings of groundlessness), 2020, which explores climate change-induced cleaving and crumbling, and its residue as a site of extreme physical and emotional destruction.
“Emily Parsons-Lord’s gripping performances and interventions,” tells Nagesh, “revel in the ability to invoke a feeling of wondrous possibility while gesturing toward an impending sense of loss. Through ethereal encounters, underpinned by rigorous intellectual and environmental enquiry, she appeals to our most instinctive bodily reactions and fundamental human concerns.”
The New South Wales based artist was announced the winner at the finalists’ exhibition launch live streamed via the IMA’s social media on Friday 18 September.
Our Pull Focus video series takes its lead from our print magazine feature of the same name. Here, we focus in on what makes a particular artwork WORK as a work of art. Watch Micheal Do in conversation with artist Emily Parsons-Lord about her 2020 Churchie Prize winning work Standing Still (with practice, one may learn to accept the feelings of groundlessness) (2020).
Emily Parsons-Lord, Standing Still (with practice, one may learn to accept the feelings of groundlessness), 2020. HD video. Photo: Maiara Skarheim.
Void_Melbourne Announces Representation of Alex Walker Ahead of Melbourne Art Fair
Void_Melbourne has announced the representation of Melbourne-based artist Alex Walker, coinciding with her solo presentation at Melbourne Art Fair this week.
Walker’s practice centres on the expanded field of photography, working across lens-based imagery, darkroom processes and site-responsive projection. Her work examines the status of photography within a contemporary context shaped by digital circulation and screen-based viewing, while maintaining a sustained focus on analogue techniques.
In 2025, Walker was awarded the Canberra Contemporary Photographic Prize and was selected as a finalist in both the National Photography Prize at MAMA and the Bowness Photographic Prize. Her recent activity also includes a large-scale private commission, as well as editorial features in Art Collector’s annual 50 Things Collectors Should Know edition and the inaugural issue of Current Art Magazine, an independently published contemporary art magazine from Aotearoa, New Zealand. These developments follow a series of recent acquisitions and institutional engagements that have expanded her national profile.
For Melbourne Art Fair, Walker will present a new body of large-scale, handmade colour darkroom prints. The works focus on the material and conceptual role of light within the analogue darkroom process, foregrounding light not only as a subject but as the primary generative force within photographic production.
Newcastle Art Gallery to Reopen on February 28 After Major Expansion
Newcastle Art Gallery will reopen to the public on 28 February 2026 following a major expansion that more than doubles its exhibition space and upgrades public facilities. The redevelopment positions the institution as the largest public art gallery in New South Wales outside Sydney and enables long-term displays of its permanent collection alongside large-scale temporary exhibitions.
Designed by Clare Design with Smith and Tzannes Architects and Arup Engineers, the project adds 1,600 square metres of exhibition space while retaining the character of the original 1977 brutalist building. New infrastructure includes an international-standard loading dock, café, retail space, learning studio and multi-purpose program areas. The original gallery building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II and now houses a collection of more than 7,000 works valued at $145 million.
The reopening will be marked by a three-day public program beginning Friday 27 February with a free street celebration outside the gallery. The event will convert the precinct into a temporary sculpture park featuring works by local artists drawn from the collection. Live music, performances, food stalls and preview access to the inaugural exhibition will follow across the weekend.
Titled Iconic, Loved, Unexpected, the opening exhibition spans two levels and presents more than 500 works from the early nineteenth century to the present. Artists represented include Lottie Consalvo, William Dobell, Sally Gabori, Emily Kam Kngwarray, Joseph Lycett, Tracey Moffatt, Albert Namatjira, Nell, Margaret Olley and John Olsen, alongside international figures ranging from sculpture by Auguste Rodin to ceramics by Kazuo Yagi.
New commissions are installed throughout the expanded site. Fayen d’Evie presents two architectural-scale sculptures that provide tactile engagement with the building’s original floating staircases. Renae Lamb has created a work positioned where the original structure meets the new extension. At the entrance, Shellie Smith presents a large sculptural installation developed with Newcastle sculptor Julie Squires. Suspended in the central atrium is Megan Cope’s installation Kinyingarra Guwinyanba (Off Country). Composer Adam Manning contributes a site-specific sonic work developed from Awabakal and Worimi Country.
City of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath said the reopening marks a significant civic milestone. “The full reopening of Newcastle Art Gallery in February represents a landmark moment for City of Newcastle and the city’s cultural landscape,” he said. “It will mark the completion of the largest capital works project and most significant commitment to cultural infrastructure in City of Newcastle’s history, a feat achieved on the back of more than 16 years of fundraising and perseverance. We are proud to have supported Newcastle Art Gallery to become a bold and striking celebration of art for our city, state and nation and a fitting home for our $145 million collection. We look forward to welcoming the community into the expanded Gallery next February as we launch a new era of cultural tourism in Newcastle.”
