Some of Tasmania’s most talented emerging artists have been awarded at an end-of-year celebration of creativity from across the arts and media disciplines.
Fine Arts students have received a range of prizes that will enhance their practice, from exhibitions at highly regarded galleries to supplies needed for their work.
Maureen Beresford and Lucinda Verne shared the major University Acquisitive Prize. Work by the two artists will be acquired by the University and displayed as part of its cultural collection.
Ms Beresford, who will continue in an Honours year in 2025, said her work was inspired by the uniqueness of Tasmania’s landscapes and artists like Geoff Dyer and Bob Brown who had captured it.
“It’s a minimalist approach – I love both impressionists and abstract work,” she said.
“I hope to continue that in my Honours year where I’ll look at the footprint of manmade constructions left behind in individual environments.”
Ms Verne turned ribbon into a message board to celebrate the positives in her life.
“I have dyslexia and this piece is about me claiming these positive things about myself,” she said.
She plans to study a Master of Teaching at the University, channelling her passion into inspiration for a new generation of artists.
“I take inspiration as it comes, as well as in the place I live,” she said. “I would love to pass that creativity down.”
Students celebrated their final works in exhibitions at the Centre for the Arts in Hobart and The Workshop at Inveresk.
The full list of award winners is:
Contemporary Art Tasmania Prize: Lychandra Gieseman
Bett Gallery Award: Ella Harrold and Deborah Leisser
Rotary Emerging Artist Award: Jacob O’Shanassy
Salamanca Art Centre Graduate Scholarship: Jacob O’Shanassy
Megalo Print Studio Residency: Chloe Allen
Scotch Oakburn s.p.a.c.e gallery Prize: Sharon O’Donnell
Sawtooth ARI Award: Estelle Dobbs
Madeline Gordon Gallery Award: Isaac Muir and Chloe Allen
University Acquisitive Prize: Maureen Beresford and Lucinda Verne
If art is your passion, find out more about courses in the School of Creative Arts and Media