Michael Beazer Works on Paper Prize 2026

 

Exhibition dates: Friday 30 January - 14 March 2026

Special opening event and winner announced 5.30pm Friday 30 January | All welcome. Free

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The Michael Beazer Works on Paper Prize is an acquisitive $3,000 award, generously supported by Michael and Margaret Beazer. The prize celebrates excellence in works on paper and paper-based sculpture, with the winning artwork acquired into the East Gippsland Art Gallery’s permanent collection.

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The Gallery is delighted by the diversity and quality of submissions received this year. From nearly 200 entries, a shortlist of 29 finalists has been selected by Michael Beazer, with these works to be exhibited at the Gallery. The installed exhibition will be judged by Crystal Stubbs, Director of East Gippsland Art Gallery, and Frank Mesaric, artist and winner of the 2024 EGAG WRAP.

 

The 29 finalists from across the country are Tania Babic, Joanna Briscomb, Tom Buckland, Ju-Yuen Chew, Trudy Clutterbok, Julie Danilov, Chelle Destefano, Mark Dober, Stu Doherty, Michael Donnelly, Naomi Droll, Lesley Duxbury, James Farrar, Stephen Glover, Maureen Harley, Jade Kahle, Adelaide Macpherson, Shane McGowan, Cecile Michel, Emily Murch, Janice Oliver, Kirsi Reinikka, Ruby Rigg-Smith, Al Roberts, Margaret Salt, Elisabeth Scott, Andrew Tan, Cleo Wilkinson, Christabel Wigley.​

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We look forward to celebrating this year’s finalists and their contributions to the vibrant world of paper-based art.​​

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Words from Frank Mesaric

 

“Let me begin by thanking Mr Michael Beazer for his generosity in initiating this Art Prize in the first instance and for choosing such a very strong collection of finalists, all who have produced work that is admirable to say the least. I also would like to thank the Director of this gallery ‘Crystal Stubbs’ for the honour of judging this competition.

The winner of the Michael Beazer Works on Paper Prize 2026 is ‘Document of Death, Jong Ah Sing. 25th of October 1900, Sunbury Lunatic Asylum.
I chose this print because it depicted the subject with visual power and clarity. The forms in their crudity jolt us into recognising man’s capacity for cruelty, injustice and how vulnerable in fact we all are. The sparseness of the composition and technique marry beautifully to demonstrate empathy on the part of the artist and the viewer for that matter. My congratulations  to Trudy Clutterbok for producing an art piece that will enhance the permanent collection of East Gippsland Art Gallery.”

 

 

Words from Trudy Clutterbok

 

"I've been drawn to paper since I was a child - when I always chose paper (or water ) in the game Rock, Paper, Scissors. I suspect even then I was aware that paper had contradictory powers- versatile, responsive but sometimes stubborn; fragile, powerful and strong; ubiquitous, unique and diverse. I love working with paper. Until recently it was the main material of books, records and letters. 

 

My print, Document of Death ... includes different papers that display and embody some of these qualities. Jong Ah Sing, who I depict at the moment of his death or release, himself made a small handmade book from papers that he gleaned from various parts of the Yarra Bend Lunatic Asylum. 

 

He wanted his book to be a record, proving that his incarceration was a mistake. My print records his death as well as my deep and ongoing interest in his life. I'd also like it to prompt viewers to consider listening more receptively and with more interest to the voices of those who may be mad - and to artists. Though it may be a cliche to connect art with madness there's a truth to it. 

 

Thanks to all the artists in this show for your wonderful work, to the judges, Crystal Stubbs and Frank Mesaric, to Michael and Marg Beazer, to Baldessin Press, Varuna writers house, State library Victoria, Melbourne Museum, Sal Cooper and Primo Clutterbok for supporting and encouraging me in my art practice and research. I'm thrilled that you selected my print. "

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Below: Trudy Clutterbok, Document of death, Jong Ah Sing. 25th of October, 1900. Sunbury Lunatic Asylum.

Oil based ink, water-based paint on cotton rag and Japanese papers. Monotype with Chine Collé 

 

This print consists of two layers of monotypes. This layering introduced a sense of time and history to my process. I used a wiping technique with the upper oil-based layer to reveal the underlayers, or what came before.

 

I have used oil -based inks and water-based paint which are chemically incompatible. This allowed me to think about the differences between Jong Ah Sing and myself, while acknowledging how close I feel to him and his story. I have allowed some layers to disappear into the surface while attaching other layers minimally, to introduce a sense of fragility that I associate with human beings incarcerated in institutions.

 

For me, it is important to consider the lives and deaths of solitary people. Art-making can be an expansive aspect of the archival record. Bringing the outsider and intimacies, such as the moment of death, into history has the potential to change history.