Congratulations to Shan Turner-Carroll

SHAN TURNER-CARROLL

Shan Turner-Carroll has taken out the 2012 Jennie Thomas Travelling Art Scholarship. To say Shan is prolific could be viewed as an understatement as Shan regularly brings in hundreds of photos to discuss and edit, with each one having its own importance. Family and heritage play a crucial part in Shan's work, so it's little wonder to learn that Shan will be travelling to Burma. Photomedia sends our warmest congratulations to Shan. We can't wait to see his take on Burma.

Short List: The results are in

Vestiges #3 2010
Archival Digital pigment print, 115x 80cm
Courtesy the artist and William Wright Artists Projects Sydney
EUGENIA RASKOPOULOS

Jack Charles

RODERICK MCNICOL

Mariko, 2011
Louis Lim

With the results in for National Photographic Portrait Prize (below), Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Award (above) and the inaugural Queensland Festival of Photography Portrait Prize (bottom) we're curious to get some thoughts from you, out students. What do you think of the wining works? Did the judges get it right? We mentioned Simone Darcy was selected for both the QFP and the Josephine Ulrick, scoring second prize in the former. Congratulations Simone!

Short List: Josephine Ulrick & Win Schubert

Ahn & Pete from the Bus Stop Project, 2011
SIMONE DARCY

We're excited to have four former students in the Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Photography Award 2012. We'll be keeping a close eye on proceedings and wish Izablea Pluta, Roger Hanley, Simone Darcy and Lindsay Gosper the best of luck for the final selection. The exhibition opens March 31 and will run through to May 13 at the Gold Coast City Gallery. In the meantime check out the short list here.

Short list: Monster Children

Carrington Bridge
CAITLIN MCGRATH

Monster Children recently held a Photography competition in Sydney. Caitlin McGrath was one of several photographers selected for the exhibition. Congratulations to Caitlin.

Short list: Classified

JEAN LOUIS-KOCHER

Classify Me opened at Watt Space last week featuring a number of Photomedia students. Our congratulations go out to all prize winners and to everyone who had work accepted for exhibition. The image at right is from current student Jean Louis-Kocher. The pixelation of cigarette and lighter suggests that the subject knows we're looking on as she engages in an increasingly unsociable habit. Is this the next step after plain paper packaging comes in?

Short list: Liam Benson

LIAM BENSON

Liam Benson's provoking A Christian Country has taken out the Hazelhurst Art Award for 2011. Liam is interested in deconstructing our ideas and perceptions in relation to gender, race, culture, sexuality and identity. Performance is at the heart of his practice with photography and video the tools to document his work. In 2010 Liam was an artist in residence at the Lock-Up in Newcastle. You can see more of his work at Artereal in Sydney. In the meantime, congratulations Liam.

Short list: Double Dean

Damien
TAMARA DEAN

Tamara Dean has taken the recent Olive Cotton Award for her portait of Damien (pictured). Closer to home though we'd like to extend a long and warm round of applause to Dean Beletich who was not only Highly Commended but took out the prestigious Director's Choice Award for 2011 for his work acquired for the Tweed River Gallery's Australian Collection. Congratulations Dean.

Short list: Amy Hill wins

Waste of Paint III
AMY HILL

Amy Hill needs no introduction being a well regarded member of the Watt Space team. We send out our congratulations to Amy who has taken the Photography category award in the 2011 Newcastle Emerging Art Prize. Her teasing image Waste of Paint III is not only beautiful, but intriguing and thought provoking. It's a fine abstract fusion between painting and photography.

Congratulations to all finalists, particularly our photomedia students.

Short list: 2011 Jennie Thomas Travelling Art Scholarship

Our congratulations go out to all short-listed contestants - Abbey Cecil, Leasha Craig, Michelle Gearin, Amy Hill, Rachael Ireland and Sylvia Ray - in the 2011 Jennie Thomas Travelling Art Scholarship award currently on at the University Gallery, Callaghan. Jennie Thomas is well known for her generosity, support of the arts and the warmest hugs in town. Each year she offers visual arts students in their Honours year a Travelling Art Scholarship to inspire their research and practice. Decision time seems to be tough, and often one scholarship turns to two. For 2011 the winners are Rachael Ireland and Abbey Cecil to whom our heartfelt congratulations go out to. We're looking forward to watching their careers develop.

Short list: In the running

François
DEAN BELETICH

Finalists for the Olive Cotton Award have just been announced. We'd like to extend our congratulations to all finalists and wish them the very best of luck, in particular our very own Dean Beletich (pictured). Other finalists include Izabela Pluta, Samantha Everton (recently noted on this blog), Rebecca Shanahan, Lee Grant and Ella Dreyfus. We're waiting with bated breath to hear who will take home the award this year.

Short list: Haydn's Sacrifice wins

Sacrifce
HAYDN WILSON

Our congratulations go out to Hadyn Wilson, a current PhD student here at the University of Newcastle, who has won the 2011 Gallipoli Art Prize. Inspired by Rayner Hoff's sculpture of the same name, Haydn's painting Sacrifice honours soldiers and they sacrifces they make in times of war. Hayden described his winning painting as “a meditation on war which combines the purposefulness of the military machine - represented by the grid like patterns of World War I trenches taken from aerial photographs - with a montage of the more chaotic and subjective dimension of sacrifice”. Click here to see the ABC News coverage or here to see all the entries.

Short list: The winners circle

Landscape VIII
PETER GARDINER

Congratulations are again in order, this time to former student Peter Gardiner for taking out the 2011 Calleen Art Award. Referencing Spanish Velazquez and Goya, the painting is a suggestion of things to come when we consider our changing weather patters. You can see more of Peter's work at Damien Minton Gallery.

Short list: PICA pick

Unfilled
RUTH FEENEY

We’re very pleased to report that recent Honours graduate Ruth Feeney is representing The University of Newcastle in Hatched 2011: National Graduate Show held annually at PICA. Made from used tea leaves, Unfilled is a fragile floor piece reminiscent of a mandala. The piece reflects on consumerist cycles and the value of craftsmanship in a world of mass-produced goods.

Short list: Paint pick

Taking Off, oil on canvas 92 x 103 cm
PABLO TAPIA

Current Master of Philosophy student Pablo Tapia is one of three Winsor & Newton Start Your Studio Scholarship winners for 2011. Part of the Artist Outreach Program, the prize is worth a cool $1,000 which will allow students to get going on new and exciting projects. We can't wait to see what Pablo does next. Image