The 34 finalists of this year’s City of Hobart Art Prize have been announced, from a pool of 490 outstanding entries, all vying for a single $30,000 prize. In its 25th year, the Prize has this year been named to honour the contribution of Jill Freeman, who hosted finalists in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery between 1988 and 1992.
The Lord Mayor of the City of Hobart, Alderman Damon Thomas said that the increased prize money this year had attracted the cream of Australian contemporary art, craft and design talent and those entrants who made it through the gruelling selection process should be proud of their success.
“I congratulate all the finalists and acknowledge the dedicated work of our expert judges whose unenviable task is yet to be finished,” said the Lord Mayor.
The judging panel of Max Delany (Senior Curator, Contemporary Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Brian Parkes (CEO, Jam Factory) and Jane Stewart (Principal Curator of Art, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery) undertook three rounds of selections to choose the finalists, and will meet again shortly to decide the final winner.
The 2013 City of Hobart Art Prize exhibition includes photography, painting, drawing, digital media, ceramics, sculpture, design, glass and fibre. Twelve noted Tasmanian artists are exhibiting this year, as well as three past City of Hobart Prize winners including Tasmania’s Tricky Walsh (2009) and Colin Langridge (2011), and Victorian Julia deVille (2012).
The winner of the Jill Freeman 25th City of Hobart Art Prize will be announced at a gala evening at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery on Friday 19 July 2013, and the exhibition, staged in the Argyle Galleries (1 and 2) of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery will be open to the public from 20 July until 1 September 2013.
The full list of finalists can be viewed on the City of Hobart website.
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
20 July to 1 September, 2013
Images:
1) Honor Freeman, When life hands you lemons, 2012, handbuilt and slipcast porcelain.
Image by Craig Arnold
2) Belinda Winkler, Brink, 2013, bronze and steel.
Image by Peter Whyte
