National Photographic Portrait Prize 2016 opens at Mildura Arts Centre

Published on 10 February 2017

Extraordinary visual storytelling will be revealed when The National Portrait Gallery’s National Photographic Portrait Prize 2016 opens at Mildura Arts Centre next Thursday.

The annual National Photographic Portrait Prize 2016 (NPPP) is the National Portrait Gallery’s most popular exhibition, promoting the very best in contemporary photographic portraiture by both professional and aspiring Australian photographers across the country.

Each year, the exhibition travels to galleries around the country to show Australians living in regional areas the great work being produced by photographers around the nation.

Arts and Culture Portfolio Councillor Jason Modica urged residents to come and see these amazing photographs and stories on display.

“People will be inspired by the strong visuals and the unique storytelling in this exhibition,” Cr Modica said, adding that Mildura is the only Victorian location to display the exhibition.

Selected from a national field of 2,000 entries, the 49 finalists represented in this exhibition were judged by National Portrait Gallery Curators, Christopher Chapman and Penelope Grist, along with award winning Australian photographer and guest judge Narelle Autio.

Narelle said she was honoured to be selected as a guest judge and take part in the behind-the-scenes selection of this year’s finalists.

“I have always loved how photography captures something that might be unseen otherwise; a moment that is revealed and singled out from the perpetual motion of our lives,” Narelle said.

“It was a great privilege to be invited to judge the prize, and be given a chance to bear witness to all those sincere, curious, affectionate and remarkable moments that made up this year's entries.”

Western Australian photographer Elizabeth Looker won the 2016 prize with her photograph Life Dancers.

The portrait was described by Penelope Grist as “set in Australian suburbia with the aesthetic of a fairy tale, this portrait of two children in a WA garden captures a moment that could feed memory or metaphor. Life Dancers reminds us of the place that imagination can continue to have throughout our lives, if only we let it.”

The Portrait Gallery was thrilled to award Ms Looker the $25,000 prize for the most outstanding photograph. The full list of finalists is available at http://portrait.gov.au/peopleschoice/

The National Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition will be opened by Co–Curator Penelope Grist at 6pm on Thursday, 16 February.

Mildura Arts Centre will display the National Photographic Portrait Prize 2016 exhibition from Thursday, 16 February until Sunday, 30 April 2017.

For more information call Helen Piscioneri at Mildura Arts Centre on (03) 5018 8330 or email helen.piscioneri@mildura.vic.gov.au

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