Olive Cotton Award opens

from The Weekly Real Estate from Coast to Country, July 6, 2023

atthe Footy w i t h Quinny

By Madeleine Murray

THE OLIVE Cotton Award for photographic portraiture opens at the Tweed Regional Gallery on Friday, July 14.

This biannual show is the only major photography exhibit in the region and carries a prize of $20,000.

Seventy-two finalists were selected from a record 613 entries this year, again making it one of the most popular photography awards in the state.

This year will have portraits of well-known artists Wendy Sharpe, Jude Rae, William Yang, Blak Douglas and the late Madeline Preston and John Olsen AO OBE.

The selection also includes portraits of respected cultural figures such as writer George Haddad, journalist Mervyn Bishop, politician Linda Burney, academics Marcia Langton and Dr Todd Fernando.

Guest judge, artist, curator and critic Dr Daniel Mudie Cunningham said: “Sparking conversations about First Nations sovereignty, race, place and migration, sexuality and gender, and mortality and time, among many other hot topics, these images have a lasting impact, exposing something of the intimacy of the photographer to the sitter, and to us, the captive audience.”

The winner of the $20,000 award will be an- nounced at the award night on Saturday, July 15, from 5pm. The announcement will be livestreamed on the Gallery’s Instagram channel.

Award Coordinator and Curator of Public Programs Meredith Cusack was pleased to see entries from first-time entrants as well as established artists.

“I am continually surprised and moved by the portraits we receive,” Meredith said.

“What strikes me this year is the individual vision of entrants. From the cinematic to the intimate, we are transported into the worlds of others. Sometimes it is the sitters’ world that is revealed and in others we are aware it is the artist’s lens that frames what we see.”

The Olive Cotton Award was launched in 2005 and is funded by Olive Cotton’s family and dedicated to her memory as one of Australia’s leading 20th century photographers.

Helen Ennis, one of Australia’s leading photography curators, historians and writers, will be part of the award’s public program this year. Ennis is the author of a number of books on Olive Cotton including Olive Cotton: A life in photography.

For a full list of finalists, visit: artgallery.tweed. nsw.gov.au/OliveCotton.