Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize 2023

Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize is a new initiative of Hervey Bay Regional Gallery and Fraser Coast Regional Council that seeks to explore our reciprocal, inextricable relationship with the environment through contemporary art.

This biennial art prize invited entries from artists working in any visual art medium from across Australia, offering a $25,000 major acquisitive prize.

The prize draws its name from the Butchulla word for sand, a vital component of the region’s landscape. As a title, Girra is both emblematic of the enduring social and cultural importance of the natural environment in the Fraser Coast and a conceptual provocation.

Sand forms our saltwater coasts, freshwater riverbeds, and dry desert interior, shaped over millennia by the tides and winds. Sand forms the foundation of our cities, mined and rendered into concrete or melted into glass. A ubiquitous presence in the Australian landscape, sand reveals the sensitive, cyclical, and reciprocal relationship between people and place.

This inaugural exhibition tells a compelling story about our relationship to the environment through the diverse perspectives and aesthetic approaches of 18 exciting artists from across the country.

Girra: Fraser Coast National Art Prize 2023 finalists:

Pamela Bristow (QLD), Francis Carmody (VIC), Armando Chant (NSW), Jessica DiCosta (NSW), Mirjana Dobson (SA), Jessie French (NSW), Joolie Gibbs (QLD), Bridie Gillman (QLD), Claire Grant (QLD), Miriam Innes (QLD), Ryan Andrew Lee (NSW), Glen Miller (QLD), Lucy Quinn (QLD), Anna Louise Richardson (WA), Monica Rohan (QLD), Rolf Sieber (QLD), Arryn Snowball (QLD) and Renita Stanley (SA).

Support

This project is proudly supported by the Regional Arts Development Fund, a partnership between the Queensland Government and Fraser Coast Regional Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.