The Gold Award 2022

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25 February - 15 May 2022
Gallery 2.1 | Free

Rockhampton Museum of Art is proud to present The Gold Award 2022 – the fifth iteration of this biennial painting award and exhibition. This invitational award showcases contemporary talent in Australian art with the most outstanding work or works by the winning artist to be acquired, continuing to enrich Rockhampton Museum of Art’s collection of national significance. In addition, the winner receives one of Queensland’s largest art prizes of $50,000.

The Gold Award 2022 presents a diverse pool of boundary breaking and thought provoking contemporary Australian art by artists from across the nation. The award is a touchstone of contemporary painting, held every two years where artists are invited to present their practice with new works that have not been exhibited elsewhere before.

The Gold Award 2022 Artists:

  • Noŋgirrŋa Marawili
  • Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran
  • Wendy Sharpe
  • Ian Smith
  • Guan Wei
  • Robert Andrew
  • Gordon Hookey
  • Euan Macleod

Judge:

Chris Saines CNZM
Director Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art

Behind the Award

A significant and generous bequest to the Rockhampton Art Gallery Trust by the late Moya Gold led to the development of The Gold Award in 2012.

Moya, a teacher and lover of the arts requested her gift be used by the Rockhampton Museum of Art for the purchase of Australian paintings. 

The Gold Award is a biennial, acquisitive art award funded by the interest from Moya Gold’s bequest and is a joint initiative of the Rockhampton Museum of Art Philanthropy Board and Rockhampton Regional Council.

Selected Australian artists are invited by Rockhampton Museum of Art to participate in the Award.  Nationally recognised and accomplished artists have eagerly participated in this experience not only for the rich prize money, and to be acknowledged as a Gold Award winner, but to also be part of Rockhampton Museum of Art’s nationally significant collection of Australian paintings.

The artist judged to have the most outstanding work or works are awarded a cash prize of $50,000 and the winning artwork acquired by Rockhampton Museum of Art. Invited artists are encouraged to submit more than one work as part of the Award, to create a fulsome and rich exhibition that offers a coherent vision of an artist’s practice.

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Building A Collection

The Gold Award acts to ensure the collection’s ongoing relevance to artists and arts practice, as well as visitors and community. As contemporary Australian art challenges the notions and traditions of painting as a medium, The Gold Award allows the Rockhampton Museum of Art to track these developments through painting acquisitions over time. The Gold Award is the Museum’s opportunity to identify gaps in the Collection and seek to fill those gaps.

Through the Gold Award, Rockhampton Museum of Art has acquired works by renowned artists including the likes of Sally Gabori (2012), Imants Tillers (2014), Jon Cattapan (2016) and Richard Bell (2018). Paintings by Ben Quilty, Michael Zavros, Victoria Reichelt, Jason Benjamin, Del Kathryn Barton and Kate Shaw have also been added to the collection through the Cultural Gift Program, donated by artists and private collectors, and through purchase by Friends of Rockhampton Art Gallery, former Rockhampton Art Gallery Trust, and Rockhampton Regional Council, and donors through the Rockhampton Art Gallery Gift Fund.

The Gold Award is now a major vehicle for growing this nationally significant collection. The diverse practices of the finalist artists is an invaluable means to which Rockhampton Museum of Art is broadening its future ability to tell the story of Australian painting.