William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize virtual tour

Enjoy the works of all the finalists and read their artist statements from the comfort of your living room by taking the virtual tour of the 2021 William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize exhibition. A showcase of contemporary Australian photography, a total of 52 finalists are on display as part of the exhibition for the 16th annual William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize.

Selected from over 1,700 images from Australian artists, the Prize offers the winning work an award of $30,000 as well as inclusion into the Monash Gallery of Art’s nationally significant collection of Australian photographs.

Melbourne artist, Lillian O'Neil won the William and Winifred Bowness Photography Prize for her work, Drawing to a close (2020). Colour Factory Honourable Mentions were awarded to Lauren Bamford for her intimate and odd diptych, Easter egg hunt and Dot's apple (2021), to Shea Kirk for his compelling and raw double portrait, Dina Scintilla (left and right view) (2021), and to Ali Tahayori for his altered family archive photograph that speaks to an undisclosed trauma, Sisterhood (2021). Tahayori also received the Smith & Singer People’s Choice Award.

The 2021 competition was judged by acclaimed artist Del Kathryn Barton, MGA Director Anouska Phizacklea, and Director of the National Portrait Gallery, Australia, Karen Quinlan AM.

2021 finalists

Leith Alexander, Svetlana Bailey, Kate Ballis, Lauren Bamford, Gabrielle Bates, Tom Blachford, Paul Blackmore, Christophe Canato, Danica Chappell, Benjamin Cole, Nici Cumpston, Tamara Dean, Marian Drew, Jo Duck, Liss Fenwick, Silvi Glattauer, Richard Glover, Rebecca Griffiths, Joanne Handley, Jesse Harvey, Ponch Hawkes, Joseph Häxan, Petrina Hicks, Edi Ivancic, Angelique Joy, Tony Kearney, Ingvar Kenne, Shea Kirk, Honey Long and Prue Stent, Paula Mahoney, Harry McAlpine, Joseph McGlennon, Rod McNicol, Danie Mellor, Hayley Millar Baker, Mark Mohell, Lillian O'Neil, Meredith O'Shea, Ashley Perry, Patrick Pound, Ruiqi Qiu, Tonina Ryan, Amber Schmidt, Jessica Schwientek, Christopher Sheils, Melissa Spiccia, Ali Tahayori, Christian Thompson, Angela Tiatia, James Tylor, Justine Varga, Amy Woodward.

 

Upcoming Events Submit an Event

July

Sydney: Until 31 Dec 2025. PIX, Australia’s first pictorial news weekly, is brought to life in this exhibition, showcasing its archived images and stories for the very first time.

November

Canberra: Until 1 March 2026. Women photographers 1853–2018 highlights the transformative impact of women artists on the history of photography.

Sydney: Until 11 April. Unfinished Business brings together the voices of 30 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with disabilities from remote, regional, and urban communities across Australia.

Canberra: Until 6 Sept 2026. Trent Parke’s photographic series The Christmas tree bucket 2006–09 is a tender and darkly humorous portrayal of his extended family coming together to celebrate Christmas.

Melbourne: 28 Nov 2025 – 26 May 2026. The exhibition celebrates the wide-ranging photographic practices of more than eighty women artists working between 1900 and 1975.

December

Sydney: 4 Dec – 19 Dec 2025. The project brings together around 70 images over 50 metres of wall space, profiling a wide spectrum of practical action on climate