The churchie emerging art prize

The award was established in 1987[1] as an initiative of the Anglican Church Grammar School in Brisbane (known as "Churchie"[2]).[3]

Brand + Slater Architects became the major prize sponsors from around 1998.[4]

From 2010, the finalists were exhibited in the Griffith University Art Gallery (GUAG) at the Queensland College of Art in Brisbane.[4] Its name was at that time "the churchie national emerging art prize".[5][6] GUAG established a partnership with the school, and staff members from the school sat on the Emerging Art Committee as well as developing educational materials to complement the exhibition, aimed at school-age students.[4]

Since 2019 and as of 2022, the Institute of Modern Art in Brisbane has hosted the awards.[7][8]

Its aim is to help develop the careers of emerging artists. This term refers to artists who already have a body of work and some profile as an artist, but "not yet fully established in their artistic career".[4]

All finalists' work is displayed at the gallery in a curated exhibition. As of 2022 it has a prize pool of A$25,000, with the major prize of A$15,000 sponsored by BSPN Architecture.[8] There is also a People's Choice Award of (A$5,000), decided by visitors to the exhibition of the work of all finalists at the end of the exhibition run.[9]

All work in the exhibition is available for sale.[4]

• 2012: Guest judge Maura Reily[10]
  • Major Prize Winner – Heath Franco
  • Highly Commended – Agatha Gothe-Snape
  • Highly commended – Sam Cranstoun[4]
  • Highly commended – Genevieve Kemarr Loy
• 2013: Guest judge Roslyn Oxley; Peter McKay, Curator of QAGOMA, was on the finalists committee. Only 32 finalists were selected and included in the exhibition at GUAG,[4] which was the smallest ever number until then.[5][6]
  • Major prize – Amy Tam (aka Liberté Grace), for her video The Perfect Boy Myth (version 1)[4]
  • commended – Becc Orszag, for three drawings[4]
  • commended – Annika Koops, for her photograph Sissy[4]
• 2014: Guest judge Alexie Glass-Kantor, Executive Director of ARTSPACE Visual Arts Centre in Sydney; 42 finalists[11]
• 2015: Michaela Gleave[12]
• 2016: Guest judge Kelly Gellatly, Director of the Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne[3]
• 2021: Guest judge Rhana Devenport ONZM, Director of the Art Gallery of South Australia;[9] exhibition curated by Grace Herbert.[13]
  • Major prize (A$15,000) – Nina Sanadze, Georgian-born artist now living in Melbourne, for Apotheosis, s sculptural work[9]
  • Special Commendation Prize (A$5,000) – Kyra Mancktelow, based in Brisbane[9]
  • Commendation (A$1,000) – Riana Head-Toussaint, based in Sydney[9]
  • Commendation (A$1,000) – Visaya Hoffie, based in Brisbane[9]

• Official website