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The Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (CAPC) and the Blake Society have announced the finalists for the 64th Blake Prize, Australia’s longest standing and most prestigious prize which encourages conversation about spirituality and religion through art.
The Blake Prize is widely respected for attracting artists from a diverse range of backgrounds and ages. Finalists range from leading contemporary practitioners to emerging and self-taught artists. This year there were 594 entries with 80 finalists selected hailing from across Australia, Ireland, the United States, Switzerland, France, Germany and New Zealand.
Judged by CEO of World Vision Australia, reverend Tim Costello; artist Leanne Tobin; and Professor Amanda Lawson, the winner of the $35,000 Blake Prize will be announced on Friday 12 February 2016. The Emerging Artist Award, an acquisitive prize, is awarded $6,000. In addition CPAC will also offer the inaugural Blake Residency program, a one-month residency at CPAC and a solo exhibition which will be unveiled at the 2018 Blake exhibition program.
CPAC Director Kiersten Fishburn has praised the high calibre of this year’s entrants. “Some artists have clearly come from a place of deep faith, others have used this as an exploration with many seeking to find ways to articulate a deeply personal spirituality. The extraordinary diversity of expression is also reflected across the mediums used this year – from traditional art techniques, to video works”, says Fishburn.
The Blake Prize is committed to contemporary art practice, as well as cultural diversity and human justice. It is designed to spark conversations around one of the most contentious issues of our time: spirituality and religion. It has inspired complex debates about faith, its history, personal meaning, and community. The Blake Prize is about continuing to challenge contemporary artists to provide thoughtful, considered responses to the state of the world today.
This year’s finalists’ exhibition will be held at CAPC for the first time.
Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre
13 February to 24 April, 2016
Sydney
Cigdem Aydemir, Untitled, 2015
