The National Capital Art Prize is back and putting Canberra artists on the map

Posted on 22 September, 2022

Ten Canberra artists were announced finalists for this year’s prestigious National Capital Art Prize, with local talent Daniel Leone taking home the 2022 People’s Choice Award.

This Australia-wide competition is trailblazing new categories and leaving the judges with perhaps some of the most challenging decisions to date. And, as always, the prize will continue to shine the spotlight on our local artists, who not only set the artistic bar incredibly high but are making their presence duly noted at the national art table.

An impressive 129 artists make up this year’s painstakingly-selected finalists, with some of Australia’s best art making its way to the fore. For founder Robert Stephens this year’s new sustainability category pushed the competition into unexpected realms—opening the floodgates to expansive art styles and wildly creative interpretations.

‘Field of Flowers’ by Adele Cameron

“This particular prize is a challenge for a lot of judges because you have three big sections to judge from. So there is the ‘Open category’ and the ‘Indigenous category’—which share a lot of similarities in terms of judging criteria.”

“But then there is the ‘Sustainability category’, which is just so diverse, and we made it open to a wide range of art styles. There is animation, videos, basic artworks, photography, sculptures, painting, needlework, you name it—there was just such a large range.”

It’s a category that dares to stir up public discussion and cultural debate, to bend genders, break rules, and give artists creative freedom like nowhere else.

“The diversity of the artwork is amazing because it covers so many different aspects of sustainability. It’s not just about being green—it’s also about gender issues. Anyone that comes to see it will be astounded by people’s interpretation of how they see sustainability. So that’s been one of the really fascinating and exciting aspects of what we’re doing. And it’s based in Canberra.”

And while this unique category continues to push creative boundaries, so too are our local artists.  Works such as Jasper’s Fruit Bowl by Laura Fenderson is a graceful nod to the beauty that exists in the every day. Adele Cameron warps silk fabric into an environmental love note titled the Field of Flowers. But An Old Dog Toy at the hands of Brent Renner-Hahn pulls at our heartstrings and provokes intimate reflections into mass consumption.

But An Old Dog Toy by Brent Renner-Hahn

Daniel Leone’s breathtaking piece, Ode to Casurasina, folds magically with the fluidity of improvisational dance—wowing not only the judges but weaving its way into the hearts of the public, and taking home a cash prize of $2,500 and the revered title of 2022 People’s Choice Award.

“Last year, we had 25,000 people vote in the people’s choice award, but this year we have had 60,000. That shows you just the interest and how wide this competition is—to get that many votes is just staggering.”

As well as allowing artists a unique opportunity to promote their work alongside Australia’s best—the prize gives three talented artists the opportunity to share the lucrative cash prize pool of $47,500. As Robert explains, this prize works symbiotically with the artists, creating a self-feeding, ever-evolving competition.

‘Jasper’s Fruit Bowl’ by Laura Fenderson

“One important aspect of this prize is the fact that it’s basically an artist-funded competition. Even though myself—along with the Alvin Gallery—have funded it,  the entry sees the commission for the sale of work to go back into the prize. And this was the whole purpose of when we set this up to try and make it basically an artist-funded prize with support from other sponsors. And as we grow with it, this will be getting bigger and bigger,” says Robert.

‘Carved Uluru’ by Margaretha Hadfield

So, if you do feel the sudden urge to fill your home with beautiful works from across Australia, the National Art Prize lays bare an exciting collection of work to dip your toes (or whole body) into.

All finalist work will be available to purchase online, but if you would prefer to take a journey through the collection in person, the Fitters’ Workshop in Kingston is hosting a public exhibition until 12 October 2022. It’s a gentle reminder of just how immensely creative and cutting edge our bush capital is.

“This competition has the finest art from every state in Australia—and you can certainly see the difference between work for Western Australia, Northern Territory and the Capital. So that in itself is fabulous because it just shows the diversity of culture we have in this country.”

“And the fact that we have so many finalists from Canberra goes to show that their work is equal to anything in Australia. This is the nation’s capital, showing that it has an artistic heart. That’s what it’s all about,” reflects Robert.