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ARCHIBALD PRIZE
It's been a big week in the visual arts.
The Archibald Prize for portraiture has been awarded to Sydney artist Del Kathryn Barton for a self-portrait with her son and daughter, Kell and Arella.
Arts critic Sebastian Smee remarked that the arrangement of the three human subjects in a vertical hierarchy was unusual and the picture's profusion of decorative marks, would remind many viewers of the portraits of Gustav Klimt.
The Wynne Prize for landscape went to Joanne Currie Nalingu for a painting called 'The River is Calm'.
And the Sulman Prize, for the best subject painting, genre painting or mural project by an Australian artist, went to Rodney Pople for a painting of a zebra in a spotlight called 'Stage Fright'.
The finalists and winners in all three prizes categories are on display at the Arts Gallery of NSW until 18 May.
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DOUG MORAN NATIONAL PORTRAIT PRIZE
And it seems the season for self portraits: Another Sydney-based artist, 34-year-old Fiona Lowry, has won the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize.
Her self-portrait titled 'What I Assume You Shall Assume' is a work in acrylic paint on archival paper and depicts the artist standing naked in the Australian bush.
Ms Lowry said the work is part of a series she has been working on which draws on the colonial mythology of the Australian bush as strange and malevolent.
It's Ms Lowry's first entry in a portrait prize and she is now $100,000 better off.
And another Sydney artist, photographer Belinda Mason, has been awarded first place in the Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize. Her work, titled 'Four Generations', another self portrait of sorts, wins the $50,000 prize.
All 30 portraits and 116 photographs in competition are on exhibition at the State Library of NSW until 4 May, or you can find them on-line at www.moranprize.com.au.
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BALD ARCHY PRIZE
And to end the week, comes news that a painting of a breastfeeding Crown Princess Mary and a near-naked Crown Prince Frederik, she breastfeeding her new baby, he grasping a Carlsberg stubby, with his first son at his feet, has topped the satirical Bald Archy Prize.
The Bald Archy Prize is a satire of the Archibald and is judged by Maude the sulphur-crested cockatoo, who let it be known that the painting cracked her up.
The Prize, now in its 15th year, attracted 62 entries from all over the country and has a first prize of $5,000.
The betting was that a painting of Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard or Peter Garrett would take out the award as there were about half a dozen entered, but James Brennan's 'The Official Portrait of the Danish Royal Family' won the day.
Brennan, a railway station worker from Aberglassyn near Newcastle, says he may one day enter the slightly more prestigious Archibald Prize.
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WOMADELAIDE
WOMADelaide has been such a success this year that organisers say they'll consider extending the event to four days.
An estimated crowd of nearly 80,000 attended Adelaide's world music festival, over the three days, despite temperatures above 35 degrees.
The festival is held in Botanic Park, adjacent to the Adelaide CBD and event director Ian Scobie said "We're keen to ensure that we're able to cater for the demand for the festival without overcrowding the park".
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KEATING CALLED FOR BOTANIC GARDENS CONCERT BAN
In Sydney now: and the former prime Minister, Paul Keating, has called for a ban on the use of Sydney's Botanic Gardens for concerts, film screenings and similar events.
The call come after Mrs Macquaire's Chair, a rocky headland adjacent to the Botanic gardens, was used as a vantage point to observe the first Sydney Superboat Grand Prix on Sunday 9 March.
The Botanic Gardens Trust had prepared the area for 10,000 spectators but said the numbers peaked at 1,300 for the event.
Mr Keating said that "The problem is, the city's into bread and circuses. What we need in our institutions like the Botanical Gardens is depth." "Let's develop the quiet enjoyment of the Botanical Gardens.
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LATTICE: SYDNEY
A recent guest on ARTS alive was Alice Angus, of the Lattice: Sydney project.
She and Orlagh Woods from the British arts collective Proboscis are working with activists in Western Sydney to explore the ways diverse communities engage with their environments.
For those interested in following the project, the Lattice: Sydney blog is now live and can be found at http://sydney.latticeproject.net.
Lattice is part of the British Council's Creative Cities project - a three year cultural and artistic partnership between East Asian cities including Sydney and the UK.
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NATIONAL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN SCHOOL MUSIC EDUCATION
Finally, nominations are now open for the 2008 National Awards for Excellence in School Music Education.
The inaugural awards in 2007 saw 13 outstanding music educators recognised.
All details about the 2008 Awards, including Guidelines, and nomination forms are available on the website at www.musicawards.asme.edu.au.
The closing date for nominations is April 8, 2008.
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