Noosa Art Award winners announced on Friday

Noosa Council's Noosa Regional Gallery will be announcing this year's winners of the inaugural Noosa Art Award this Friday night at 6pm at the Gallery.

The response to the award – which was offered for the first time this year – surprised everyone, with 67 local and national finalists in the running for the $7000 prize money.

Noosa Gallery Director Nina Shadforth said the idea of the award will contribute to Noosa's reputation as a sophisticated cultural destination.

"The vision for the award is not only to build on our existing collection, but to create a unique cultural drawcard for Noosa," Ms Shadforth said.

"Noosa is renowned nationally for its culture, and we aim to build a collection that adds to that cultural experience for both local and tourists. The incredible quality of this year's entries will add to our reputation as a region that both produces and exhibits great cultural products."

The winner of the Open category will receive $7000 prize money and their artwork added to the Noosa Council Corporate Art Collection, while other prizes include the Regional category in 2D and 3D at $1500 each, and the People's Choice award of $1000 sponsored by the Friends of Noosa Regional Gallery.

The exhibition will be officially opened by Councillor Tony Wellington and is open to everyone.

For those unable to attend the opening the gallery is hosting two events to get up close and personal with the winners and many of the local finalists.

• Meet the winners, Saturday, 30 August, 10.30am-11.30am
• Panel discussion by Noosa Art Award Finalists, Friday, 5 September, 10.30-11.30am

The exhibition continues until 5 October.

The Noosa Regional Gallery is located Riverside, 9 Pelican Street, Tewantin and is open free to the public from Tuesday to Friday from 10am to 4pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 3pm. For further information about exhibitions, events and bookings, contact the gallery on 07 5329 6145 or email: gallery@noosa.qld.gov.au.

26 August 2014