Castaways People’s Choice Awards Winners Announced

Joint winners of the $1,000 Fremantle Ports People's Choice Award – Main Exhibition are Paul Fontanini for Recycling Metamorphosis and Kim Perrier for Aqueous.

Paul Fontanini said: “I am honoured to be chosen by the people for this prize, and to share it with Kim Perrier is great as we are both regional artists and put in a huge effort to get our best work up to Castaways."

The $500 Fremantle Ports People's Choice Award – Maquette and Small Sculpture Exhibition was taken out by Emily Smith for her piece Contamination.

Winner Emily Smith said:"I'm beyond honoured and grateful to be the recipient of the Fremantle Ports People's Choice Award. Thank you so much to everyone who voted, and to the City of Rockingham for giving artists like myself a platform to get our work, and our messages, out there.”

Finally, the $250 Fremantle Ports People's Choice Award – Schools Exhibition was won by students from Rockingham Beach Education Support Centre, for I’m a peliCAN, not a trash CAN.

“We loved creating our pelican and learning about how we can make our oceans safer for wildlife. We hope our pelican helped spread the message of keeping our beaches clean,” a school spokesperson said.  

Castaways is the City’s signature arts and culture event, and provides both emerging and professional artists with a chance to showcase their creative skills in an exhibition that highlights sculptures made from recycled and repurposed materials.

Mayor Deb Hamblin congratulated the winners on having the most popular sculptures at the event. 

“The winners of this year’s Fremantle Ports People’s Choice Awards stood out among their peers and they should all be very proud of their efforts," Mayor Hamblin said. 

“Fremantle Ports has long been a sponsor of this award category, and the City is very grateful for its ongoing support.”

Fremantle Ports praised everyone involved in Castaways for delivering another great event this year. 

“Fremantle Ports is proud to partner with organisations that deliver such vibrant and engaging events and activities. Connecting our communities near our operations in Rockingham, Kwinana and Cockburn as well as Fremantle, the Castaways Sculpture Awards is a hub of creativity and innovation while promoting the enjoyment of the outdoors and marine environment. We commend the organisers, sponsors, supporters and artists for ensuring another great event this year,” a spokesperson said.

Every visitor who voted was entered into a draw for the $500 Voter’s Prize.

Castaways Sculpture Awards will return in 2025, from 25 October to 2 November.

Image: Fremantle Ports Manager Communications and Community Neil Stanbury, Artist Paul Fontanini and City of Rockingham Mayor Deb Hamblin.