By arts editor HELEN MUSA

There was a note of general celebration at the announcement of the QPRC & Bendigo Bank 2026 Art Awards winners at The Q on Saturday.

Mayor Kenrick Winchester was on hand to thank major sponsor the Braidwood & Bungendore Community Bank branches of Bendigo Bank, a partner since 2021, and to speak about the awards, which this year received a record 87 entries competing across 12 prizes.

QPRC arts officer Janita Byrne assured the large crowd that the judging had been completely blind, meaning judges Louise Wakefield, president of Southern Tablelands Arts, and Kacy Grainger, arts manager and curator of Grainger Gallery, had no idea who the artists were during the selection process.

Wakefield described the judging as “a joyful experience”, while Grainger told the artists packed into the gallery, “please keep doing what you do.”

The overall winner of the exhibition was noted glass artist Annette Blair, whose extraordinary blown, hot-sculpted cold-worked, flame0worked rusted glass piece, The Passing Autumn, evoked the changing season. “Quite a sentimental piece,” Blair said.

Mia Winchester was especially chuffed, as it turned out she and Blair had attended Queanbeyan High School together.

Meanwhile, sculptor David Smith, who won two awards for his metail work Superb Lyrebird, said simply, “I love making things with my hands.”

For First Nations Award winner Lea Palij, it was a poignant moment. Her father, to whom she dedicated her work Lessons from the Forest, had passed away earlier that day.

There are still two awards to be judged over the course of the exhibition, which will culminate on June 13, with a closing event featuring artist talks and the announcement of the Viewer’s Choice Award and the Curator’s Choice Award. It will also include the new $250 Lucky Viewer’s Choice Prize, a lucky dip draw from all Viewer’s Choice voting slips.

The 2026 Art Awards winners are on show in The Q Exhibition Space and The LinQ Gallery, Queanbeyan, until June 13.

The full list of winners is below.

$7000 Major Acquisitive Award, The Passing Autumn by Annette Blair
$3000 Mayor’s Acquisitive Heritage Art Award, Superb Lyrebird by David Smith
$1000 Mayor’s Highly Commended Heritage Award, On the Edge of Morning by Jen Moraga
$3000 3D Art Award, With You, By My Side by Kate Butler
$1000 3D Highly Commended Award, Waste Columns by Mahala Hill
$3000 First Nations Award, Lessons from the Forest by Lea Palij
$1000 First Nations Highly Commended Award, Spirit Country (Sacred Country) by Gail Neuss
$2000 Emerging Artist Award, 16–25 years, The Book of Promise by Pouniu Iosia
$2000 Bendigo Pick Award, Superb Lyrebird by David Smith
$1000 Bendigo Pick Photographic Award, Mystery Bay by Matt Hamilton.