Who's in the running for the $30,000 William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize?

2 September 2017

A total of 59 photographers have been chosen as finalists for the 2017 William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize $30,000 acquisitive first prize. They were selected from 897 entries, an increase in 43% from 2016, by the judging panel which comprised artist and educator, Susan Fereday, architect and collector Corbett Lyon, and MGA Senior Curator, Stephen Zagala.

Fereday commented on the quality of submissions, indicating that while choosing was tough, “there were enough strong photographs to fill several shows.” She went on to say that there is an enormous diversity in engagement and ambition with the medium right now, and that “photography is in a really healthy place.”

Recently, photography competitions have been in the spotlight, with much public discussion taking place, especially around the announcement of Justine Varga’s Maternal line as the winner of this year’s Olive Cotton award for photographic portraiture. Varga’s cameraless photographs have been shortlisted in four previous Bowness Photography Prize exhibitions and has been shortlisted again this year.

While the Bowness Photography Prize is non-thematic, entries this year reveal the diversity of Australian photographic practice. Gender diversity, LGBTQI rights, repatriation of indigenous remains, bio-diversity in first nations, and drone photography are some of the powerful thematic concerns explored by shortlisted finalists.

The Bowness Photography Prize judging panel will convene again when the exhibition has been installed to choose a winner, which will be announced on 19 October. The exhibition runs from 14 October to Sunday 26 November 2017.

Finalist’s images can be viewed here.

Finalists

Hoda Afshar
Tim Allen
Rushdi Anwar
Kris Arnold
Robert Ashton
Peter Barnes
Del Kathryn Barton
Colin Batrouney
Elaine Batton
Olga Bennett
Vanessa Bertagnole
Tom Blachford
Polly Borland
Peter Bratuskins
Eric Bridgeman
Jane Burton
Elaine Campaner
Stuart Chape
Danica Chappell
Peta Clancy
Emilio Cresciani
Gerwyn Davies
Lauren Dunn
Tanya Maria Dyhin
Amos Gebhardt
Silvi Glattauer
Robert Hague
Rhett Hammerton
Alana Holmberg
Eliza Hutchison
Leah King-Smith
Peter Lambropoulos
Helga Leunig née Salwerowicz
Jon Lewis
Janelle Low
Tayla Martin
Kent Morris
Nasim Nasr
Will Nolan
Jill Orr and Christina Simons
Polixeni Papapetrou
Izabela Pluta
Jenny Pollak
Clare Rae
Kate Robertson
David Rosetzky
Jo Scicluna
Damien Shen
Matthew Sleeth
David Stephenson and Martin Walch
Suellen Symons
Christian Thompson
Tobias Titz
James Tylor
Henri van Noordenburg
Justine Varga
Lisa Walker
Amanda Williams
Robin Williams