Winners of City of Rockingham Art Prize 2024 announced

Winners of the City of Rockingham Art Prize 2024 have been announced.

The competition attracted more than 420 entries from artists all over Western Australia, across a wide range of artistic styles. 

A total of $19,500 in prizes was awarded across five categories, with the $500 People’s Choice Award to be announced on July 5.

The judging panel comprised creative producer and cultural planner Michelle Broun, contemporary WA artist Paul Kaptein, and Hannah Mathews, the Director/CEO at the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts

First prize of $10,000, for the most outstanding artwork, was awarded to Sam Bloor for his work titled Cosmic Horror, a C-type print on archival rag.  

The judges noted that the winning artwork, “provides a very public commentary on the Australian Ugliness, hijacking existing structures to draw our attention to dominant narratives of paradise and the latent histories of disparity that exist beneath the surface.”

The Small Sculpture Award was awarded to Adam Hisham Ismail for his work Night Swimming #2, Night Swimming series, described by the judges as “a playful celebration of a dystopian subterranean world… highly skilled and deeply detailed, combining a strong sense of humour and narrative.

The First Nations Artist Award was won by Greg Barr for his acrylic and Balga resin work titled Pop’s One, which the judges noted was “an honest and confident work that evokes a strong sense of journey and Country”.

The Local Resident Award went to Jeanette Rein for her work titled Intertwined Relationships, a small sculpture hand carved from Albany woolybush, which “celebrates the interconnectedness and fragility of relationships between people, place and time.”

The Emerging Artist Award was won by Sam Hopkins for his stainless steel sculpture titled Collapse, which “demonstrates material ambition and confidence in approach. It is a highly skilled exploration of precarity, chaos and their tensions”

The 81 submissions selected as finalists are now on display at the Rockingham Arts Centre, 11 Kent Street, Rockingham. 

The $500 People’s Choice Award is open for public voting throughout the course of the exhibition and will be announced on July 5.

Anyone voting for their favourite artwork has a chance to win the $200 Voter’s Prize.

City of Rockingham Mayor Deb Hamblin praised the quality of the entries.

“On behalf of the City I would like to congratulate the winners for their outstanding creativity and skill, and all of the participating artists who created a piece for the 2024 City of Rockingham Art Prize," she said.

“The City of Rockingham supports arts and culture because it contributes to the overall well-being of our community, enriches the local experience and provides opportunities for artists to exhibit their work.

“We are grateful to our Art Prize Curator Sandra Murray and the judging panel for their expertise, and for the ongoing support of our sponsor, Artsource.”

The exhibition is open until 4pm Sunday, June 30, with free admission and parking. 

For more information on the Art Prize visit rockingham.wa.gov.au/artprize - A virtual tour of the exhibition is also available.