Art Prize

Janet Tavener, Gingerbread

3D Open Award Winner - Janet Tavener, Gingerbread

The Willoughby Art Prize was an annual event celebrating innovation and diversity in contemporary Australian art. Due to the demolition of the Willoughby Civic Centre this event will not be held in 2008.

Instead, Willoughby City Council will hold the Willoughby Sculpture Prize 09 which is aimed to generate cultural activity, encourage discussion and connect people to place. For more information click here.

Winners for the 2007 Willoughby Art Prize are listed below.

2007 Winners

People's Choice Award

Prize of $1000 sponsored by Chatswood Toyota

Winner - Mike Sargeant, Claude

3D Open Award

Prize of $5000 sponsored by Chatswood Chase.

Commended - Lex Dickson, You’re Fired I
Highly Commended - Josie Kunoth Petyarre, Figure in Ceremonial Body Painting
Winner - Janet Tavener, Gingerbread

2D Award for Painting & Mixed Media

Prize of $2000 sponsored by Sheads First National Real Estate

Commended - Damian Dillon and James Birch, J.W. Turneresque Devil Landscape Macquarie Fields, Zai Kuang, Girl and toys 23
Highly commended - Anthony Buselli, Crossroads
Winner - Loongkoonan (pronounced Loonganon), Bush Tucker in Nyirina Country

2D Award for Printmaking & Drawing

Prize of $2000 sponsored by Willoughby City Council.

Commended - Anne Starling, Playground, Alexi Keywan, Last Exit III
Highly commended - Yvonne Boag, Conversations with my father
Winner - David Fairbairn, C.S. No 1

Jamie Silk Prize for Photography & Digital Media

Prize of $1000 donated by friends and family in memory of Jamie Silk the winner of the 2001 Willoughby Residents Award.

Commended - Simon McGrath, Urban Landscape
Highly commended - Ruth Carroll, Asakusabashi
Winner - Erez Benor, Untitled 12 (from the series Infusion)

Student Award

Prize at $500 of materials sponsored by Eckersley’s Art & Craft and $500 sponsored by Willoughby Council.

Commended - Corrigan Fairbairn, Industrial Storm, Jessica Mackney, Cells
Highly commended - Jane Fontane, Looking for You
Winner - Kathy Horner, Variations

Artist with Different Abilities Award

Prize of $1000 sponsored by Permanent Press.

Commended - Peter Gawronski, Night Clubbing, Beverlie Firmstone, The Primate
Highly commended - Tamar Dolev, Unearthed No. 2
Winner - Chrissie De Looze Heinrich, C’est la Vie

Willoughby Resident Award

Prize of $1000 sponsored by Willoughby City Council.

Commended - Antoinette McSharry, A Day in my life, Sailors Bay
Highly Commended - Michael Miller, Up and Down
Winner - Ant Larcombe, How to draw a robot

About Claude by artist Mike Sargeant, winner of the People's Choice Award

Mt Colah artist Mike Sargeant was awarded the winner of the 2007 People’s Choice Award, sponsored by Chatswood Toyota, for his highly popular crocodile construction titled Claude.

Over 3.5 metres in length and made from recycled and discarded materials this extraordinary work received an outstanding number of votes from the broad range of visitors to this year’s Art Prize held at the Willoughby Civic Centre from 7 – 16 September 2007.

Visitors commented on the incredible amount of work and array of intriguing components that made this iconic Australian reptile.

The artist used steamer baskets, brackets, metal parts from old computer disks and pastry cones, to name a few, taking over 18 months to construct, or as the artist states to “re-birth”.

According to Mike Sargeant “I find it ironic that the Crocodile has not evolved much in its 65 million years and yet most bits used in the making of Claude have not lasted long at all in their life cycle, especially things like computer disks.