Gallery Director Lauretta Morton said the expansion allows the institution to present its collection with greater scope. “February’s full reopening will mark a transformative moment for the Gallery,” she said. “With the expansion nearing completion, we are preparing to share more of our collection — one of the country’s most significant public art collections — with a level of ambition and visibility that reflects its importance. The reimagined gallery allows us to present more of our works, collaborate with leading artists nationwide, and host major Australian and international exhibitions that were previously beyond our reach. Iconic, Loved, Unexpected has been curated to celebrate this milestone and to signal what comes next.”
Image: Exterior of the expanded Newcastle Art Gallery building at First Night First Look event, 26 September 2025. Photo: Lachlan Matheson.
Glover Prize Reveals 42 Finalists for 2026
The John Glover Art Prize has announced its 42 finalists for 2026, representing the judges’ selection of the most compelling contemporary interpretations of the Tasmanian landscape. The works will be displayed at the Glover Prize Exhibition in the historic Falls Park Pavilion, Evandale, over the March long weekend.
Established to honour the legacy of colonial artist John Glover, the Glover Prize has become one of Australia’s leading awards for landscape painting. Open to artists from across the world, it recognises works judged to best engage with Tasmania’s environment and invites a broad understanding of what constitutes landscape painting.
The acquisitive award, valued at $80,000, includes a bronze maquette of John Glover designed by Peter Corlett, valued at $5,000. In addition, all other exhibited works remain eligible for the non-acquisitive awards: the People’s Choice Award ($3,000), Children’s Choice Award ($500), and the Hangers’ Choice Award ($500).
Finalists are selected by a panel of judges from submissions that explore Tasmania’s natural beauty, history, and sense of place. The aim of the prize is to foster discussion around the meaning of landscape, painting, and Tasmania, while encouraging both traditional and experimental approaches to depicting the state’s distinctive environments.
The exhibition offers visitors the chance to see a diverse range of styles, from detailed representational works to abstract and interpretive approaches, reflecting the breadth of contemporary landscape practice. Evandale’s Falls Park Pavilion provides a fitting setting, nestled in the northern plains of Tasmania, where the local landscape forms a backdrop to the works on display.
The Glover Prize has played an important role in promoting Tasmania’s artistic profile and connecting the public with contemporary interpretations of its landscapes. Each year, it brings together artists, collectors, and visitors to engage directly with both emerging and established practitioners working across painting traditions.
The 2026 exhibition promises to continue this dialogue, offering an opportunity for audiences to experience the variety, skill, and vision of artists responding to Tasmania’s natural and cultural environment. The works will be available for viewing during the March long-weekend, with all prize outcomes to be announced during the exhibition.
For more information about the Glover Prize, its finalists, and the exhibition, visit the John Glover Society website.
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe Returns in March 2026
Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe will return to Perth’s Cottesloe Beach from 6 to 23 March 2026, marking the exhibition’s 21st anniversary and its first presentation since 2024. The large-scale outdoor exhibition, one of Australia’s most visited free public events, typically draws more than 230,000 visitors to the coastline each year.
The 2026 and 2027 exhibitions are supported by Australian Government funding delivered through Austrade, with $750,000 allocated annually to support the event’s presentation.
The 2026 exhibition will feature 70 sculptures installed along the coastal landscape, with participating artists drawn from Australia and overseas. International representation includes 11 artists from Japan and four from Denmark. More than 30 Western Australian artists will be included in the exhibition lineup.
Established in 2005, Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe has become a regular feature of Perth’s cultural calendar, presenting temporary works across the beach and surrounding parklands. The exhibition remains free and open to the public throughout its duration.
Michael Reid Sydney + Berlin Announces Representation of Tim Maguire
Michael Reid Sydney + Berlin has announced the representation of Tim Maguire, with the artist set to present his first solo exhibition with the gallery in the first half of 2026. The Sydney-based artist, who works between Australia and rural France, brings to the program a practice shaped by four decades of experimentation across painting, printmaking and digital image-making.
Maguire is known for large-scale works that shift between abstraction and illusion. Built through layered colour-separation processes, his paintings often appear as fields of colour and gesture at close range before resolving into recognisable imagery from a distance. “The ideal painting for me is one where, up close, you see nothing but paint and process and layers, and then, from far enough away, the whole thing resolves into a convincing illusion,” Maguire says. “Ideally, the viewer is like a rubber band — moving back and forth between those two states.”
Michael Reid described a long engagement with the artist’s work, recalling early acquisitions made on behalf of private clients. “Thirty years ago, I acquired my first Maguire painting on behalf of private clients, and I have continued to purchase his paintings and lightboxes every decade since,” he says. Reid points to Maguire’s early use of digitally manipulated photographs translated into oil painting through colour-separation layers, followed by interventions on the wet surface. “His process bridged digital and analogue in ways that were ahead of their time. Step close and his paintings read as abstractions; step back and flowers, snowflakes, or water resolve into luminous focus.”
