Basil Sellers AM on Friday evening announced Richard Lewer as the 5th and final prestigious $100,000 Basil Sellers Art Prize 'winner' for his work titled The Theatre of Sports (2016) at the Ian Potter Museum of Art at the University of Melbourne.
Now, this coming Saturday, 30 July, is the 4th Basil Sellers Midge Point $2000 Art Prize at The Point Tavern with an intake of entries extending to regional areas south of Midge Point and Bloomsbury to Kuttabul, Kolijul and Calen.
Last September Mr Basil Sellers AM hosted the annual artists lunch (2015 finalists) where he announced he was increasing the prize from $1000 to $2000 and to widen the geographical intake.
The Basil Sellers Midge Point Art Prize has a history which requires some explanation.
Background
Way back in 2003 Mr Basil Sellers AM donated funding for an art gallery in Moruya on the NSW South Wales south coast – at Australia's Bush Orchestra - a tourism walk under the canopy of an Ironbark forest with the bird song of Bell Miners.
At the opening of this art gallery Basil Sellers announced a $10,000 Art Prize (now increased to $15,000) for 2004 and this was so successful that The Eurobodalla Shire Council took it on and widened the scope to the five local Shire's.
The success of the Moruya art prize led Basil Sellers - in conjunction with the University of Melbourne and the Ian Potter Museum of Arts - to establish the $100,000 Sport Art Prize.
Midge Point Art Prize
When Well-Being Australia established the Laguna Quays Respite missionary cottage in 2011 (Midge Point) and my wife Delma and I began to develop community links on our visits, we noticed there was a very keen arts community.
I sought the good will of Basil Sellers to initiate an art prize for Midge Point with a very positive response, and 2013 saw the initiation of the The Point Tavern – Basil Sellers Midge Point Art Prize.
Inas Jackson has been at the forefront of the art prize organisation who has arranged the circulars, entry forms, judging and opening day ....
Previous winners
2013 - Jill Liepertz
2014 - Gina Passfield
2015 - Margaret Pearce
The judge for the art prize has come from Proserpine. Whether there is any significance, but smaller size art works have won the day. The bigger the art size it seems has left the judges unimpressed.
The Point Tavern provide a lovely morning tea for the art prize opening.
The 2016 Basil Sellers Midge Point Art Prize – visitors are welcome:
11.00am
Saturday 30 July
The Point Tavern
Midge Point
Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children.
Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html