Two Sunshine Coast students have won a local art prize that gives them the honour of having their works exhibited at what is arguably Queensland’s most prestigious art gallery.
Summer Moore, a Year 11 student at Chancellor State College, and Zoe Kamarinos, in Year 12 at Buderim’s Immanuel Lutheran College, were notified of the recognition after their work was shown in the Creative Generation Excellence Awards exhibit at the Cooroy Butter Factory.
Summer’s self-portrait, titled Like No One is Watching, and Zoe’s work, Control, will be displayed at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, from April to August next year.
“I was not expecting it at all,” Summer said of her prize. “I was very shocked, a bit surprised. It’s a massive honour.”
Zoe added: “It feels amazing. I wasn’t expecting to win but now I can’t wait to see all the work that will be exhibited next year.
“It will be incredible being in an exhibition with artists around my own age.”
The Creative Generation Excellence Awards in Visual Art promote and recognise excellence and student achievement in senior visual art education throughout Queensland’s state and non-state schools.
The program is supported by the Queensland Art Gallery and GOMA. Since 1990, it has aimed to raise community awareness of the sophistication in concepts, diversity of technical competence and the high standard of visual art education displayed by Queensland Secondary school students.
“This year, we had more than 500 entries from state and non-state schools across Queensland,” Queensland Art Gallery learning and curriculum program officer Rebecca Smith said.
“These works are exhibited regionally and then the recipients of the excellence awards are invited to be part of the central exhibition at GOMA the following year.
“In 2022, 30 students from all over the state received an excellence award and their works will go into the Creative Generation 2023 exhibition.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these young artists to be able to exhibit their work in GOMA, and for the gallery, it’s a way that we can share with visitors the amazing depth of talent and creativity in our schools.
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“We are constantly blown away by what these students are creating and can’t wait to share the works for everyone to see.”
Summer’s winning painting draws on her interest in how light interacts with shapes, particularly the human body.
She uses her own face as a regular subject.
“I was just very interested in expressing form and how light interacts with it,” she explained.
Zoe has enjoyed the exhibition process so far: “I’ve found it interesting to see a wide range of mediums and techniques used. It’s been inspiring.”
The Creative Generation 2023 exhibition opens on April 22 next year and continues until August 6.
