Prior to the announcement of the Archibald winners the President of the Board of Trustees David Gonski indicated that he was stepping down after 19 years on the Board and therefore this was his last announcement of the Archibald winners.
This year the Archibald, Wynne an d Sulman Prizes had 2371 entries with a 1005 entries in to the Archibald, 738 in the Wynne and 628 in the Sulman Prizes.
On display there are 57 Archibald Prize finalistss, 41 Wynne Prizef finalists and 40 Sulman Prize finalists.
The Young Archies had a record amount of entries – in excess of 4,000.
There was only one artist present to receive their award – Laura Jones with her portrait of Tim Winton, the renowned author and conservationist. The Archibald Prize was worth $100,000.
Distinguished Yolnu elder and artist Djakanu Yunpinu, who sent a video message from Yirrkala in the Northern Territory, was celebrating her Wynne Prize for her painting Nyalala gurmilili with her fellow artists in their commune.
Her work is one of the largest bark paintings ever produced. This is the first bark painting to be awarded the Wynne Prize.
Although the Archibald and Wynne Prizes were judged by the Board of Trutee, the Sulman Prize was judged by an individual artist Tom Polo.
First time Sulman finalist Naomi Kantjuriny for her work Minyma Mama Tjuta is the third indigenous artist to win the Sulman Prize.
There also will be the People’s Choice Awards an d the Young Archies Awards which will be announced closer to the closure date, the 9th September 2024.
Text and photos by Ben Apfelbaum