For Maguire, painting remains a negotiation between image and material. “There’s a play between the illusion of the image and the physicality of the paint,” he says. This tension runs across a body of work that draws on art-historical references while remaining grounded in studio process. His long engagement with printmaking continues to inform the work, particularly the role of chance in image formation.
Floral imagery has been a recurring motif. Maguire describes the subject less as a symbol than as a structure for looking. “Flowers were annoying, because everyone assumes flowers are beautiful. I wasn’t interested in prettiness,” he says. “What interested me was the tradition — the philosophy behind Dutch still lifes, mortality, fleetingness.” Close observation, he notes, reveals forms that verge on abstraction. “Yes, they were flowers, but that wasn’t really the point.”
Maguire first came to national attention when he was awarded the Moët & Chandon Australian Art Fellowship in 1993. His work is held in major public collections including the National Gallery of Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Victoria.
Reid described the representation as a continuation of a long-standing commitment to the artist’s practice. “I am proud that my colleagues and I represent Tim, one of this country’s most significant artists,” he says.
The forthcoming exhibition at Michael Reid Sydney will present a new body of work drawn from Maguire’s current studio production. Further details will be announced in 2026.
Artbank Names Judges for Inaugural 2026 Artbank Prize
Artbank has announced the judging panel for its inaugural Artbank Prize, to be awarded in 2026. The panel brings together artist Tony Albert, curator Ellie Buttrose and arts journalist Elizabeth Fortescue, with Artbank Director Zoë Rodriguez chairing the process.
The Artbank Prize is a new open-call, acquisitive award for Australian artists whose work is not yet represented in the Artbank collection. Established as a national initiative, the prize is intended to broaden access to the collection and reflect the range of contemporary practice being produced across the country.
Entries will open on 30 January 2026. One finalist will be selected from each state and territory, with eight finalists presented in an exhibition at Artbank’s Sydney premises. The exhibition will be accompanied by a program of public events focused on the artists and their work. One artist will be awarded the Artbank Prize, with their work acquired into the Artbank collection for up to AUD $20,000.
Submissions will be reviewed by the Artbank curatorial team, Oliver Watts and Paul Adair, alongside the judging panel. The panel was selected independently by Artbank and reflects a cross-section of experience across artistic practice, curating and arts writing.
Artbank Director Zoë Rodriguez said the prize creates a new entry point into the collection for artists across Australia. “The Artbank Prize is about opening up access. It gives artists a clear pathway to be considered for acquisition and ensures the collection continues to grow in step with contemporary practice as it exists now, across different regions and contexts.”
For judge Tony Albert, the prize carries personal weight. His own work entered the Artbank collection early in his career. “That acquisition mattered,” Albert said. “Being included in a national collection gives artists confidence and visibility at a critical point. I’m pleased to be part of a process that offers that opportunity to someone else.”
Albert is widely recognised for a multidisciplinary practice that examines the cultural misrepresentation of Aboriginal people, drawing on personal and collective histories. In 2025 he was awarded the insignia of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the Republic of France. His recent roles include Artistic Director of the National Indigenous Art Triennial at the National Gallery of Australia and the inaugural First Nations Curatorial Fellow at the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain.
Ellie Buttrose brings curatorial experience grounded in large-scale exhibitions and collection development. A Curator at QAGOMA, she oversees Contemporary Australian Art acquisitions and commissions. In 2026 she will curate the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art across the Art Gallery of South Australia, Samstag Museum of Art and Adelaide Botanic Gardens. In 2024 she shared the Golden Lion for Best National Participation at the Venice Biennale for the Australia Pavilion, alongside artist Archie Moore.
Journalist Elizabeth Fortescue completes the panel. Based in Sydney, she writes regularly on the art market and contemporary practice, including weekly reporting for The Australian Financial Review and long-term correspondence for The Art Newspaper. Her recent book, Wendy Sharpe: Many Lives, was published in 2024, and she is currently researching a second artist monograph.
Established in 1980, Artbank operates as a federal artist support program with a dual focus on acquisition and public access. The collection holds more than 11,000 works by over 3,500 living Australian artists, with more than half of those works on lease in public and private settings at any given time.
By introducing the Artbank Prize, the organisation is extending that model. The prize places emphasis on artists who have not yet entered the collection, while maintaining a national scope that reflects different local scenes and practices.
Full guidelines for the Artbank Prize will be available via the Artbank website ahead of the opening date.
Kate Gorringe-Smith Wins 2025 WAMA Art Prize
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Entries open for 2026 Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize
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Heide Museum of Modern Art to Present Major Survey of John Nixon’s Work
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APY Art Centre Collective to Open New First Nations Gallery and Cultural Hub in Redfern
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