The $40,000 Suleman Award for the best genre painting, theme painting or mural goes to Doris Bush Nungarrayi the monster is coming… The portrait depicts dozens of ghosts known as Mamus or ‘cheeky spirits’, as Nungarrayi who were born in Ikuntji/Haasts Bluff, 250km west of Mpantwe/Alice Springs, call them.
This is the 100th recipient of the $100,000 Portrait Award, first awarded in 1921.
Although this is the 102nd year of the award, there were two years, 1964 and 1980, when Archibald’s judges did not award the winners because they felt that no one deserved it.
Archibald received a total of 949 entries this year, the second highest in history following the 2020 COVID lockdown year. 40% of the finalists are competing for the first time.
first time everWomen (30) produced more entries than men (27) who were selected as 57 finalists.
Inma at Zaachariaha Fielding.
This year also saw the highest number of shortlisted entries by Indigenous artists, with 38 entries awarded the Archibald, Wayne and Suleman Prizes.
Last week, Archibald’s first-time entrant Andrea Huelin Won the 2023 Packing Room Prize Portrait of Melbourne-born New Zealand comedian Carl Wilson.
For the first time since the Packing Room Awards were launched in 1991, they were selected by a panel of three packers, including two women, Monica Rudhar and Alexis Wildman.
Mamunya Ngalayanani (A Monster Comes) by Doris Bush Nungarrayi
The Archibald, Wayne and Suleman exhibition opens at the Art Gallery of New South Wales on Saturday 6 May and runs until 3 September.
more exciting coming soon
