Wyndham Art Prize 2023 – Winners announced

Arrayah Loynd has taken out the top award in this year’s 2023 Wyndham Art Prize.

The artwork, an archival pigment print on cotton rag, titled Dissociated, took out the $15,000 coveted prize.

An emotionally powerful artwork that captured the heart of the judges was from Loynd’s series, Pain Always Finds The Surface.

The highly sought after Local Emerging Art Prize, a $5,000 acquisitive for a local artist who has been practicing for five years or less, was awarded to local artist Nandita Nadkarni for the artwork titled ‘Crafted Clay Odyssey’, which will now be part of the Wyndham City Visual Art collection.

The artwork draws inspiration from the awe-inspiring Spotswood Pumping Station and explores the intricate interplay between nature and human ingenuity.

The Wyndham Art Prize, now in its ninth year, again attracted some fantastic artwork.

Last night’s Wyndham Art Prize opening event was well attended and was full of vibrancy and the atmosphere electric.

The annual contemporary art prize attracts entries from some of the best artists across Australia and offers a chance for local and emerging artists to exhibit alongside them.

Wyndham City’s Mayor, Cr Susan McIntyre, said: “It’s Wyndham Art Gallery’s annual gala event and as expected it was an exciting and thrilling exhibition opening.”

“The Wyndham Art Prize 2023 brings together creatives from Wyndham and across Melbourne.”

“It is wonderful to have so many fabulous artworks on display. Projects such as this encourage creativity and artistic expression and strengthen community.”

The 2023 Wyndham Art Prize had more than 550 artworks submitted. Of those, 71 were selected as finalists for this year’s exhibition including nine local artists.

“We have paintings, ceramics, photography, sculptures, video, prints, drawings and many other wonderful creations on display,” Cr McIntyre said.

This year's Wyndham Art Prize judges include Jason Smith, Director and CEO of Geelong Gallery, Nicole Durling, Executive Director at Craft Victoria and Gail Harradine, Curatorial Manager at Koorie Heritage Trust. They had the difficult task of selecting the winners from the final 71 artworks in the exhibition.

Come and visit the Wyndham Art Gallery and see the amazing artwork on display and don’t forget to cast your vote in person via the art gallery ballot box for the third Prize the People’s Choice Award of $2,500.

The Wyndham Art Prize exhibition is on display from Wednesday 16 August until Sunday, 22 October 2023. Entry to the Gallery is free and opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, and 11am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday. The gallery is closed on public holidays.

For more information, visit www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/venues/wyndham-art-gallery