Art prize unpaused: Riverina students able to exhibit works again

Albury, Billabong, James Fallon, Murray, Tumbarumba, Kandeer and Wewak schools have each entered 12 works in the Director's Acquisitive Art Prize, which will be on display until next Thursday.

The competition, which will see the winning students work displayed at the NSW Department of Education Albury office until next July, started in 2018, but was put on hold in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID.

Albury High School art teacher Lana Rhodes said there were four categories: painting, drawing, other and photography.

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"It's very exciting after having a couple of years away," she said.

"It's really great to give the kids a purpose and showcase all the really good things that are happening in schools.

"There's a lot of great works from across the board ... it's really exciting for the students too, to see their work in a different light, so being framed and on a wall."

Ms Rhodes encouraged the community to look for themselves.

Albury High Year 10 student Tierre Lindner said it took her a whole school term to make her flamingo teapot, which she was asked to enter in the competition.

"I was really shocked ... I hope I win," she said.

The 16-year-old said the "funky" teapot had been crafted by hand and was a joy after COVID lockdowns.

"It's very bright colours, it's abstract,"she said.

"Being in lockdown, I couldn't really do anything, but I love being back at school being creative, it's something bright, so I bring it back home and it lights up the room."

Classmate Lily French, also 16, entered her photograph of a zoomed in section of rope in the competition.

Ms French said she'd taken the photo during a lockdown last year for an internal school art competition and it had won in the landscape category.

"I was wanting to enter the (internal) competition for ages and I realised that the competition entrance was ending that day, so an hour before they were due I was just trying to find inspiration around my backyard and house and when I saw that I was instantly wanting to take a photo of it," she said.

"I liked how the cobwebs looked in it and I liked the texture of the rope," she said.

"I took it as a close up so it really showed the contrast."

Ms French said the rope caught her eye due to it's almost archaic, other worldly appearance.

"It was like a connection to place, because over COVID being isolated from people, it (the photo) was a really good connection to the world, the environment," she said.

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