BELOVED by the arts community of the Coffs Coast, the National Still Life Award 2023 (STILL) opens its call for entries on 20 March 2023.

The 2023 award will be the first to be presented in the new Yarrila Arts and Museum (YAM).

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A biennial, acquisitive award for an artwork in the still life genre, STILL has a prize pool of $35,000.

Entry is open to all Australian artists.

Artworks of all mediums are accepted.

The award takes a fresh and contemporary approach to still life and its themes.

Finalists will be selected by a panel which includes Jo Besley, Senior Curator of Yarrila Arts and Museum, Ash Frost, Curator of Yarrila Arts and Museum, Rachel Piercy, Director of Manning Regional Art Gallery and Lisa Paulsen, Art Collector.

Jo Besley told News Of The Area, “STILL 2023 will be the first National Still Life Award in YAM (Yarrila Arts and Museum).

“It will be fantastic to see the exhibition presented in a new, purpose-designed gallery, which meets the best industry standards.

“The new galleries have high ceilings and are digitally-enabled so we can accommodate all kinds of contemporary artworks, plus the back-of-house facilities will keep artworks safe and make the team’s job so much more straightforward.

“As an award, STILL is going from strength to strength and STILL 2023 promises to be another milestone in its development.”

Ash Frost is equally excited about the prospects for STILL 2023, telling NOTA, “I am thrilled to be on the panel for 2023 to see how artists approach the still life genre.

“Many of the works previously submitted for STILL move beyond the traditional still life genre, and allow artists to push boundaries and experiment.

“I am hoping to see a range of diverse entries from across Australia in 2023, especially from artists who engage with cultural and political issues that offer contemporary commentary on the nature of life and existence.”

Finalists will be announced to the public on 7 August and on 7 October, the STILL exhibition opens at YAM and the winner will be announced.

The STILL exhibition closes on 3 December 2023.

By Andrea FERRARI