Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize is a new initiative of Hervey Bay Regional Gallery and Fraser Coast Regional Council that seeks to explore our reciprocal, inextricable relationship with the environment through contemporary art.
This biennial art prize invited entries from artists working in any visual art medium from across Australia, offering a $25,000 major acquisitive prize.
The prize draws its name from the Butchulla word for sand, a vital component of the region’s landscape. As a title, Girra is both emblematic of the enduring social and cultural importance of the natural environment in the Fraser Coast and a conceptual provocation.
Sand forms our saltwater coasts, freshwater riverbeds, and dry desert interior, shaped over millennia by the tides and winds. Sand forms the foundation of our cities, mined and rendered into concrete or melted into glass. A ubiquitous presence in the Australian landscape, sand reveals the sensitive, cyclical, and reciprocal relationship between people and place.
This inaugural exhibition tells a compelling story about our relationship to the environment through the diverse perspectives and aesthetic approaches of 18 exciting artists from across the country.
2023 Major Prize
$25,000 acquisitive prize awarded to Anna Louise Richardson.
Judges
Associate Professor at The University of Queensland, Dr. Fiona Foley; Senior Curator, UQ Art Museum Peta Rake; and HBRG Director Ashleigh Whatling.
The Hervey Bay Boat Club People’s Choice Award
$2,000 prize awarded to Joolie Gibbs.
