Artists from across Australia have thrown their artworks in the ring to be awarded the M16 Artspace Drawing Prize and Young Drawers’ Prize. Winners will be announced at the opening of the exhibitions on Saturday 25 November, which will run until 10 December.
Artists are asked to submit works created in the method of their choosing, including traditional drawing media and techniques as well as nontraditional and digital works. Innovative works that challenge the interpretation of what a drawing can be are encouraged.
“We’ve had a wonderful response with entries from across Australia, and it’s a delight to have such solid representation among the finalists of both the M16 Artspace Drawing Prize and Young Drawers’ Prize hailing from the nation’s capital,” said Kirrily Jordan, director of M16 Artspace.
According to Ms Jordan, the remarkable Canberra region artists embody the spirit of our local arts community and demonstrate a diverse range of skills and artist innovations.
A total of 240 entries were received for the M16 Artspace Drawing Prize; of the 30 finalists, an impressive 11 were created by artists from the Canberra region. The winner of the coveted prize receives $10,000 sponsored by M16 Inc and The Cogito Group.
The prize pool comes from the competition’s sponsors and includes a runner-up prize of $1,000 from Delta Cleaning, the $2,500 Digital Drawing Prize from The Factor, and the $1,000 First Nations Drawing Prize from Kishwar Rahman, Chair of M16 Artspace Board. The People’s Choice award of $500 is sponsored by M16 Inc, while the Local Award Prize includes class vouchers totalling more than $800, sponsored by Braddon Framing Store and Megalo Print Studio.
Running for the third year, the Young Drawers Prize received an impressive 184 entries from budding creatives across the country, including three finalists from the Canberra region. The Young Drawers’ Prizes is judged in two categories: seniors aged 12-18 years, and juniors aged 11 and under.
The prizes are designed to encourage the growth of these young artists with art supplies vouchers being awarded. The Senior Drawing Prize winner receives $300 in vouchers, and the junior is awarded $200 in vouchers from Capital Chemist. The Senior Digital Drawing Prize totals $250 in art supplies vouchers while the Junior Digital Drawing Prize totals $250 in vouchers, both sponsored by The Factor.
See the works in the M16 Artspace Drawing Prize 2023 and M16 Young Drawers’ Prize 2023 exhibitions, 26 November-10 December; m16artspace.com.au
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