Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to acknowledge the outstanding achievement of Peter Gardiner, a resident artist in my electorate of Newcastle. Peter has just won the 2016 Kilgour Prize, Newcastle Art Gallery's prestigious annual award for figurative and portrait painting, with his oil painting Origin/Landscape.

This year the judges chose 35 finalists from an entry pool of 200 works of art, and then the winning painting from those 35 shortlisted works. The Kilgour Prize is one of Australia's major art prizes and continues the long and rich history of art and art prizes in Newcastle.

I am delighted to see the $50,000 prize go to a Novocastrian, particularly one as accomplished as Peter. Peter lives and paints in Newcastle, but his work has been celebrated around Australia. He received the Calleen art prize in 2011, the Muswellbrook Art Prize in 2009 and the Maitland Art Prize in 2003 and in previous years he has been a finalist in the Kilgour Prize, the Wynne Prize, the Dobell prize and the Mosman Prize.

The contribution that artists and the arts make to our nation cannot be understated. They not only illuminate and enrich our social and cultural worlds but also have immeasurable impact on our economy.

I congratulate again and thank Peter Gardiner for his long-standing commitment to both the visual arts and our community. The Kilgour Prize is showing until 13 November. I invite all members present to make the trip to my electorate of Newcastle and view all the pieces on show at the Newcastle Art Gallery, and particularly Peter's winning painting.

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