Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize Shortlist Announced

In its inaugural year Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize attracted over 275 entries from across Australia.

The 2023 finalists artists are: Pamela Bristow (QLD), Francis Carmody (VIC), Armando Chant (NSW), Mirjana Dobson (SA), Jessie French (NSW), Joolie Gibbs (QLD), Bridie Gillman (QLD), Claire Grant (QLD), Miriam Innes (QLD), Ryan Andrew Lee (NSW), Jessica Long (NSW), Glen Miller (QLD), Lucy Quinn (QLD), Anna Louise Richardson (WA), Monica Rohan (QLD), Rolf Sieber (QLD), Arryn Snowball (QLD) and Renita Stanley (SA).

Finalists are drawn from five states with over a quarter of the artists residing in the Wide Bay-Burnett region. Artworks span painting, sculpture, ceramics, glass, video, installation and more, representing a cross-section of contemporary art practice today.

The selection panel were impressed with the high quality of entries and the diverse conceptual and aesthetic approaches to the prize theme—the intersection of people, place and the environment.

The Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize exhibition, on display at Hervey bay Regional Gallery 23 September – 12 November 2023, will tell a compelling story of our reciprocal relationship to the natural world. Selected artworks provide unique perspectives on industrialised landscapes, the forces of extreme weather events, our relationship to domestic gardens, ecological concerns and speculative solutions, ruminations on the beauty and power of nature, and much more.

The major acquisitive prize of $25,000 will be awarded by judges Dr. Fiona Foley (artist and academic), Peta Rake (Senior Curator, University of Queensland Art Museum), and Ashleigh Whatling (HBRG Director) at the official opening and prize announcement, Friday 22 September 2023.  

A $2,000 People’s Choice Award will also be announced at the conclusion of the exhibition period.