The Fifth Annual Brisbane Portrait Prize Launches

Now in its fifth year, the Brisbane Portrait Prize has officially launched for 2023, with entries now open until mid August. The prize has quickly become one of the must-see art exhibits in Brisbane, as it showcases some of our city's greatest artists and some of our most iconic figures. I was lucky enough to attend the artist launch where some of last year's finalists spoke and this year's judges were announced. 

Representing last year's artists were Bianca Beetson, Pat Hoffie, and Stephen Tiernan. These artists all spoke fondly of their experience with the prize and gave advice for potential applicants. Their advice was to keep going, remember we all get knocked down, never compare your work to others, and most importantly make art for the sake of making art. Hearing these artists speak it was clear how passionate they each are about their practise and the culture of art in Brisbane.

New in 2023 is the Metro Arts Experimental Portraiture Prize. This prize is intended to support an emerging artist whose work is challenging, unexpected or innovative. Having this new prize will be a great way to support emerging artists, as well as highlight the breadth of what portraiture can be. Metro Arts will also be home to some of the exhibition in their gallery space.

This year's judges are all industry experts with extensive experience. The finalist judges for 2023 are Dr Holly Arden and Teho Ropeyarn. They will be responsible for selecting the 60 finalists from the expected hundreds of applicants. Dr Holly Arden is an art educator, curator and author, as well as the former Interim and Associate Director of the UQ Art Museum. Teho Ropeyarn is an artist and curator, he is heavily involved in the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair. The 2023 chief judge is Suzanne Cotter, she has worked at several major arts institutions as either director or senior curator, she is currently the Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia.

If this has sparked your interest to enter, here are the finer details: The Brisbane Portrait Prize, is all about celebrating Brisbane portrait artists and their sitters, and getting the community talking about the arts. To be eligible, both the artist and the sittr must have a connection to Brisbane / Meanjin. And this year there are $90,000 available in prizes. If you’re keen to submit an entry, or like to know more, check out: https://www.brisbaneportraitprize.org/2023-prize/

The Brisbane Portrait Prize is a key event in our local arts calendar. Last year had so many amazing finalists exhibit their work around Brisbane and this year is shaping up to be even better. I look forward to seeing the exhibition when it opens in September.