The winners of the prestigious Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art 2023 have been announced at the official opening of the finalist exhibition at Montsalvat in Eltham.
Two video pieces were selected for the open and local prizes from 42 finalists responding to this year's prize theme of "Future" in a variety of mediums.
The Nillumbik Prize for Contemporary Art, now in its 20th year, is a biennial prize with two categories: open and local, with prizes of $20,000 and $10,000 respectively.
The Open Prize was awarded to Laresa Kosloff for New Futures™, a short film that uses found commercial stock footage to explore the socio-political conditions of late capitalism.
Nillumbik artist Tina Stefanou won the Local Prize for her video installation Hym(e)nals. The work features six teenage neurodiverse female horse riders and their elderly equine companions from Cottles Bridge.
The two prize winning works will become part of Nillumbik Shire Council's Visual Art Collection.
The $500 Mayor's Award was presented to Jarrad Martyn for his work, Refuge, an oil on canvas exploring climate change.
The 42 finalists were selected from 302 entries from local and national artists.
Nillumbik Mayor Ben Ramcharan officially opened the exhibition - a showcase of excellence in contemporary art and a celebration of Nillumbik's rich artistic and cultural community.
"It was tough for the judging panel to select the winners, but I'm sure you will agree they've done a terrific job. I congratulate not only the winners and the exhibiting artists but also every artist that submitted a work to the Prize," he said.
The shortlisted artworks presented in this year's exhibition were selected by an independent panel of industry experts:
- Steph Neoh, Curator, Banyule City Council
- Spiros Panigirakis, Head of Fine Art Department, Monash University
Jane Trengove, Artist and Disability Advocate
This year's Prize judges were:
- Melissa Keys, Senior Curator, Heide Museum of Modern Art
- Jason Smith, Director and CEO, Geelong Gallery
In announcing the winners, Melissa Keys said the Prize attracted a strong field of important artists who have each built unique and compelling practices.
She described Open winner Laresa Kosloff's New Futures as 'clever and masterfully made' reflecting a 'sensitivity, humour and incisive intelligence'.
Ms Keys said it was pleasing to see such a strong selection of local Nillumbik artists and artworks.
"Tina Stefanou's Hym(e)nals is an enigmatic, allusive and hauntingly beautiful moving image work that demonstrates in equal measure a sense of ambition and visual restraint," she said.
The free exhibition is now open until 11 June at Barn Gallery, Montsalvat, 7 Hillcrest Avenue, Eltham.
Visitors can nominate their favourite work for the People's Choice Award, which will be announced at the end of the exhibition.
