Oh what a night!

As Principle Sponsor of As We Are, we are proud to announce that the As We Are Exhibition was a huge success! Held at the Claremont Showgrounds , Wilkinson Gallery, the As We Are Awards Ceremony and Opening Night for 2023 was simply magic! Ross Tinney of RT Films has captured the essence of the evening in this uplifting short.

Thank you to all 177 artists, event sponsor Victoria Park Centre for the Arts and Town of Claremont community grant provider.

The evening takes many people to make happen, of which we thank greatly: MC Chloe; AUSLAN MC Danielle; and Len for the Welcome to Country accompanied by Exhibition Artist Greg Barr; Curator and Judge Fiona Gavino with Judges Teagan Jenkins, David Guhl, Jane Chambers and Emilie Mont; PeopleKind Staff processing purchases on the night; Photographers Rob Frith and Lynne Newport; Sarah, Laura, Libby and David of Our Ruby Girl who made sure we were all sufficiently fed with delicious food; Bar Staff Extraordinaires Dave and Seb; Aly of Old Bridge Cellars Como for the supply of beverages; Venue staff Gary and Gabi; Lux Events’s Gareth and Sam for always going above and beyond. THANK YOU ALL!

Congratulations to all the 177 artists who participated in this year’s awards.
The Award Winners are as follows:

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award – Robin Thorne “Magpie Coroboree”
  • Contemporary Art Award – Greg Carstens “Bachelor Brother In Law”
  • David Guhl Award for Artistic Excellence – Mandy White “Me and Poppet at a Jungle Party
  • Patti Ferber Creative Development Award – Maria Perruzza “A Colourful Life”
  • Regional Art Award – Aimee Dickson “Oh What a Dame”
  • Rosalind Lewis Art Award – Darryl Dempster “Baby Farm”
  • Stephen Delower Memorial 3-D Award – Malcolm Nielson “Does Your Monkey Have A Licence?”

Spilt Milk Awards:

  • Emily Cox “Colourful Wilderness”
  • Rebecca Johnston “George”
  • Harper Hely “Thinking About Pink”
  • Catherine Wright “Ocean Life”

Our judges also awarded six Certificates of High Commendation (in no particular order):

  • Judge’s High Commendation Awards
  • David Guhl “New York Walk”
  • Malcolm Burgess “Playing in my first car”
  • Justin Lekias “Blink-182”
  • Mason Levy “mutilatio est sola revelatio”
  • Aidan Leahy “Busy Day”
  • Brendan Morris “Disco Bird”

A massive congratulations to these award winners and thank you to award sponsors Nulsen Disability Services, Rise, SCA Finance, Succession Matters, Spilt Milk, Stephen Dawson MLC.