Judges

Kon Gouriotis OAM

Editor and Arts Writer

Kon Gouriotis OAM has held leadership roles in the Visual Arts since 1995. He was Director at the Australian Centre for Photography, Director of Visual Arts at the Australia Council for the Arts, and Director of the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre. He is the editor of Artist Profile, a national journal dedicated to visual artists behind the art, and is a regular writer for Australian Art Monthly, Asian Art News, and ArtAND. Kon’s recent curatorial projects include Silent Tears for the Ballarat International Foto Biennale (2015) and Open Field for the Auburn Botanic Gardens and Peacock Gallery (2016).

Nigel Harrison

Artist

Nigel Harrison is a renowned Australian sculptor, whose work has been exhibited extensively and is held in numerous public art collections, such as the Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery, and Macquarie University. Nigel has been awarded the Sydney Water prize in Sculpture by the Sea (2001) and has been a finalist in numerous sculpture prizes throughout Australia, including Sculpture by the Sea, the Scenic World Sculpture Prize, the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize, and the Western Sydney University Sculpture Award and Exhibition. He was also Head of Sculpture at the National Art School.

Renee Porter

Curator

Renee Porter is the curator of the Hurstville Museum and Gallery and has over 20 years’ curatorial and collection management experience. She has also provided curatorial consultation for the S.H. Ervin Gallery’s Margaret Olley exhibition (2020), and has worked at the Art Gallery of NSW, the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, the University of Western Australia, and the Campbelltown Arts Centre.

Monica McMahon

Art Curator

Monica McMahon has been the Western Sydney University Art Curator since 2002. In her time in this role, Monica established and manages three public galleries: the Margaret Whitlam Galleries (Parramatta South campus), the ACIAC Gallery (Parramatta South campus), and the Margot Hardy Gallery (Bankstown campus). Monica is also responsible for organising the biennial Western Sydney University Sculpture Award and Exhibition, and for managing the University's permanent art collection.