NPG Art Handlers’ award winners chosen

The National Portrait Gallery’s art handlers have chosen their favourite works from the soon-to-land Darling Portrait Prize and National Photographic Portrait Prize exhibitions. Both winning artists have been awarded $2,000 from IAS Fine Art Logistics.

Jane Allan has been awarded the 2022 Darling Portrait Prize Art Handlers’ Award for her portrait of her carer, Warren, in Weight of the Mind’s Periapt 2021. Allan’s portrait uses industrial shapes and earthy tones to depict her unsung hero; Warren is Allan’s primary carer, a former maths and science lecturer, and best friend to his 23-year-old Burmese cat.

Cordy in the Clouds by Adam Haddrick took home the 2022 National Photographic Portrait Prize Art Handlers’ Award. Cordy, whose name translates to ‘Spirit of the sunrise’ in the language of the Tjungundi people of Far North Queensland, is an Indigenous elder. Haddrick noted the clouds hadn’t been around for weeks but made a point of stopping by for this mesmerising portrait of Cordy.

As prize season continues, the winner of the Darling Portrait Prize will be announced on 24 June, while the winner of the National Photographic Portrait Prize will be announced 1 July.

The winning entries can be seen at the National Portrait Gallery from 25 June to 9 October;  portrait.gov.au

Significant Others, a love story captured in art

The National Gallery of Australia is temporarily home to Rauschenberg & Johns: Significant Others exhibition.

In 1950s New York, the height of the abstract expression movement, same-sex relationships are still illegal. For seven years, young artists Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns are in a relationship, one that would change the world of art.

Not wanting to expose their love for each other through their work, the two men created their own secret dialogue with their art. The pair incorporated everyday objects, signs and media into their pieces in a new Avant Garde style, which would stay with them after the relationship ended.

Jump to the late 1960s, long after the pair had split, the men played an important role in the revival of printmaking in the US. Their experiments with printmaker Kenneth Taylor created pieces in lithography and screen-print that still tour the world. Work from both periods can be seen in this exhibition.

See the love story at the National Gallery of Australia until 30 October; nga.gov.au

$100k boost to Canberra screen scene

Seven screen projects from the Canberra region have received a cash injection from Screen Canberra and artsACT over the past fiscal year.

The funding awarded from the ACT Screen Arts Fund (ACTSAF) has gone towards helping a range of up-and-coming creatives move their screen-based projects further in their development stages.

A documentary, feature film, and comedy series are some of the projects to have recently received funding from Screen Canberra on behalf of the ACT Government, in a bid to see a vibrant screen industry in the capital.

Former ANU student and Canberra based Nepali artist and film maker Praidnik Awasthi received funding for his new animated film Marionettes and the Virtue of a Lotus Flower. The film explores the issue of child marriage through Marionettes, whose fates are sealed in a cycle of suffering, a mother questions their existence and begs God for their liberation. The funding Awasthi received goes towards the post-production of this project.

Projects can apply for funding via screencanberra.com.au

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