Forty-nine artists have been shortlisted for the prestigious Redland Art Awards 2022, an acquisitive painting competition presented by Redland Art Gallery.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said the judges had a tough time shortlisting the works, with 479 entries received from artists across Australia.

“These biennial awards have been running since 1981 and are highly regarded, attracting entries from distinguished artists nationwide,” Cr Williams said.

“Redlands Coast has a thriving arts community so I am very excited that seven local artists are among the finalists, which includes 38 Queensland artists.”

The shortlisted Redlands Coast artists are Chase Archer, Michael Hume, Heine Iedema, Kim Knight, Maya Peters, Frances Rice-Jordan and May Sheppard.

This year’s judges are Dr Fiona Foley (Badtjala artist and Senior Lecturer, Queensland College of Art Griffith University), Dr Holly Arden (Interim Director, UQ Art Museum), Hamish Sawyer (Independent curator and writer) and Emma Bain (Director, Redland Art Gallery).

Redland Art Gallery Director Emma Bain said it was wonderful to see the ongoing national interest in the awards.

“We have received entries from every state and territory and it has been a real privilege working on the shortlisting panel to decide on the 49 finalists,” Ms Bain said.

“Once the exhibition opens in October, our visitors can also choose their favourite work by placing a vote for the Meredith Foxton People’s Choice Award, which is proudly sponsored by Redland Yurara Art Society Inc.”

Redland Art Awards winners will be announced on Friday 14 October and an exhibition of the shortlisted works will be exhibited at Redland Art Gallery, Cleveland from 16 October until 4 December.

The awards offer four prizes totalling $22,000 – an acquisitive prize of $15,000, runner-up awards of $4000 and $2500 and The Meredith Foxton People’s Choice Award of $500.

A list of finalists is available on the Redland Art Awards website and an image gallery of the finalist artworks will be available to view online from 16 October to coincide with the exhibition.

Presented by Redland Art Gallery, the Redland Art Awards are an initiative of Redland City Council in conjunction with event sponsors Redland Yurara Art Society and Stark Creations.