THE 2019 Penola Coonawarra Arts Festival transformed the district into a vibrant, cultural melting point with one of its most family orientated festivals to date.The four-day event attracted hundreds from within the region and beyond to Penola and Coonawarra, with a number of sell-out events across the jam-packed festival.
Arguably the festival’s main drawcard – the $10,000 John Shaw Neilson Acquisitive Prize – was awarded on Thursday night with Penny Dowie’s powerful representation of Neilson’s poem To A Divinity claiming the honours.
Ms Dowie’s portrait of a young girl dressed in a gown of golden and silk was highly regarded due to its ability to “capture the rather intangible qualities of the sitter’s introspection and movement” according to judge Elle Freak.
Ms Dowie’s piece Spirit of Spring was full of “folds and texture in the dress” leading judges and observers to her “sensitive recording of the young girl’s face”.
The festival’s 2020 image was also finalised with Kristi Biezaite’s “bold and dynamic” creation chosen as the Design Prize winner.
The design includes references to a diverse amount of elements of the arts which the festival is commonly known to celebrate each year.
Judges believe Ms Biezaite’s design will also be easily adaptable to fit the various amounts of formats required for next year’s festival.
THE 2019 Penola Coonawarra Arts Festival transformed the district into a vibrant, cultural melting point with one of its most family orientated festivals to date.The four-day event attracted hundreds from within the region and beyond to Penola and Coonawarra, with a number of sell-out events across the jam-packed festival.
Arguably the festival’s main drawcard – the $10,000 John Shaw Neilson Acquisitive Prize – was awarded on Thursday night with Penny Dowie’s powerful representation of Neilson’s poem To A Divinity claiming the honours.[/caption]
“The black form appears almost like an aerial perspective of a lake and you get a sense that you can almost dive into the creativity of the festival,” Ms Freak said.
Diana Wiseman took home the John Shaw Neilson Local Prize with her piece Slowly He Wandered inspired by the poem The Fellow in the Mist.
Described as providing an intense “feeling and spirit similar to that in the poem,” Ms Wiseman’s piece had a minimal landscape made up of a distant horizon filled with pale green and an anonymous figure.
The Highly Commended Prize was awarded to Penola local Dagny Strand with her piece A Charming Young Lady Named Brewster.
“She has painstakingly recorded the fine textures and subtle tonal variations of the white feathers,” Ms Freak said.
“She has also expertly captured the individual character of the sitter with her luminous and warm porcelain skin.”
John Neylon’s Evening Flight inspired by the poem The Birds Go By won the John Shaw Neilson Packers Prize.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people converged on Penola and Coonawarra to experience a multitude of activities and workshops held at many different locations after kicking off with the official opening held at Penola High School on Thursday night.
While much of the focus centered around the appreciation of art, there was no stopping the energized children of all ages who attended the festival, enjoying a number of free activities including face painting, mini golf and the Nylon Zoo.
Kite making, the Natural Kitchen and the PlayZone were also extremely popular among families.
Celebrating a 25-year partnership between Co-Opera and Penola, Thursday night’s rendition of Mozart’s Don Giovanni performance at Rymill Hall attracted over 130 guests.
