The IMA and ‘the churchie’ are excited to announce the finalists of this year’s prize.

From over 350 entries from across the country 13 finalists were selected to be shown in the finalists’ exhibition at the Institute of Modern Art.

The 2020 finalists are: Nathan Beard, Tom Blake, Jessica Bradford, Marina Pumani Brown, Martin George, Yasbelle Kerkow, Guy Louden, Lachlan McKee, Georgia Morgan, Nabilah Nordin, James Nguyen, Emily Parsons-Lord, and Athena Thebus.

Regarding the selection ‘the churchie’ curator Talia Smith said, “I am really excited by the talent and depth of the Australian contemporary emerging art scene. It made it a very challenging process!”

In response to the challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the finalists’ exhibition and prize announcement will be postponed until late 2020. We will strive to maintain the original format of the prize at this later date to allow artists to have their work seen and achievements publicly recognised.

Thanks to generous sponsors ‘the churchie’ offers a prize pool of $25,000. The overall winner will receive a non-acquisitive $15,000 cash prize donated by long-standing sponsor, BSPN Architecture.

A $5,000 Special Commendation prize sponsored by Fardoulys Constructions and two Commendation prizes of $1,000 sponsored by Madison Cleaning Services will also be awarded. At the conclusion of the exhibition a People’s Choice Award of $3,000, also sponsored by Madison Cleaning Services will be awarded.