THE talent of two Millicent siblings was recognised at the South East Arts Society (SEAS) 2018 Open Arts Awards, which were held at the Millicent Gallery earlier this month.
With a keen eye on the camera, Jack and Lilly Francis captured the judge’s attention in the photography category.
Jack took home the top of the table award, sharing his success with Lilly, who received a meritorious mention.
The awards night was opened by SEAS president Robin Pellen who congratulated all entrants on their work and provided those attending with background information about the group.
“SEAS has been around for quite a long time, over 50 years, and its nature has changed over those years, but its mission has not,” he said.
“Its mission is pretty simple … it is basically supporting aspiring artists in the community.
“We do that from someone who has never picked up a paintbrush or whatever in their life and we help to train them.
“We help exhibit their work and we help promote and support them until in some cases they reach the grand levels of being a professional artist, in which case then generally speaking they are on their own.”
Mr Pellen invited City of Mount Gambier arts, culture and development officer and judge Serena Wong to comment on the competition.
“It is really flattering to be asked to judge such an important art prize that has a lot of resonance to the larger community,” she said.
“I have to say the other judges and myself had a really tough time, there is some real talent in this room.
“We were particularly impressed with the younger kids who showed some real talent and we were all really impressed with what we saw there.
“There were some great scenes done by local artists of local areas and I think you can really see the competition shows that.
“It is a really important story which we can tell each other in our own voice in a way nobody else can.
“I want to congratulate you all for telling those important stories.”
Wattle Range Council manager of libraries and cultural services Janice Nitschke said the awards provided Millicent with the opportunity to showcase the gallery and library space to many visitors.
“The gallery is a great space and the exhibition has many entries from artists who have not exhibited in the Millicent gallery before,” she said.
“The SEAS provides an opportunity to promote the gallery and our exhibitions and it also gives the community the opportunity to enjoy a variety of work from artists they may not have seen.
“It expands the art reach.”
The awards gave amateur and professional artists and photographers from across the South East the opportunity to showcase and exhibit their work.
Categories included 2D, 3D, photography, and primary and secondary students and made up a prize pool of $1500.
The exhibition will be open to the public at the Millicent Gallery until June 27.
