"Connection" key for prize winner

Redcliffe artist Blair Garland has won the Moreton Bay Art Award for her “deeply personal” entry Flesh and Blood 2025.

Garland’s winning work - one of 42 chasing a prize pool of $10,000 - explores identity, memory and transformation through menopause.

She repurposed bed linen, scarves, dresses and her own hair, collected during her transition through menopause, to take first place.

Garland has been a regular entrant in the Moreton Bay Art Prize and received a Highly Commended Award in 2023.

Her artwork statement said: “The intimate female connection to these materials was a conscious choice as they hold memories and lived experiences within their fabric.

“Since experiencing menopause my hair has been falling out at a great rate of knots. I have been ritualistically rolling them into balls and collecting samples of my DNA.

“I felt compelled to include my hair balls in Flesh and Blood as a tangible link to my past. They are also a powerful symbol of my current identity as an aging woman.”

Garland congratulated this year’s winners and entrants saying the Art Prize “invites us to reflect, feel and imagine - offering images and ideas that stay with us well beyond the gallery walls.

“Let's keep these conversations going. What we do as artists matters - it shapes culture, fosters connection and helps communities imagine what could be."

Born in Sydney, Garland was raised in a family of artists in the Gold Coast hinterland but now lives and works at Redcliffe.

She has a Bachelor of Visual Art from Griffith University and Diploma in Community Studies. 

This year marks the 30^th anniversary of Garland’s first exhibition. In that time her works have been in exhibitions, workshops and public artwork displays across Moreton Bay, South-East Queensland, in Sydney and New Caledonia.

Mayor Peter Flannery said this year’s Art Prize exhibition at Pine Rivers Art Gallery in Strathpine is a “rich showcase of the stories, cultures, and contemporary practices that shape our City”.

“We are committed to elevating the role of art in community and culture and continue the rich tradition of the Moreton Bay Art Prize that began over 30 years ago,” he said.

Councillor Jim Moloney, who presented the award, said it was an “honour” to “hear the powerful stories behind each artwork”.

Second place went to Michelle Spencer for Where Did She Go? (2025) and Rachel South took third for Basilea (2024).

Entrants must live in the City of Moreton Bay local government or identify as a Kabi Kabi, Turrbal or Jinibara First Nations person living in Australia.

The People’s choice voting closes on July 19. For more visit www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/Galleries-Museums/Get-Involved/Artist-Opportunities/Art-Prize

More Art Prize entries - click through