Artists are being invited to enter the inaugural Hill Painting Prize, a new national painting award to be exhibited at the Blue Mountains Cultural Centre in August and September.
The Hill Painting Prize calls for works depicting the urban, man-made and natural landscapes of the Blue Mountains and is open to all Australian residents.
The prize will feature three awards – People’s Choice, Artist’s Choice and an overall winner – with a total prize pool of $12,000. The overall winner will be announced at the official exhibition opening on Friday 7 August.
Blue Mountains City Council Mayor, Mark Greenhill said the new prize reflects the region’s strong artistic identity and extraordinary setting.
“As NSW’s first City of the Arts, and Australia’s only local government area located entirely within a World Heritage wilderness area, it makes perfect sense to celebrate this unique region with a painting prize and exhibition focusing on the features that make it so special,” Mayor Greenhill said.
The prize has been made possible through a generous living bequest from respected local artist David Robert Hill, who has been an active member of the Blue Mountains arts community since the 1980s and is well known for his vibrant landscape paintings.
Through the establishment of this prize, Mr Hill hopes to honour what he describes as the “serious art of painting” and to encourage continued artistic engagement with the Blue Mountains landscape.
Reflecting on his lifelong commitment to painting, Mr Hill said: “One tends to build art around life, rather than life around art. It becomes the nucleus of life.”
Submissions open on 15 March. For further information and entry details, visit www.bluemountainsculturalcentre.com.au.
