Marisa Ballinger has been awarded the 2025 Macquarie Group Emerging Artist Prize for Ngurrampaa, by this year's guest judge Maud Page, Director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The prize was announced last night in Sydney from The Art Space, a public gallery in Macquarie's global headquarters at 1 Elizabeth Street.
Marisa is a multidisciplinary artist based on Giabal Jarowair lands in Toowoomba, Queensland. The title of the painting, Ngurrampaa, translates as 'homelands' and refers to the artist's ancestral and spiritual relationship with the Nyiyampaa Wangaaypuwan People of the Cobar Peneplains in central southwestern NSW. Marisa will receive $A20,000 and Ngurrampaa will be acquired by the Macquarie Group Collection.
Now in its 13th year, the Emerging Artist Prize aims to highlight and support a new generation of visual artists. Artists in the early stage of their careers were once again invited to submit a work that aligns with the Collection's theme, The Land and its Psyche.
Also announced yesterday was the Highly Commended Award, which was awarded to Michael Wallace for Mickey and Dog Boy and the Nick Waterlow OAM Highly Commended Award, which was awarded to Blake Griffiths for The Shearers.
Helen Burton, Director of the Macquarie Group Collection, said: "Congratulations to Marisa Ballinger on this outstanding achievement. Thank you to all of the artists who submitted their work this year, the exceptional calibre of works submitted are a testament to the talent within Australia's emerging arts community."
Aligned to the Collection's aim of supporting Australian artists, Macquarie Group has been a partner of the Art Gallery of NSW since 2005, and many Collection artists are now represented in the Art Gallery's collection.
The Emerging Artist Prize exhibition will be available for viewing at The Art Space at Macquarie's headquarters from 18 September to 30 January 2026 and can also be viewed online. Artworks from the exhibition are available to purchase. Visitors to The Art Space have the opportunity to vote for their favourite work to receive the People's Choice Award, which will be drawn once the exhibition closes. The Art Space is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 5pm and is located on Level 2 of 1 Elizabeth Street, Sydney. Entry is via Level 1.
About the Macquarie Group Collection
For over 35 years, the Macquarie Group Collection has supported emerging Australian artists by acquiring and displaying their works in Macquarie offices around the world.
Part of the Macquarie Group Foundation, the Collection's unique collecting model focuses on the theme of The Land and Its Psyche, reflecting the diversity of the Australian landscape as seen through the eyes of Australian artists.
Now comprising more than 950 works, works from the Collection are displayed in over 40 Macquarie offices globally. Acquisitions by the Collection are selected by a volunteer committee of Macquarie employees, in consultation with a curatorial expert, who are dedicated to identifying art that reflects its guiding principles.
