The Art Gallery of South Australia have announced the twenty-seven finalists who have been selected for the Ramsay Art Prize 2023 – a $100,000 acquisitive prize for contemporary Australian artists under the age of forty.
In this fourth iteration of the prize, the Ramsay Art Prize 2023 finalists are: Abdul Abdullah (NSW), Carla Adams (WA), Badra Aji (VIC), Tom Blake (NSW/WA), Yuriyal Eric Bridgeman (QLD), Emma Buswell (WA), Jacobus Capone (WA), Sundari Carmody (SA), Ida Sophia (SA), Corban Clause Williams (WA), Henry Curchod (NSW), Sarah Drinan (NT), Zaachariaha Fielding (SA), Aidan Gageler (NSW), Olive Gill-Hille (WA), Pascale Giorgi (WA), Nadia Hernández (VIC), Alana Hunt (WA/NSW), Alfred Lowe (SA), Gian Manik (VIC), Daniel McKewen (QLD), Amy Perejuan-Capone (WA), Alison Puruntatameri (NT), JD Reforma (NSW), Teho Ropeyarn (QLD), Yasmin Smith (NSW) and Katie West (WA).
“Congratulations to all the finalists for this prestigious art prize,” said South Australian Minister for the Arts, The Hon. Andrea Michaels MP. “The Ramsay Art Prize recognises extraordinary contemporary Australian artists and supports them to take their career to new heights with the opportunity to have their work feature in an exhibition at one of our state’s most loved and visited destinations.”
More than 300 artists – from Tasmania to the Tiwi Islands – submitted entries for the Ramsay Art Prize 2023. This year’s finalists were selected by a judging panel of contemporary art specialists comprised of Aaron Seeto, Director of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Nusantara, Jakarta; Perth-based visual artist and creative producer Erin Coates; and Nici Cumpston OAM, AGSA’s Artistic Director of Tarnanthi: Festival of Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art and Curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art.
“The Ramsay Art Prize offers a career-defining moment for artists under forty and has become an important platform within the visual art landscape in Australia,” said AGSA Director, Rhana Devenport ONZM.
“Thanks to the generosity of the James & Diana Ramsay Foundation, we are thrilled to offer one of the nation’s most generous art prizes to celebrate the energy and dynamism of artistic practice in Australia right now,” said Davenport.
“Since its inception in 2017, the Ramsay Art Prize has exhibited works of art from 68 artists, and in this fourth iteration we will see another 27 finalists added to this cohort,” said James & Diana Ramsay Foundation Executive Director, Kerry de Lorme.
“Being a finalist enables an artist to have their work displayed in a state art gallery and, with an average of 47,000 visitors to each Ramsay Art Prize exhibition, this provides a remarkable opportunity at a pivotal moment in an artist’s career.” said de Lorme.
All works selected as finalists will be exhibited in a major exhibition at AGSA from 27 May until 27 August 2023. The winner will be judged from the exhibition and announced on Friday 26 May 2023.
The winning work will be acquired into AGSA’s collection, joining works by past prize winners Sarah Contos (2017), Vincent Namatjira (2019) and Kate Bohunnis (2021).
The Ramsay Art Prize 2023 finalist exhibition also includes a People’s Choice Prize, supported by sponsor LK. The People’s Choice Prize is a non-acquisitive cash prize of $15,000 chosen by public vote and announced on Friday 11 August 2023.
For more information about the Ramsay Art Prize and the 2023 Finalists, visit: www.agsa.sa.gov.au for details.
Image: Katie West, born Perth 1988, Fence lines & Digging sticks, 2022, York, Western Australia, found fabric, thread, wire – courtesy the artist.