Mission prize draws international maritime art

Mission prize draws international maritime art

Mission to Seafarers Victoria (MtSV) was adorned with an exhibition of ANL Maritime Art Prize entries over October with the winners announced on the opening night on October 3.

The prize has run from MtSV with help from sponsors for 17 years, raising the profile of the international seafarer community and the MtSV.

“The Mission to Seafarers Annual Art Prize and Exhibition provides the shipping industry as well as the community an opportunity to support the seafarers who transport 90 per cent of the world’s goods,” MtSV chief manager Sue Dight said.

“The artists who support the event have responded to the theme Humanity and the Sea with works that comment upon the nature of the work of seafarers, the tiny specks they are in the vast oceans of the world, the faces of those who have traversed the world, and the connections we all have with the sea.”

“This year’s 250 entries came from as far afield as Germany, Spain, Bangladesh, Pakistan, USA and New Zealand to create a diverse field from which to select the 90 works that are exhibited at the mission.”

This year’s prize of $15,000 was awarded to Maria Kontis for her work Barely Surviving and Merely Looking On, which will remain at MtSV. Her work is held around the world at UBS Art Collection in Switzerland, the University of Arts London, the National Gallery of Australia and the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

The judges’ comment on her winning piece – a watercolour on canvas – was: “A deceptively humble, relaxed work with great pathos and ambition, but phrased in a unique artistic language. Using a virtuoso technique, it fulfils the brief of the prize admirably.”

This year’s judges were professor of contemporary art at the University of Melbourne Dr Charles Green, art collector and Lorne Sculpture Biennale 2020 board member Graeme H. Williams OAM and artist, designer and educator Catherine De Boer.

The ASP Best Traditional Maritime Art Award of $5000 was awarded to Jenny Viney for Men at Work and the Neville & Co Runners Up Award of $2000 to Barbara Tyson for Weight of Living.

A VICT Emerging Artist Award of $2000 was awarded to Raj Panda for Looking Back to Look Forward.

The exhibition was open to the public until October 20.

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