Melbourne’s Brunswick Street Gallery has announced the 2022 Small Works Art Prize winners. This year’s Prize encompasses painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, weaving and much more, with each work measuring 35 × 35 × 35cm or less.

Te Kahuwhero Alexander-Tu’Inukuafe, Fonua (Land), pen on card, 34 x 34cm framed. Courtesy the artist and Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne
Congratulations;
Te Kahuwhero Alexander-Tu’Inukuafe, whose work titled Fonua (Land) has won the $3,000 non-acquisitive First Prize, selected by this year’s guest judge, Robyn Gawenda, Executive Director and Co-CEO of Footscray Community Arts Centre. Gawenda says of the work:
“The dynamic, intricate lines create waves of movement, as if the work is a piece of coarse fabric. On closer inspection, the mastery of hand-drawn lines create a hypnotic visual effect. The command of the medium is clear, and the framing defines a universe of experience, distinct from its neighbouring works . . . Its quietness and detail offers an invitation to another space to contemplate, reflect and connect with place. In this complex time, a moment of reflection is a special and important gift.”

Ayman Kaake, Lullaby (video stills), video presented on artist’s iPhone, 11.5 x 6 x 1cm. Courtesy the artist and Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne
Ayman Kaake, whose video piece Lullaby won the Brunswick Street Gallery Prize, “chosen for its all encompassing conceptual significance,” says the gallery. Brunswick Street Gallery’s Director Sean Smith, Gallery Manager Jacqui Burnes and Gallery Coordinator Woody Mellor add:
“Ayman Kaake’s moving image work, Lullaby, is both a thoughtful and culturally relevant self-portrait of the young Lebanese photographer. With themes that are at once deeply personal and public, Ayman allows us a view through his own struggle in the face of devastating events in our recent global history – the terrifying explosion in Beirut, August 2020.”
Beatrice Dahllof, co-recipient of the Brunswick Street Gallery Prize, for their painting Untitled. Of the work, Smith and Burnes said:
“The small and elegant composition presents a combination of figurative and decorative elements in a way that feels intuitive, hinting at a process that is as equally reactive as it is planned. Her consideration of colour and application of paint is confident, playful and indicative of a young painter with a promising career ahead of her.”
Anne U, who Craft Victoria awarded the Object Prize for the ceramic piece Balance/Chaos. Craft Victoria provides insight into how the work came to be: “After a disaster beginning – an unfortunate casualty at the banding wheel – Anne gathered the broken shards to reform the pieces into its current sculptural form. The work is a story of persistence, something that is pertinent to us all in this post-pandemic world. Additionally, the glaze is really beautiful!”
Wensi Sun, awarded the Wall Prize for The Boy Portrait. Selected by Frame Of Mind, who said the painting “has beautiful colour, composition and an endearing softness.”
The public is invited to vote for their favourite artwork for the People’s Choice Award. The winning artist will receive a voucher from Art Shed, announced at exhibition’s end on Sunday, 21 January 2022.