Artist Camilla Loveridge officially hands over ownership of her Mandorla Art Award 2016 Highly Commended painting, entitled Over Jerusalem, to St Mary’s Cathedral Dean, Msgr Michael Keating. Photo: Jamie O’Brien.
A new award has been added to the prize pool for the 2018 Mandorla Art Award.
The Patricia Toohey Painting Award was recently added to the number of awards to be presented, supported by Subiaco Parish.
The award has been established in honour of founding Mandorla committee member Patricia Toohey, who recently suffered a major health issue and is no longer able to contribute to her much beloved arts activities.
Subiaco Parish wanted to honour Ms Toohey with a special award for her many years of work in bringing faith and culture together through the arts.
Ms Toohey has seen Mandorla transform to a nationally recognised award since its inception in 1985. She was also a long-time member of the University of Western Australia Choral Society, where she made another strong commitment to our culture.
In 2014, Ms Toohey lamented that none of the prize-winning artworks were paintings, one of her favourite forms of expression.
It is for this reason that the award named in her honour will recognise an artist’s outstanding work in painting.
The 2018 Mandorla Award will now offer prizes of $42,000 including:
- The Mandorla Award $25,000 (acquisitive) for the best work overall sponsored by St John of God Health Care
- Two Highly Commended Awards of $5,000 each sponsored by the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth and the Uniting Church in the City
- The People’s Choice Award $2,000 proudly sponsored by the Benedictine Community of New Norcia
- The Pat Toohey Painting Award $5,000 sponsored by Subiaco Parish
The 2018 Award is currently open for entries that reflect the theme,
“And then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev 21:1-2).
Artists interested in entering are encouraged to visit the website www.mandorlaart.com and sign up for our mailing list.
The website includes commentaries and reflections on the theme to assist artists in developing their work. Entries will close on Monday 12 March at 5pm WST.
The Mandorla Art Award for contemporary religious art is Australia’s most significant thematic religious art prize, attracting some of the country’s finest artists since its 1985 inception.
For more information, visit www.mandorlaart.com