{"id":376731,"date":"2026-10-07T14:24:49","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T04:24:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=376731"},"modified":"2026-10-07T14:39:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T04:39:29","slug":"hot-competition-at-art-acquisitive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2026\/10\/07\/hot-competition-at-art-acquisitive\/","title":{"rendered":"Hot Competition At Art Acquisitive"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Captain Steve Robert, from Wooroolin, was one of the firefighters who “dropped in” to last Friday night’s Wondai Regional Art Gallery opening … he was welcomed with open arms by South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duff and Art Gallery president Maureen Irving<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

October 6, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

The annual Acquisitive competition always attracts a big crowd to the Wondai Regional Art Gallery, but this year there were some unexpected guests … a team of firefighters.<\/p>\n

A small fire in the gallery’s kitchen triggered an automatic fire alert on Friday night and just minutes later several fully PPE-clad firefighters rolled in to join the opening night crowd.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, only a tiny section of the kitchen bench suffered some scorching from the incident but everyone was very grateful for the quick response!<\/p>\n

The rest of the evening went a lot smoother, although the 10 Awards categories were also very hotly contested.<\/p>\n

The main prize, the $3000 South Burnett Regional Council Acquisitive, was taken out for the second year running by Wondai artist Katrina O’Shannessy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Her work, \u201cEcology in Colour\u201d, will now be added to Council’s permanent collection.<\/p>\n

Cherbourg Council sponsored the Indigenous Art Of Australia award, which was won by Glass Art Dreaming artist Toni Phillips-Petersen for \u201cWhere Stories Begin\u201d.<\/p>\n

One of the other big winners on the night was South Burnett artist Tiana Justine who went home with three first prizes in different categories.<\/p>\n

Local artist Elizabeth Greensill also did well, winning first and second prizes, the Hangers’ Prize and the People’s Choice award (voted on the night).<\/p>\n

The competition entries were assessed by an independent judge, Gympie artist Jan Lawnikanis, who spent two days in Wondai viewing all the artworks.<\/p>\n

[The full list of winners is below]<\/b><\/p>\n

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South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duff with the 2026 Acquisitive Winner Katrina O’Shannessy, from Wondai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Mayor Kathy Duff and Cherbourg Deputy Mayor Gordon Wragge enlisted the help of the children present to officially open the October exhibition at Wondai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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2024 Acquisitive winner Barbara Stewart with her father Les … the two artists both had entries in this year’s competition<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Tiana Justine with her winning painting, top right, \u201cEarth – Red”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Toni Phillips-Petersen, second from right, with Alex Reed; Bryan, Helena, Bibi and Bryansen Phillips-Petersen, and Lilly Stumer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Ashleigh Hawkins with her work, “Memerambi Springs Interior”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Cherbourg Deputy Mayor Gordon Wragge with his former golfing buddy, Pam Mellersh, from Wondai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

* * *<\/h2>\n

Prize Winners<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

$3000 ACQUISITIVE – sponsored by South Burnett Regional Council and selected from the entries in all categories<\/strong><\/p>\n