Artist submissions are now open for the inaugural MELT Portrait Prize. Taking place as part of MELT: A Celebration of Queer Arts and Culture, 10 shortlisted artworks will be displayed at Brisbane Powerhouse from Wednesday 3 – Sunday 14 February 2016.
The winner will be announced during the second week of the festival and will be chosen by Jason Smith, Curatorial Manager of Australian Art at Queensland Art Gallery and Alexandra Winters, Curator and Exhibition Coordinator at Brisbane Powerhouse.
MELT Festival Director Adam Gardnir is keen to see everyone represented. “I want to see portraits of celebrities and politicians, but I also want to see community leaders and the people who inspire just by the way they live their lives. This prize is about celebrating the diversity of our community on a national platform.”
Brisbane Powerhouse Curator and Exhibition Coordinator Alexandra Winters agrees. “As a contemporary institution that values inclusivity and conversation I thought it was important that we went out to the community in this way. We’re inviting the artists and community members to actively shape what narratives the broader community encounters and what’s important to them.”
The MELT Portrait Prize is one of the first prizes of its kind in Australia. The subject of the portrait must be a member of the global LGBTIQ community, but the artist doesn’t necessarily have to identify as LGBTIQ. The winner will receive a cash prize of $1000.
Submissions close Mon 18 January.
For full entry details go to: www.brisbanepowerhouse.org/meltportraitprize
Image: Gerwyn Davies (Paradise Series)
