Seven local artists named Olive Cotton Award finalists

THE Tweed Regional Gallery has announced the 65 finalists for the prestigious Olive Cotton Award for Photographic Portraiture, which includes seven artists from the Northern Rivers region.

Now in its 20th year, the biennial award offers a major prize of $20,000, with 2025 seeing a record number of entries.

Tweed Regional Gallery director Ingrid Hedgcock said the calibre of entries was growing each year.

“We’re delighted to see such powerful and diverse portraiture submitted for this milestone year of the Award and blown away by the number of entries we had this year, some 850 in total,” Hedgcock said.

“The finalists represent a remarkable cross-section of Australian photographic talent.”

The local finalists were Adam Bailey, Lisa Sorgini, Craig Tuffin, Joel Benguigui, Paul Blackmore, Elise Derwin, and Tajette O’Halloran.

Funded by the family of renowned 20th-century photographer, Olive Cotton, additional awards are supported by the Friends of Tweed Regional Gallery & Margaret Olley Art Centre Inc.

The Friends of the Gallery also funds the Director’s Choice and People’s Choice Awards along with Sally McInerney and gallerist Josef Lebovic.

The winning work will be announced at an official opening event featuring judges Sally McInerney, Glenn Iseger-Pilkington, Angela Connor, and Shaune Lakin, as well as attending finalists, on Saturday, 30 August.

For information about the exhibition and finalist announcements, visit gallery.tweed.nsw.gov.au/olive-cotton-award