Collie Art Gallery has launched Australia’s richest country art prize in a bold move to make the coal mining town a regional centre for the arts.
Long known as the hub of heavy industry in the South-West, the $50,000 Collie Art Prize will become a showpiece initiative for the Collie Art Gallery and seek to attract entries from throughout Australia.
Local art lovers have worked with local businesses and community organisations to fund the prize, which will be awarded every two years.
The biennial prize has been made possible thanks to the commitment of Collie and Districts Community Bank Branch of the Bendigo Bank.
The Rotary Club of Collie is also enthusiastically supporting the Gallery with two additional $5000 prizes, and a $1000 People’s Choice Prize provided by popular Collie bed and breakfast establishment Whispering Pines.
Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman said he hopes the initiative will bring some of Australia’s best art and artists to Collie.
“The Collie Art Gallery is one of the State’s most acclaimed cultural facilities and this significant prize will help make sure it reaches its potential, in terms of visitation and the quality of work on show,” he said.
“The arts has a significant and growing presence in regional Western Australia and the Collie Art Prize will strengthen that further.”
Member for Collie-Preston Mick Murray said Collie is working hard to diversify its economy beyond the heavy industries for which the town is most well-known.
“The McGowan Government’s $20 million Collie Futures Fund will help diversify our economy, boost tourism and create jobs. The Collie Art Prize will complement those plans perfectly and I commend the community for coming together and making it happen,” he said.
“Collie is proud of its long history as an industrial and mining town, and that will continue - but this exciting cultural venture shows we also have much more to offer.”
Collie Art Gallery’s inaugural $50,000 Collie Art Prize, the richest individual acquisitive art prize to be offered in regional Australia, is expected to attract entries from across the country.
Collie Art Gallery Chairperson, Trudi Curran, who is also head of Visual Arts at Collie Senior High school, said the theme, ‘Identity’, will put artists from various backgrounds on show.
“Most Australians agree that the arts enrich their lives and make them more meaningful,” she said.
“They participate in the arts for personal enjoyment, engagement with friends or family, self-expression, relaxation, skills development and income.”
“The competition’s theme of Identity will invite artists to submit significant artworks which will explore the age- old issues of identity and belonging that define who we are and how we relate to the world around us.
“The theme is open to the exploration of our various identities and groups we belong to as they change over time and in different contexts.
“Factors that can be explored include upbringing, past experiences, gender, race or nationality, culture, age or maturity, education, work experience, socio-economic groups, religion, beliefs and values, the groups we belong to and the people we admire.
“The competition invites entries in a variety of mediums and artistic treatment of the subject that will ultimately combine in an exhibition which will provoke discussion and introspection.”
Don Clark, a member of the Collie Art Prize organising committee arrived to live in the town with his wife Dianne just after the Collie Art Gallery was opened.
The couple had been involved in the early development of what is now known as the Cossack Art Awards and have high hopes for the future of the Collie Art Prize. Dianne is an accomplished watercolourist while Don claims no talent except for the ability to organise things and get them done.
“We’re committed to making the Collie Art Prize a success on all fronts,” Mr Clark said.
“We want everyone involved, the participating artists, the people of Collie and the public whom we hope will come far and wide to see the exhibition and to recognise it as one of the best art events in Australia.”
Entries to the Collie Art Prize in the first instance will by digital submission through the Gallery’s website. A panel of invited judges will select finalists who will then be invited to send their work to the Gallery in Collie, or to a designated drop off point in Perth.
A separate panel of judges will then make the final decision on winning works that will be announced at an event on Friday March 2 at the Gallery. See www.collieartgallery.org.au for entry details.