Entertainment
25 January, 2025
Local artists in spotlight
THE 77th Cairns Art Society Annual Awards exhibition begins at the Cairns Art Gallery next month, showcasing the talent of local artists from across the region.
Artist and society member Mark Willems said the exhibition was “recognition of what we do”.
“It’s a bit of exposure, because as you know, making it as an artist is extremely difficult in this world,” the winner of last year’s best oil painting said.
The event was “uniquely art from the tropics”, which would appeal to art enthusiasts whether local or visitors to the region.
“I also think it’s a testament to the society’s enduring legacy of fostering and promoting visual arts in the Far North,” Mr Willems said.
“There’s only two years the society didn’t operate and that was during the Second World War.”
Established in 1931, the Cairns Art Society is Australia’s oldest art society. Nearly 100 years later, the not-for-profit association still aims to support local and regional artists by providing opportunities for social networking, workshops and professional development, as well as exhibiting.
Mr Willems said the awards, which were open to anyone, had become increasingly competitive, with thousands of dollars in category prize money.
“This year we had about 150 artists enter the awards, and (the society) had to scale it down to about 60 to 65,” he said.
“We just can’t fit everyone in the Cairns Art Gallery, there’s not enough space.
“We have nine awards this year which have been very generously sponsored. A few of the prizes are $1500, then there’s a couple of $1000s, then a couple of $500s and so on.”
Sponsors include Cairns Taxis, Cazalys, the Ireland family, ADhesive Communication, MP Michael Healy and Highscan.
Categories include best acrylic, best oil, best mixed media, best drawing (digital or print), best sculpture, best water colour, people’s choice, highly commended and the society’s Judy Noller Award.
“Judy was a beautiful lady who was a member of the society for many years who sadly passed away last year. So we are keeping her memory alive.”
The exhibition opening night is February 7. While it a free event, bookings are recommended through the Cairns Art Gallery website.
