October 4, 2016
A near-capacity crowd packed the Wondai Regional Art Gallery on Friday night to help launch this year’s South Burnett & Cherbourg On Show Festival.
The occasion was the South Burnett Art Competition, which is only open to South Burnett and Cherbourg artists and has become the annual curtain-raiser for the long weekend festival.
This year the competition increased the prize money on offer from $4800 to $6700, thanks to the help of extra sponsors who have come aboard in the past 12 months.
And the region’s artists responded in kind, swamping every inch of the Gallery with 165 pieces of art, ranging from oils and acrylics through to watercolours, photography and ceramics.
The exhibition’s two major sponsors – the South Burnett Regional Council and the Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council – were represented at the opening by Mayor Keith Campbell and Mayor Arnold Murray.
Mayor Murray kicked of the official part of the evening by performing a Welcome To Country and congratulating all the artists who had helped produce such a breathtaking display of work.
Mayor Keith Campbell agreed, saying the exhibition was a tribute to everyone involved and paying special thanks to the Gallery’s volunteers for the work they had put into the evening.
Compere Gil Smith, standing in for curator Elaine Madill who is recovering from illness, then took over the proceedings to provide everyone with an update on her progress.
“Elaine should be back with us in the next month or two, and I’m sure we all look forward to having her back,” Gil said.
After this a long list of awards were then presented to the winners and runners-up in each of this year’s competition categories (full results, below).
The major prize of the night – a $3000 prize awarded to the best submitted work across all categories – went to Roza Lear for her painting ‘Dusk’, which the judge described as “accomplished in technique and concept”.
The painting will now be added to the South Burnett’s permanent collection.
Roza, who is largely self-taught and has only been creating artworks for the last few years, said she was astonished to have won this year’s first prize and had never expected such an honour.
Fellow artist Robyn Dower, who won last year’s Acquisitive, was also rewarded when her work ‘Reflection’ took this year’s People’s Choice award.
After the official prize announcements, many of the guests adjourned to Dimities Cottage across the road for the Sample The South Burnett festival launch dinner.
Others went to the nearby Wondai Hotel for an after-party led by popular Indigenous band Muddy Flats, where artist Rocko Langton – who won this year’s Indigenous art category – put down his brushes and took up his guitar to entertain the crowd.
- The 2016 South Burnett Art Competition will remain on show at the Wondai Regional Art Gallery from 10:00am to 4:00pm daily until the end of October. Admission to view the exhibition is free.
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2016 South Burnett Art Competition Results
Acquisitive (Open) – $3000
Roza Lear – “Dusk”
Sponsor: South Burnett Regional Council
Section 5: Children’s Art
Sponsor: South Burnett Regional Council
Prep To Year 3 – Art Supplies:
- 1st: Lachlan Harrison – “The Turtle”
- 2nd: Milla Brown – “Starry Nights”
Year 4-7 – $30 First, $15 Second:
- 1st: Sarah Blinco-Kregenbrink – “Dreamcatcher”
- 2nd: Megan Underwood – “Hidden Treasures”
- HC: Ivan Harrison
Year 8-12 – $30 First:
- 1st: Kodi Sharp – “Misc Art”
Children’s Photography
Sponsor: South Burnett Regional Council
Prep to Year 12 – $30 First, $15 Second:
- 1st: Sarah Blinco-Kregenbrink – “Brisbane City Lights”
- 2nd: Sarah Blinco-Kregenbrink – “Bribie Sunset”
Section 4 (Open)
Indigenous Art – $400 First, $100 Second:
Sponsor: Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council
- 1st: Rocko Langton – “Gididtchma”
- 2nd: Maurice Mickelo – “Red Belly Black Snake”
- HC: Val McGrath – “Dolphin Dreaming”
Section 3 (Open)
Sculpture and Ceramics – $400 Fist, $100 Second:
Sponsor: Wondai Country Markets
- 1st: Preston Fisher – “Brahman”
- 2nd: Maureen Addenbrooke – “Steering The Raft”
- HC: Sandra Hoffman – “Round Wrinkles”
- Cm: Preston Fisher – “Barra”
Section 2 (Open)
Photography – $400 First, $100 Second
Sponsor: Brian Tucker
- 1st: Sharon McDonald – “A Foggy Start”
- 2nd: Linda Staines – “Just The Beginning”
- HC: Heather Stanton – “Wooroolin Wetlands”
Section 1D
Any Other Medium – $400 First, $100 Second
Sponsor: Wondai Lions Club
- 1st: Lee Porter – “Storm Coming”
- 2nd: Phoebe Bruce – “Journey”
- HC: Robyn Dower – “A Slight Adjustment”
- Cm: Selena Stevens – “Crying Angel”
- Cm: Rosemarie Matthews-Frederick – “Bottle Brushes”
Section 1C
Pastels – $400 First, $100 Second
Sponsor: Member For Flynn Ken O’Dowd
- 1st: Joanne Tollefson – “Cooling Shadows”
- 2nd: Kaye Kerner – “Hills At Sunset”
- HC: Kerry Kelly – “Calf And Pup”
- Cm: Fay Brown – “Three Scallywags”
Section 1B
Watercolour – $400 First, $200 Second
Sponsor: South Burnett Regional Council
- 1st: Dot Rowland – “Pink Delight”
- 2nd: Elizabeth Greensill – “Softly Softly”
- HC: Samantha Norman – “The Sea The Sea”
- Cm: Dot Rowland – “Aging With Grace”
Section 1A
Oils And Acrylics – $400 First, $200 Second
Sponsor: South Burnett Regional Council
- 1st: Lisa Jorgensen – “No Hesitation”
- 2nd: Shannus O’Sullivan – “Travelling With My Mother”
- HC: Robyn Dower – “Drifting”
- Cm: Fay Brown – “Dove Lake Tasmania”
People’s Choice – $100
Robyn Dower – “Reflection”
Sponsor: South Burnett Regional Council
