A new prize & a new venue

THE winner of this year’s prestigious Poets of Penola (POP) Acquisitive Art Prize is Xavier Mouche for his work ‘A Ballad of Rhythmic Patchwork’, an artistic interpretation of the poem ‘The Hoofs of the Horses’ by William Henry Ogilvie.

The $12,000 art prize was awarded during the opening night of the Penola Coonawarra Arts Festival (PCAF), hosted at the new home of the Festival, Still Water Studio in the heart of Penola on May 16.

Formerly known as the John Shaw Neilson Acquisitive Art Prize, the newly named Poets of Penola Acquisitive Art Prize celebrates the literary and artistic heritage of Penola.

The new prize invites artists to create works inspired by the poetry of three poets associated with the region – John Shaw Neilson, Adam Lindsay Gordon, and William Henry Ogilvie.

Penola Coonawarra Arts Festival president John Mossop said this year marked the perfect time to broaden the prize’s scope with the opening of the new home of the arts festival – Still Water Studio.

“The POP art prize and the studio would simply not have been possible without the generous support of a local benefactor, The Mary Skene Kidman Fund,” Mr Mossop said.

With 47 entries received locally and from across Australia, the response to the expanded prize has been enthusiastic.

“These artworks and the new format are breathing new life into the legacy of Penola’s poets,” said Mr Mossop. “By pairing poetry and visual art, the POP Prize invites creatives to explore our cultural heritage in a dynamic and accessible way.”

In addition to the POP Prize, awards presented on the night included the Limestone Coast Local Art Award and the Packer’s Prize.

Still Water Studio is open Friday to Monday, from 10am to 3pm and all through the week after the festival.

Penola Coonawarra Arts Festival coordinator Peta Baverstock said like the festival, this space is entirely volunteer-run, and we welcome the public to enjoy these extraordinary artworks and a small donation during your visit helps support the studio.

The entries for this year’s Poets of Penola Acquisitive Art Prize, including the winners, will be open for exhibition until the end of the Long Weekend on June 9 at Still Water Studio, 45B Church St, Penola.

The Penola Coonawarra Arts Festival acknowledges and thanks the Art Gallery of South Australia for its continued support, and especially Tansy Curtin for her generous contribution as this year’s judge.

2025 PENOLA COONAWARRA ARTS FESTIVAL

PRIZE WINNERS

POETS OF PENOLA ACQUISITIVE ART PRIZE

SPONSOR

Mary Skene Kidman Fund

ARTIST NAME

Xavier Mouche

ARTWORK

TITLE

A Ballad of Rhythmic Patchwork

POEM NAME

The Hoofs of the Horses

POET NAME

William Henry Ogilvie

WHAT THE JUDGE SAID (Art Gallery of SA acting artistic director, artistic programs)

“Xavier has successful captured the rhythm and movement of Ogilvie’s poem ‘The Hoofs of the Horses’. The patchwork of colours reminds us of the landscapes of regional and rural South Australia when viewed from above, and the tonal qualities of the colours are evocative of the severe drought we find ourselves. The flattened picture plane and layering of elements is indicative of the immersive and all-consuming nature of life on the land and has a timeless quality – we the viewer could be seeing Penola of the late nineteenth century or the Penola of today.”

HIGHLY COMMENDED PRIZE

SPONSOR

Katnook Estate

ARTIST NAME

Lorna Beagan

ARTWORK TITLE

Always There

POEM NAME

A Dedication: To My Brother

POET NAME

Adam Lindsay Gordon

WHAT THE JUDGE SAID (Art Gallery of SA acting artistic director, artistic programs)

“Both painting and poem are imbued with a sense of inherent connection. There is a quiet introspective quality to the work but, just like Gordon’s poem, there is a deep sense of love and respect. The artist has captured her sitter with bold brush strokes and a muted colour palette to draw our attention to his face. She, like Gordon, invites a wholly personal experience with the work.”

HIGHLY COMMENDED PRIZE

SPONSOR

Katnook Estate

ARTIST NAME

Samantha Clayfield

ARTWORK

TITLE

The Loving Tree

POEM NAME

The Loving Tree

POET NAME

John Shaw Neilson

WHAT THE JUDGE SAID (Art Gallery of SA acting artistic director, artistic programs)

“Clayfield is capturing women’s experiences of love and loss. She takes Neilson’s poem and reclaims it as a story of women on the land. Clayfield’s extraordinary materiality, using wool and hand dyes and then the technique of needle felting adds to the long history of women’s work in domestic life. The work has a lovely sense of connection between the women but there is also a feeling of isolation and loneliness with the long stretching road.”

LIMESTONE COAST LOCAL ART PRIZE

SPONSOR

Lois Hodge

ARTIST NAME

Rachel Clayfield

ARTWORK

TITLE

Weary

POEM NAME

Valedictory Poem

POET NAME

Adam Lindsay Gordon

WHAT THE JUDGE SAID (Art Gallery of SA acting artistic director, artistic programs)

“The insular nature of the artist’s life is replicated in the composition. The bed forms centre stage for the activity of her life. The work contrasts the notion of the physical weariness of Gordon’s poem with the emotional weariness of contemporary life. Ordinarily a place of rest, the bed becomes a place where she is bombarded by information, the horrors and tragedy of the wider world. The compressed use of space and no horizon line highlights the emotional state of this work.”

PACKER’S PRIZE

SPONSOR

Framing Solutions

ARTIST NAME

Chelsea Diamond

ARTWORK

TITLE

Where Grief Perches

POEM NAME

The Flight of the Weary

POET NAME

John Shaw Neilson