23rd CWA Art Award

by Barkly News Pictorial art critic Alison Alder

After attending many art exhibition openings at galleries and major institutions on the East Coast, it is a relief to attend the opening of the annual CWA Art Award.
Everyone is excited, unafraid to express an opinion, a lot of the work is about this country, some people take bets on the winner and expectations run high.
The hard workers who organise the show are up-the-front gathering some well deserved, albeit brief, limelight, and the other hard workers, their husbands, are out the back preparing the food.
The judge this year, Caroline Lieber from the Araluen Centre, chose one of Felicity Gorman's paintings as the overall winner. Felicity's paintings show an obvious affinity with this country; she captures the light and colour with unassuming ease.
Although there seemed to be fewer entries this year, no photography and not much craft, the standard was high with excellent work on display.
The CWA Art Award is supporting collection of artwork for the community, supporting new talent and providing a venue to display work. The CWA Hall and its surrounding garden have a spacious ambience.
Future generations of Barkly art lovers will look back on the efforts of the CWA committee with gratitude.