Casula Powerhouse arts centre has opened entries to the 66th Blake art and poetry prizes.
Artists exploring the wider experience of spirituality, religion and belief are encouraged to submit their works now via the CPAC website, with submissions closing on April 3, 2020.
Three prizes will be selected by judges for the best contemporary work addressing the religious or spiritual, including:
- The Blake Prize – $35,000 (non-acquisitive main prize);
- The Blake Emerging Artist Prize – $6,000 (acquisitive);
- The Blake Established Artist Residency – Residency and solo exhibition hosted by CPAC;
The Blake Poetry Prize winner will also be awarded $5,000, and feature in the exhibition alongside the Art Prize Exhibition of finalists.
Since 1951, the Blake Prize has engaged artists, nationally and internationally, with ideas of spirituality and religion.
The 2018 prize received 769 entries from across Australia and the world, a massive 30 percent increase from 2016.
“Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre has proudly presented the Blake Prize as a biennial event since 2016,” says Craig Donarski, the director of Casula Powerhouse.
“The 2018 prize was a brilliant showcase of work traversing belief and non-belief,’’ he said.
“We are very much looking forward to seeing the incredible slate of submissions this year, and the conversations they’ll undoubtedly crack open regarding spirituality.”
Past winners include Australian artists Tina Havelock Stevens (65th Blake Prize – Art), and Julie Watt (Blake Prize – Poetry).
Since winning, Tina has presented her solo show Hasta La Bella Vista Baby at the Museum of Contemporary Art, while Julie’s winning poetry was instantly sought after by University Press.
“I was overwhelmed by the news that I’d won the 65th Blake Prize,’’ says Ms Havelock Stevens.
“I was so honoured and pleased that my contemplation around belief systems and ways of thinking and finding meaning had been recognised with such a prestigious prize.
“Receiving this award certainly validated my practice and allowed me to work full time as an artist.’’
Winning the Blake Poetry Prize was an extraordinary experience and life-changing for Julie Watt.
“It was deeply affirming as a writer,’’ says Ms watt.
“A week after the announcement I was contacted for a manuscript from University Press.
“It is an award I hold dear not only for its prestige and calibre, but for its heart, its focus on the spiritual experience.”
Westwords will manage the entries for the Blake Poetry Prize in 2020 in partnership with Casula Powerhouse.
