Celebrating excellence and innovation in the watercolour medium
Entries for The Elaine Bermingham National Watercolour Prize in Landscape Painting are now open. This is a unique triennial art prize that aims to celebrate excellence and innovation in the watercolour medium.
This non-acquisitive prize is open to all Australian artists over the age of 18 years. Selected finalists will be exhibited at QCA Galleries, located within Griffith University’s Queensland College of Art and Design at South Bank, Brisbane.
The overall winner will receive a $20,000 cash prize generously donated by Elaine Bermingham. Part of Elaine Bermingham’s generous donation will be dedicated to restoring, conserving and researching watercolour artworks held in the Griffith University Art Museum Collection. Entries close Sunday, 5th November 2023.
Enter now
Please proceed to payment after you submit this form.
The Elaine Bermingham National Watercolour Prize in Landscape Painting 2020
2020 Finalists
- Aaron Perkins
- Anna Glynn
- Belem Lett
- Bridie Gillman
- Camille Serisier
- Celene E. Bridge
- Charlie Donaldson
- Christine Louise Willcocks
- Clare Purser
- Dane Lovett
- Darcy Williams
- Debbie Taylor Worley
- Donovan Christie
- Eliza Adam
- Elizabeth Nelson
- Genevieve Felix Reynolds
- Hubert Pareroultja
- Jane Grealy
- Jess Hall
- Jonathan McBurnie
- Joseph Furlonger
- Leah Bullen
- Linden Dean
- Louise Forthun
- Mark Dober
- Miri Badger
- Mitchell Donaldson
- Monica Rohan
- Nick Heynsbergh
- Paula Irene Payne
- Sam Cranstoun
- Sam Dabboussy
- Steven John Pettenon
- Sue Lovegrove (Winner)
- Zoe Porter
- Yuming Qin
Elaine Bermingham
Elaine’s passion for the visual and dramatic arts was the primary motivation for establishing ‘The Elaine Bermingham National Watercolour Prize in Landscape Panting’. After decades as a highly successful businesswoman and entrepreneur within Australia and abroad, Elaine remained closely connected with the South-East Queensland area, and in particular the Gold Coast. It is therefore fitting that the Bermingham Prize has been brought close by to Griffith University’s Queensland College of Art, located in South Bank, Brisbane.
Elaine honed her business skills in the real estate, hotel management and rental car industries. She spent thirty years in America where she formed her own corporation and developed successful travel programs between the USA and Australia.
Elaine remained a strong ambassador for the visual and dramatic arts throughout her career, and viewed her pursuit as a benefactor as her own contribution to the arts community. She saw watercolour painting as an underrated artform, and was passionate about promoting the medium through the establishment of the Bermingham Prize.
The Prize
Key dates
Entries are now open until Sunday, 5th November 2023.
Exhibition
The 2023 finalist exhibition will be held in at QCA Galleries, Griffith University, 226 Grey Street, South Bank.
Exhibition Dates: 24 November 2023 - 11 January 2024.
Details
For the purpose of this prize ‘Landscape’ is defined as any form of land or environment and does not exclude peopled landscape, seascape, or urbanised and rural habitat.
We are pleased to announce our panel of highly regarded pre-selection judges this year: Dr Elisabeth Findlay, Director of the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University; artist and Queensland College of Art Painting Convenor, Julie Fragar; and Director of Griffith University Art Museum Angela Goddard. This year’s selection of judges brings a diverse range of both creative and professional expertise to the judging process.
The judging panel will assess hundreds of submissions from across Australia to choose the best watercolour artworks. Finalists artwork will be showcased at the finalist exhibition and awards night.
2023 Judges
2023 Pre-selection Judge
Elisabeth Findlay
Art Historian and Theorist, Queensland College of Art and Design
2023 Pre-selection Judge
Dr Julie Fragar
Artist and Program Director, Visual Arts at QCA, Griffith University, Brisbane.
2023 Pre-selection Judge
Angela Goddard
Director of Griffith University Art Museum. Chair, University Art Museums Australia. Board Member, Sheila Foundation
2020 winner
Sue Lovegrove
The winner of the inaugural 'Elaine Bermingham National Watercolour Prize in Landscape Painting' 2020 was Sue Lovegrove for her artwork ‘The Voice of Water (9.04)’ 2019.
Sue Lovegrove’s practice is concerned with an intimate and personal experience of the land. She often paints remote and isolated places such as Antarctica, Macquarie Island, Maatsuyker Island and Tasman Island. These are places that are relatively free of human presence, where the weather and wildlife dominate, and where balance and order is still in favour of the natural world.
Lovegrove’s layered mark-making explores the patterning and rhythms of the land. In this miniature painting, Lovegrove draws attention to the fragile and transient life of a small freshwater lagoon. The dead wood found at the edge of the lagoon is a beautiful sculptural form and provides an important habitat for the local flora and fauna. It is also symptomatic of an earlier lack of water in this locale, pointing to the vital need for water in supporting the rich ecological life of the wetland and beyond. Lovegrove completed her PhD at Canberra School of Art, Australian National University, in 2002. She has held solo shows around Australia with Beaver Galleries, Gallerysmith and Bett Gallery.
Her work was included in the National Gallery of Australia’s significant touring exhibition Abstraction: celebrating Australian women abstract artists. Her work is in state and national collections including Artbank, Bundanon Trust, National Gallery of Australia and the National Gallery of Victoria. She currently lives in Tasmania.
2017 catalogue and finalists
News
View all Bermingham Prize news
2017 winners announced
Posted 14 February 2017
The winner of the inaugural 'Elaine Bermingham National Watercolour Prize in Landscape Painting' 2017 is Jackson Slattery for his artwork ‘Trafalgar/Mile Ex’ 2016.
2017 judges and finalists announced
Posted 24 November 2016
Twenty-two artists have been selected to exhibit in the inaugural ‘Elaine Bermingham National Watercolour Prize in Landscape Painting’ finalist exhibition 2017.
Contact details
- Phone
- (07) 3735 6106
- Address
- QCA Galleries
- Queensland College of Art
- Griffith University
- 226 Grey Street
- South Bank, QLD 4101
- Social
