William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize - call for entries

13 June 2019

Call for entries for the 2019 William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize are now open. Since 2017, the prize has been acquisitive with the first prize of $30,000 awarded to the winner. Meanwhile, the Sotheby’s Australia People’s Choice Award has been doubled this year from $2,500 to $5,000.

© Hoda Afshar. Portrait of Behrouz Boochani, Manus Island, 2018 from the series, Remain. Pigment inkjet print, 100cm x 86cm. Courtesy of the artist.
Hoda Afshar was not only the winner of the $30 000 William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize in 2018 for her photograph, Portrait of Behrouz Boochani, Manus Island (2018), from the series, Remain,
but was also awarded the Sotheby’s Australia People’s Choice Award.

The Bowness Photography Prize has become an important survey of contemporary photographic practice and one of the most prestigious prizes in the country, providing Australian artists with the opportunity to exhibit at one of Australia's leading public galleries.

According to Anouska Phizacklea, MGA Director, “The Bowness Photography Prize creates an annual snapshot of what is going on in photography in Australia today and contributes to MGA’s mission of championing and supporting contemporary photographic artists. With no entry restrictions on size, genre or format, the prize celebrates the diversity of photographic practice and gives artists at any stage in their career the opportunity to get their work seen, not only by the judges, but also by new audiences and collectors."

2012 winner. © Jesse Marlow. Laser vision, 2011, from the series, Don't just tell them, show them. Chromogenic print 50.8 x 74cm. Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection, courtesy of the artist.
2012 winner. © Jesse Marlow. Laser vision, 2011, from the series, Don't just tell them, show them.
Chromogenic print 50.8 x 74cm. Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection, courtesy of the artist.

Joining Anouska Phizacklea on the judging panel is the Director of Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Chris Saines and acclaimed artist, Dr Christian Thompson AO. Saines has over 35 years of experience leading galleries in Australia and New Zealand as a director, curatorial and collection manager, educator and curator. Thompson has built a reputation as one of Australia’s most significant contemporary artists, whose multidisciplinary practice engages mediums such as photography, video, sculpture, performance and sound. Thompson is represented in the MGA Collection as well as other leading national and international collections.

2016 winner. © Valerie Sparks. Prospero's Island – North East 2016, from the series, Prospero's Island. Pigment ink-jet print 140 x 220cm. Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection, courtesy of the artist.
2016 winner. © Valerie Sparks. Prospero's Island – North East 2016, from the series, Prospero's Island.
Pigment ink-jet print 140 x 220cm. Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection, courtesy of the artist.

Important dates

Entries close: 10 July 2019

Finalists announced: 9 August 2019

Exhibition dates: 5 October – 17 November 2019

Winner announcement: 10 October 2019

2015 winner. © Joseph McGlennon. Florilegium #1, 2014, from the series, Florilegium. Pigment ink-jet print 127 x 100cm. Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection courtesy of the artist and Michael Reid (Sydney + Berlin).
2015 winner. © Joseph McGlennon. Florilegium #1, 2014, from the series, Florilegium.
Pigment ink-jet print 127 x 100cm. Monash Gallery of Art, City of Monash Collection courtesy of the artist and Michael Reid (Sydney + Berlin).

Previous Bowness Photography Prize winners

2018 Hoda Afshar
2017 Polixeni Papapetrou
2016 Valerie Sparks
2015 Joseph McGlennon
2014 Petrina Hicks
2013 Pat Brassington
2012 Jesse Marlow
2011 Jacky Redgate
2010 Lee Grant
2009 Paul Knight
2008 Nat Thomas & Concertina Inserra
2007 Ray Cook
2006 Kathy Mackey

History of the prize

In 2005 the MGA Foundation was established with the aim of supporting MGA and its significant collection. At the time the Board and the newly constituted Foundation recognised the importance of providing a platform for contemporary Australian photographers to showcase their work, which would simultaneously raise the profile of MGA and its unique commitment to photographic art. The following year the MGA Foundation launched the inaugural William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize to promote excellence in photography across all photographic media and stylistic genres by both established and emerging artists with work produced within the last year.

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