Visitor records broken at ‘amazingly successful’ Bonny Hills Art Prize Camden Haven by News Of The Area - Modern Media - January 16, 2025 People’s Choice Award winner ‘Saturday stroll, Harrington’ by Yvette Hugill. “AMAZINGLY successful” is how coordinator John Drinan summed up the Bonny Hills Art Prize, which ran over five days at the Francis Retreat. By the time the Bonny Hills Progress Association packed up after last Sunday’s showing, new records had been set. Advertise with News of The Area today. It’s worth it for your business. Message us. Phone us – (02) 4981 8882. Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au The exhibition was “attended by 1200 visitors, and we sold 80 of the 390 works on show,” John told the News Of The Area. On top of those numbers are the scores of children and teens who attended the hugely popular art workshops. The success of the fourth annual event means one in five local artists and entrants from across the Mid North Coast, shared in around $31,000. And that’s not including the prize money that judge Gillean Shaw of Newcastle University’s Art Galleries awarded to category winners. A regular highlight of the Prize is the Bonny Hills Pharmacy People’s Choice Award, which is announced after visitor votes are tallied. This year’s favourite was Yvette Hugill’s “Saturday Stroll, Harrington”. Volunteers also had their say, choosing Holly Hartwell’s “Shenanigans at Flaggies” as the winner of the Packers’ Choice Award. As reported in last week’s News Of The Area, the Adbri Award for Best Work in Exhibition went to Sharon Lees for “Promised Land”. Other category winners and their sponsors are: Junior 10-12. 1st Cienna Chapman, “Almost Sauce”. 2nd Naomi Beauchamp, “The Fox”. Highly Commended, Ashley Baxter “Connecting our Planets”. Commended, Jensen Sontes “The Dreams”. Youth 13-16. 1st Alyssa Barlin, “Light Reading”. 2nd Lana Cooper, “Black Throated Honeyeater”. Highly Commended, Maya Marshall “Forgotten Soles”. Commended, Squeegie Beckenheim “Bentley”. Oil and Acrylic (Port Smiles Dental): 1st David Little, “Bendemeer”. 2nd Suzanne Li ,“It’s on the table”. Highly Commended, Kay McFarlane Smith “The Calm Before”. Commended, Tina Burke “Memories”. Watercolour (Bonny Hills Medical Centre): 1st Stu Doherty, Plummers Lane SWR. 2nd Glo Hill, “The Girls”. Highly Commended, Terri Maddock “Logans Crossing”. Commended, Jacki Dean “Nobby’s Rooks”. Mixed Media (ADBRI and Rayners Lawyers) 1st Bernice Daher, “Unleashed”. 2nd Judy Jelsma. “Flinders Vista”. Highly Commended, Suzanne Edwards “Snowy Back Country”. Commended, Myffie Coady “What?” Pastel and Drawing (Bonny Hills Beach Hotel, Bonny Hills Post Office, Bonny View Store & J & S Real Estate).1st Sarah Spencer, “Koala”. 2nd Cheyne Flanagan, “Extinction is forever, The Koala”. Highly Commended, Beric Henderson “Tsunami.18 (2024)”. Commended, Yvette Hugill “Saturday Stroll, Harrington”. Small Paintings (Bonny Hills Garden Centre). 1st Stu Doherty, “Fernbank Creek”. 2nd Debbie Sarkoezy, “Highland Calf”. Highly Commended, Cheryl Blacklock “Pot #1”. Commended, Stewart Hambrett “Nobby’s”. By Sue STEPHENSON Bea and Mirrilee note the number of their pick for People’s Choice. Photo: Sue Stephenson. Coordinator John Drinan (centre), among some of the 1200 visitors to the Bonny Hills Art Prize. Photo: Sue Stephenson. A future winner and their masterpiece at one of the children’s workshops. Photo: BHPA. Packers’ Choice Winner ‘Shenanigans at Flaggies’ by Holly Hartwell.
