March 2025
The winners of the 2025 John Villiers Outback Art Prize were announced at the launch event and award ceremony in Winton on Saturday, 15 March. Congratulations to go:
OPEN CATEGORY
- First prize: Nat Ward for ‘Beautiful Scrubland’
- Second prize: Lyn Bartolo for ‘King of the Road’
- Third prize: Rachel Lucas for ‘Baked’
EMERGING YOUTH CATEGORY
- First prize: Lewis Stafford for ‘Written in the Past’
- Second prize: Georgia Barton for ‘Ebony’s Bit’
- Third prize: Dache Geiger for ‘Built by the Bush’
The John Villiers Trust Chair, Ian Galloway AM, joined exhibition entrants, VIPs, judges and art lovers at the awards ceremony and launch event on Saturday, 15 March. Mr Galloway reiterated the importance of the Outback Art Prize to the Winton community, established and emerging artists, and young country Queenslanders.
“We are deeply aware of the value that the Art Prize brings for those who take part in this event. We hope it continues to provide stability, hope and trust to children and youth living in regional communities” Mr Galloway said.
“We particularly recognise the critical need to ensure that the voices of our youth in rural, regional and remote communities are given an outlet and an opportunity to be celebrated and recognised by a broad audience in many ways”.
The John Villiers Trust has supported the Waltzing Matilda Centre Centre and the Art Prize since 2012 with a total of $142,500 granted to date and is proud to continue to help bring this iconic event to life for artists of all ages and experience.
Visit the exhibition online or in-person
The works of the finalists will be on exhibition at the Outback Regional Gallery at the Waltzing Matilda Centre in Winton from 15 March to 11 May 2025 or view the exhibition online:
- Visit the Waltzing Matilda Centre website to view the 40 finalists and have your say in the People’s Choice Awards.
- See the Children’s Art Gallery: A digital gallery showcasing art of young people aged 5-14 from outback areas expressing their feelings about outback life is also available on the website.
Read more about JVT and the Waltzing Matilda Centre:
Photo above: JVT Chair Ian Galloway with Lyn Bartolo and her second-place winning work: ‘King of the Road’
