Recent art prize winners bucking the norms

Artists aren’t generally known for their love of rules and convention, but some recent art prize winners have been inspiring the judges with their novel takes on their art forms.

10 Oct 2023 23:22

Jo Pickup

Prize winners. 2023 major art prize winners Australia. A close-up picture of a woven paper artwork's detail.

Visual Arts

Detail view of artist Jacky Cheng’s work ‘Yue Lao – God of Matchmaking and Marriage’ (2021), which won this year’s Fremantle Print Award in August 2023. Photo: Jacky Cheng.

Spring is a high time for art prizes in Australia, and there are many reasons to celebrate the talent far and wide across this country.

But this year there is an especially eye-catching trend to observe among a crop of recent art prize winners whose work departs from traditional expectations of their genres.

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ArtsHub's Arts Feature Writer Jo Pickup is based in Perth. An arts writer and manager, she has worked as a journalist and broadcaster for media such as the ABC, RTRFM and The West Australian newspaper, contributing media content and commentary on art, culture and design. She has also worked for arts organisations such as Fremantle Arts Centre, STRUT dance, and the Aboriginal Arts Centre Hub of WA, as well as being a sessional arts lecturer at The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).