Thirty-two finalists have been announced for the twentieth annual Gallipoli Art Prize, a $20,000 acquisitive prize sponsored by the Gallipoli Memorial Club in Sydney. The Prize invites artists to respond openly to the broad themes of loyalty, respect, love of country, courage, comradeship, community, peace and freedom as expressed in the Gallipoli Memorial Club’s creed:
“We believe that within the community there exists an obligation for all to preserve the special qualities of loyalty, respect, love of country, courage and comradeship which were personified by the heroes of the Gallipoli Campaign and bequeathed to all humanity as a foundation for perpetual peace and universal freedom.”
Julianne Ross Allcorn, On the Edge
Works include a mixed media piece by Julianne Ross Allcorn, On the Edge, made up of a fore-edge painting (a scene painted on the edges of book pages) in pencil and watercolour on war history books. “The skill of fore-edge painting has fascinated me for a long time and I wanted to create an artwork that had a deep connection to the written word, the recording of history. In this instance the writings of war times. A list of War Artists is in the little art journal,” says Allcorn.
While many of the works reference WWI, there are also works depicting contemporary servicemen, including Naomi Lawler’s portrait of her father and Ross Townsend’s Duty Calls. Many finalists take inspiration for their works from distant or close relatives who have served in the armed forces such as Henry Kerr’s vibrant and loving portrait titled Grandad.
A.E Stubbs-Race, LEFT
Animals are also featured in the works, including A.E Stubbs-Race’s haunting artwork LEFT, a painting of a lone horse. Several Australian war horses were left behind at Gallipoli Cove and their descendants can still be found living on the Gallipoli peninsula.
“I am always impressed by the diversity of the works and how individual artists choose to respond to the special qualities within the Gallipoli Memorial Club’s Creed. While the winner was a unanimous choice, there was much discussion amongst 5 paintings which were very competitive,” said John Robertson, President of the Gallipoli Memorial Club.
“These art works inspire us to reflect deeply on perpetual peace and universal freedom, which is much needed in the world today.”
This year’s judging process was conducted by Robertson, Jane Watters, Barry Pearce, and Elizabeth Fortescue.
Finalists:
A.E Stubbs-Race, Alex Jobbagy, Amanda Gosse, Andrew Tomkins, Bevan Henderson, Bilge Yuceer Karakus, Cathy Ellem, Chen Xin James Lin, Claire Cusack, Craig Handley, Geoff Harvey, Henry Kerr, James Strickland, John Robertson, Jon Potter, Julianne Ross Allcorn, Kristin Hardiman, Lori Pensini, Margaret Hadfield, Michael Brimmer, Michelle Elena Zuccolo, Naomi Hatt, Naomi Lawler, Peter Horst, Peter Whitehead, Rick Crossland, Robert Hammill, Robert Williams, Ross Townsend, Sue Macleod-Beere, Todd Simpson, and Wayne Davis.
The 2025 Gallipoli Art Prize finalist exhibition will be held in Sydney at 6–8 Atherden Street, The Rocks, from 17 April to 11 May 2025, with the winner announced Wednesday 16 April, in the lead-up to Anzac Day.
