CASULA POWERHOUSE OPENS ENTRIES FOR 67TH BLAKE PRIZE

Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre’s (CPAC) longest-standing arts prize, the 67th Blake Prize, a bi-annual event held at CPAC showcasing some of the most thought-provoking art pieces of the 21st Century. Entries are currently open until 15 November, with a prize pool of up to $42,000.   

Since 1951, the Blake Prize has engaged artists, nationally and internationally, with ideas of spirituality and religion. Casula Powerhouse has been home to the prize since 2016.  

The Blake Prize has evolved over the past 70 years from a focus on religious figures to a space for artists to explore the complexities of spirituality in today’s society; our colonial pasts; mass migration of people due to war; idolatry and media; capitalism and inequality; and the overall effects of climate change. 

CPAC Director Craig Donarski said, “The Blake Prize has followed the changing cultural mix of Australia’s population, our attitudes towards religion and spirituality, and how our artists interpret, reflect, and question these notions via their work through art.”

“After the record-breaking entries from our last Blake Prize earlier this year, with the winners setting the benchmark for exceptional digital art, we invite and encourage artists from all over Australia to embrace their new freedoms and express their journeys in belief, spirituality or non-belief through their unique work in their chosen medium,” continued Donarski.  

Past winners include Leyla Stevens for her three-channel video work Kidung/Lament (66th Blake Prize, 2020), Tina Havelock Stevans for Giant Rock (65th Blake Prize, 2018)Eddie Abd for her video project In Their Finest (Blake Emerging Artist Prize, 2020) and Zanny Begg for Stories of Kannagi (The Blake Established Artist Residency and Exhibition, 2020). 

Each year, a number of artworks are selected for a finalist exhibition at CPAC. In the past, the exhibition has featured works by First Nations Australians such as the renowned, Redfern-based artist Blak Douglas who tackled colonial influences of religion through his work, Kirsty Burgu from WA who painted Wandijna, sacred ancestral beings, in her artwork Creation Story and Northern Territory sculptor Jack Nawilil, who in the last Blake Prize presented Bininj (human) bones a powerful reference to Balngarra Clan funeral ceremony.

The 67th Blake Prize judges include Australian multi-disciplinary artist Abdul Abdullah, curator Megan Monte and Rosemary Crumlin OAM who is an Australian Sister of Mercy and art historian. Abdullah’s work engages with different marginalised minority groups and the disjuncture between perception/projection of identity and reality of lived experience. Rosemary Crumlin also joins the panel as a veteran art historian, educator and exhibition curator with a special interest in art and spirituality. Lastly, completing the judge’s panel is Megan Monte, Director of Ngununggula, who specialises in curation and cultural leadership. 

The best contemporary artworks that engage with religion, spirituality, and/or belief will be chosen by the judges with three prizes to be won: 

1. The Blake Prize- A non-acquisitive prize of $35,000 

2. The Blake Emerging Artist Prize- An acquisitive prize of $6,000 

3. The Blake Established Artist Residency – Consisting of a residency and solo exhibition hosted by CPAC. 

Entries are currently open until 15 November, with a prize pool of up to $42,000. Casula Powerhouse will announce the shortlist of artists on 4 February.  

All prizes are strictly non-sectarian, with entries not restricted to works related to any faith or artistic style. 

Key Dates 

Entries open: 9 August 2021
Entries close: 15 November 2021
Shortlist announcement: 4 February 2022
Launch and Winners announcement: 12 March 2022
The Blake Prize Exhibition dates: 12 March- 22 May 2022
Entry fee: $50 

For further information and to submit an entry, visit www.casulapowerhouse.com
Stay up to date through: www.facebook.com/casulapowerhouse