The Mandurah Performing Arts Centre (MPAC) was a hive of activity this week with preparations underway for the annual Mandjar Art Awards, the centre’s flagship competition for visual arts.
This year is the awards’ 13th year, with over 240 works to be exhibited from the opening on March 4 until April 2.
Curator Gary Aitken said he was impressed with the growth of visual arts in Mandurah since the awards’ inauguration.
“It raises the bar... I’ve seen over the years, all the local artists have continually got better and better at what they do, and I think it’s driven by this to a degree,” Mr Aitken said.
Each year the art awards brings works from across Western Australia, though according to Mr Aitken about half of the exhibition showcases work from the Peel and Rockingham region.
“Every year we have a series of works that come from the prison, and we have also works that come from up north as far as Kununurra and down south as far as Albany,” Mr Aitken said.
He said attracting artists from around the state allowed them to learn off each other, develop their practice and raise the bar each year.
The Mandjar Art Awards only has one judge, though it changes each year.
For 2017 Art Gallery of Western Australia’s James Davis will select the winners.
“They’re able to judge it on whatever criteria they think is important, so it could be technique, it could be composition, it could be subject, it could be style, many things,” Mr Aitken said.
“But if we have diversity in our judges... that means we have a diversity in our collection.”
The exhibition opens this Saturday, March 4 with the awards to be announced at 7pm.
For more information visit manpac.com.au
