It’s not even half way through the month of October … but it’s already been a cracker !!
As the month turned I received news that five of my images had been selected as Finalists in four categories of the ‘Queensland Multi Media Awards’ … the winners will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino Cairns on November 12th. Looking forward to that one …
That was followed by the announcement of selected finalists in the rich and prestigious ‘Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize’ … and my work ‘Number 55’ is one of the short listed images. The announcement of the $50,000 winner and the opening of the exhibition displaying all the Finalists work at Juniper Hall, Oxford Street, Paddington takes place on October 26th … and I’ll be choofing off to Sydney for that one!
Then … Thursday eve (the 13th) … the shock (to me) announcement, but wonderful news, that one of my images from the work on Manus Island PNG – of twenty year old Iraqi asylum seeker Abdullatif battered in the Lorengau police watch house – was selected as the Winner of the 2016 ‘Nikon Walkley Portrait Prize’. Magic … and now really looking forward to Australia’s media ‘night of nights’ – ‘The Walkley Awards’ – in Brisbane on Friday December 2nd. It’s the second time I’ve been lucky enough to snare the ‘Nikon Walkley Portrait Prize’ … the other being in 2011 with the portrait of Cairns burns survivor Carol Mayer.
Below is the 2016 ‘Nikon Walkley Portrait Prize’ Winner “Beaten Refugee”.
UPDATE … The Guardian has now published a great online gallery of ‘the best of’ this years Nikon Walkley winners and finalists – including my “Beaten Refugee” – at … https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2016/oct/17/nikon-walkley-awards-2016-the-best-photographs
Image © 2016 Brian Cassey
