Spanish Australian visual artist Amaya Iturri has been awarded the 2024 Kennedy Prize with a bold portrait that celebrates ageing, wisdom and the beauty that comes with getting older.
The celebrated national visual arts competition attracted a high calibre of entries under the theme of ‘Beauty’ from Australia’s finest visual artists for the $25,000 prize.
Melbourne based artist Amaya Iturri created the award-winning portrait entitled The Beauty of Now – using acrylic on canvas specifically for the Kennedy Prize.
“The Beauty of Now has been years in the making and only came to fruition in the last year with the Kennedy Prize as a source of inspiration. The prize is such an important part of the Australian visual arts calendar, and I am so grateful to the Kennedy Arts Foundation for its generosity and support of artists”, Iturri said.
The work was inspired to challenge the negative ageism stereotype, instead portraying old age as vibrant and enriching.
“The painting emphasises the value of this life stage and encouraging embracing the present, honouring the past, and looking forward with optimism, against ageism”, Iturri said.
Iturri was revealed as the winner of the 2024 Kennedy Prize during Friday night’s Kennedy Prize exhibition launch event.
The launch event also saw the announcement of the winner of the Nyland Prize which awarded Victorian photographer Alan Moyle with a $5,000 prize for his deeply engaging portrait of Australian comedian, singer and writer Reuben Kaye. The prize is named after the Honourable Margaret Nyland who is a committee member of the Kennedy Arts Foundation.
79 finalists, including Iturri and Moyle’s winning works, are on display at the Kennedy/ Nyland Prize Exhibition in the Royal South Australian Society of the Arts at the State Library until Sunday, September 22.
For more information and to view the list of finalists, please visit www.kennedyprize.com.au
