2024 Behlau Murakami Grant Contemporary Issues Portraiture ArtPrize winner announced

Artist Anna Weston has won the prestigious 2024 Behlau Murakami Grant Contemporary Issues Portraiture ArtPrize.

The award was announced at the Queensland College of Art & Design, Webb Gallery at Southbank on Friday night.

Considered Queensland’s most lucrative student portraiture art prize Anna Weston won with her entry entitled “Debbie Kilroy”.

The entrants to the Behlau Murakami Grant ArtPrize were required to submit portraits of Queenslanders who provide pro bono (free of charge) assistance to people in need.

The winning portrait depicted lawyer Debbie Kilroy, who founded Sisters Inside, an independent community organisation that advocates for the human rights of women and girls in the criminal justice system and was the first person with serious convictions to be allowed to practise law by the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The $7,000.00 ArtPrize was established in 2022 by law firm partners, Ron Behlau, Jason Murakami and Shane Grant and was won by Sky Parra for her portrait of wrongfully convicted victim, Henry Keogh.

“The aim of the ArtPrize is to support emerging artists and to highlight important social issues which do not attract appropriate attention,” said Mr Behlau who is the Director of Behlau Murakami Grants Pro-Bono Division.

A highly commended award was also given to Partick Rollston, with his entry entitled “Fisher” depicting well known Brisbane lawyer, Terry Fisher, who was also in attendance at the Webb gallery for the exhibition.