Appreciation Through Portraiture

Wenona achieved a prize winner and 11 finalists in the 2022 Mosman Youth Art Prize in June, with the judges making particular mention of our students’ technical skill and sensitivity.

Hundreds of young people aged between 12 and 21 from across Sydney entered the competition. “We were really impressed by Wenona’s strong showing this year. Its entries were really popular with the judges,” says Mosman Art Gallery Senior Curator, Ms Kelly McDonald.

Year 10 student Cassidy Mason won the Friends of the Gallery Prize in the Secondary category, for her beautiful pencil portrait The Tennis Table, of one of her grandmother’s friends. “I met Sherly at a tennis club where my grandma took me for lunch in Melbourne. Sherly used to be an art teacher and always complimented me on my talent. I thought it would be really special to draw her because she reminded me of my purpose and identity as an artist - her words brought me back to myself again. Producing this portrait helped me focus on creating something beautiful in hard times,” Cassidy says.

Year 12 student Olivia Kennard submitted a portrait of her grandmother Lorraine, winning a place in the finals. “I themed my piece Significant because my grandmother is so inspiring,” Olivia says. “Her father came back from WWII with post-traumatic stress and was very difficult to live with when she was young. She took on most of the responsibility for looking after her five younger siblings while her mother worked, did brilliantly at school, received a scholarship to university and worked as a teacher. Later in life, she struggled with her own mental health but is very strong as a result, expressing gratitude, selflessness and generosity in everything.”

According to Ms McDonald, the intergenerational aspect of works such as those by Cassidy and Olivia, “touched both the judges’ and the visitors’ hearts”.

The 2022 Prize was judged by artist Rosie Deacon, who recently collaborated with Ken Done for a project during Australian Fashion Week. The Wenona students’ work was on display in the Mosman Art Gallery throughout June.