Archibald set to return to gallery
AUSTRALIA’S favourite art award exhibition will return to Geelong in September.
Geelong Gallery is the exclusive Victorian venue for the 2018 Archibald Prize, after the runaway success of its visit to the city last year.
Awarded to the best portrait painting, the Archibald Prize is a who’s who of Australian culture, with subjects including politicians, celebrities, sporting heroes, authors and artists.
Gallery director Jason Smith said the gallery was excited to present the exhibition to local audiences for the second year running.
“There is much anticipation in the region for the return of the Prize,” he said. “We look forward to presenting our community with extended opportunities to engage with artists, sitters and more generally with the genre of portraiture.”
This year’s exhibition will feature 57 portraits, including the 2018 Archibald Prize winner Yvette Coppersmith’s self-portrait.
Coppersmith, Fiona McMonagle, Sally Ross and Amber Boardman are all short-listed in the 2018 Geelong contemporary art prize, which is now showing at Geelong Gallery.
There are also portraits by artists who are represented in the local collection, including Del Kathryn Barton, Graeme Drendel, Fiona McMonagle and Sally Ross.