Through The Artists' Eyes: The Lester Prize - The Black Swan Years

Description

A full-colour illustrated visual art book exploring the birth of one of Australia's richest prizes for portraiture in Western Australia, and the artists and creators who received it. In 2006, the Black Swan Prize for Portraiture was born from humble beginnings in a small tin shed in Western Australia. Through an incredible journey of passion and determination, it is now one of Australia's richest portrait prizes, with thousands of people visiting the exhibition at the Art Gallery of Western Australia each year. In 2019, the Black Swan Prize was rechristened the Lester Prize and this book, Through the Artists' Eyes, was created to document and showcase the pivotal Black Swan Prize years (2007 - 2018). This exquisite visual arts book includes stunning photos of winning artworks, the artists' stories, and the self-doubt, rejection and inspiration behind many of Australia's finest artists. It also offers a window into the world of people from underprivileged groups, and covers art workshops for hospitalised children, the disabled, the unemployed, Indigenous children in remote areas and elderly people with dementia.

Dr Shelley Craddock is a writer and passionate lover of the arts. While practising medicine she studied art history and volunteered for the Black Swan Prize for Portraiture. Her publications include book reviews for Australian Doctor magazine, the Cancer Council Calendar, Celebrating Everywoman, and the Screenwest newsletter. She is also a screenwriter and filmmaker. She co-wrote Freedom on the River, about a group of disabled rowers. Her full-length screenplay, Sirocco, won a Screenwest First Writers Grant in 2004, development funding in 2007, and was shortlisted for West Coast Visions in 2008. Through the Artists' Eyes is her first book.