Entries will now be accepted from any citizen of a full member, registered, ICC country i.e. – Australia, England & Wales, New Zealand, South Africa, the West Indies, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe who have completed their work in the last 12 months.

This annual art prize competition offers AU$20,000 to the winning artist, AU$2000 for the Highly Commended and AU$1000 to the Peoples’ Choice with international exposure for the finalists in the travelling exhibition.

The organisers invite artists from test playing nations to submit a painting or composition that depicts life in and around the game and sport of cricket, in settings of backyard, park, beach, street, local club or social-cricket.

The work may be figurative, semi-abstract, still-life or figure-in-landscape. 

Acceptable media are: oil painting, acrylic painting, water-colour, pastels or mixed media on canvas, board or artists paper with a cubist, impressionist, tonalist, fauvist, surrealist, pop art, futurist, hard-edge, modern, naïve, orientalist, pointillist, precisionist, regionalist or romanticist style.

Paintings of famous people, cricketers or the artist (past or present) WILL NOT be accepted as they are not, by the organisers’ definition a cricket painting but a portrait, and the Cricket Art Prize is not a portrait art prize.  

The judges for 2010 are comedian and author Steve Abbott; art collector Dr. Dick Quan; art-critic John McDonald and last years winning artist – Jane Kellahan.

Derek Zilich, the key organiser commented “We expect a wider variety of entries this year due to the fact that the Cricket Art Prize has been thrown open to all test-cricket playing nations… the closing date is the 1^st of September and all artists are encouraged to get hold of an entry form and start putting some runs on the board”.

David Woodford’s “I Made a Hundred in the Backyard at Mum’s” wins the Peoples’ Choice Award.

After a 4 month inter-state, national tour exhibiting in 3 venues, the Cricket Art Prize exhibition received 3220 nominations via its website.

The painting “I Made a Hundred in the Backyard at Mum’s” by David Woodford topped the poll with 362 votes representing 11% of the online-ballot.

232 artists submitted a painting for the inaugural Cricket Art Prize competition, in which 32 paintings were selected.  “White Wickets” by Jane Kellahan was the art prize winner and Adam Hill’s work “Unfair Dismissal” got the highly commended prize.

Artists were asked to depict life in and around the game and sport of cricket, in settings of backyard cricket, beach cricket, social-cricket or local club cricket.

Peoples’ Choice Award winning artist David Woodford said “I thought I was doing well to make the finals (exhibition) but to win the Peoples’ Choice is an absolute delight.  My kids and the neighbour’s kids are overjoyed at the news as they were inspiration for the painting” he added.

His work “I Made A Hundred In The Backyard At Mum’s “- portrays a semi-aerial view of the classic Australian backyard cricket scene, complete with bare-footed children, a fruit box as stumps, dogs jumping to field the ball, kids scampering and a Hills Hoist of washing slowly turning in the wind.

David Woodford’s “scumbling” technique elevates his level of creative expertise and demonstrates his technical ability and stylistic approach. Up close, his “scumbling” technique and skill of execution creates an almost 3-D effect and contributes to the painting’s success.

Exhibition dates:

Bradman Museum,

St. Jude St., Bowral, NSW 2676

15^th January to 7th February 2010

To view entire exhibition see à  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbO-Mitl_mw  

Of the 232 entries received, the judges selected 32 paintings to assemble the exhibition in the Members Pavilion at the SCG in October 2009. The Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust then selected 12 works from the exhibition to create this unique calendar.

The Cricket Art Prize 2010 Calendar is beautifully produced and each painting celebrates and pays tribute to the game.  The months may come and go but you can never tire of revisiting the pages of these perceptive and suggestive paintings.  Beautifully printed in full colour, A4/landscape/wirecomb-bound with each painting displayed atop each month-page in the calendar.

 See www.cricketartprize.org/calendar

Beneficiaries

The Cricket Art Prize fundraises for the McGrath Foundation and the Ponting Foundation and those charities receive contributions generated via any sale of these calendars before operational costs.

Only $19-95c plus postage

To order e-mail info [at] publisherscup [dot] org [dot] au

Due to an accumulation of restrictions and circumstances beyond our control, the Cricket Art Prize will not be exhibiting at the MCG in 2009.  We apologise for the short notice and the inconvenience.  The organisers will do all they can to try to bring this national exhibition to Melbourne in the coming years.

An invitation is extended to artists and poets, painters and writers from test playing nations to submit a painting, composition or poem that depicts life in and around the game and sport of cricket, in settings of backyard cricket, beach cricket, social-cricket or local club cricket.

Entries will now be accepted in 2010 from any citizen who resides in a full member, registered ICC country i.e. – Australia, England & Wales, New Zealand, South Africa, West Indies, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe who create, write and complete their work in the 12 months leading up to the closing date - early September 2010 (tbc).

In the past the Cricket Art Prize  and Cricket Poetry Award was an Australasian arts and literary competition – in other words only artists from Australia and New Zealand could submit an entry, but due to world wide interest and international request, the organisers have decided to open this arts and poetry initiative to full member, registered ICC countries.

Key organiser Derek Zilich stated “Cricket and the arts bring people of all backgrounds, socio-economic levels and nationalities together.  We now regard the Cricket Art Prize and Cricket Poetry Award as an arts and literary initiative that cross-pollinates with a global sport and national pastime.”

247 Studios, Australia’s first 24hr commercial photographic company is the latest to become a supporting-sponsor of the Cricket Art Prize.

247 Studios senior-partner and art-director, Daniel O’Doherty said “We are very excited to be a supporting-sponsor…  photography and cricket-art seem like an intuitive symbiosis and we look forward to developing our involvement with the current exhibition and in the future…”

247 Studios provides 24 hour commercial photography services, specifically developed to cater for advertisers and designers requiring time-sensitive, high-quality photography.  The experienced in-studio art directors and photographers at 247 Studios offer quick turn around times for quality in advertising, corporate and fashion photography.

For further information contact:

Derek Zilich, Publishers’ Cup Inc. derekz [at] publisherscup [dot] org [dot] au  0411 572 100

www.publisherscup.org.au

or

Daniel O’Doherty, 247 Studios. daniel [at] 247studios [dot] com [dot] au  0407 132 427

www.247studios.com.au

The organisers would like to thank the 232 artists who submitted entries in the inaugural Cricket Art Prize exhibition 2009.  The general standard and level of entries was excellent rendering the final exhibition to be quite interesting and diverse.

The exhibition will consist of 32 paintings and those finalists are listed thus:

• Christine Atkins – “School Cricket“ – oil on Belgium linen – 46cm x 87cm
• Fran Connell – “A Very Sticky Wicket” – oil on canvas – 100cm x 70cm
• Josette Cauchi – “Hot Sunday Afternoon” – acrylic – 100cm x 100cm
• Jane Kellahan – “White Wickets” – oil on canvass – 120cm x 120cm
• Bob Marchant – “My First Cricket Bat” – oil on board and 1940′s cricket bat – 140cm x 94cm
• Glenn Morgan – “Caught Marsh Bowled Lillee” – acrylic on plyboard – 130cm X 172cm
• Betina Fauvel-Ogden – “Waiting To Bat” – oil – 71cm x 61cm
• Annie Holcombe – “Country Cricket At The Bradman” – acrylic – 102cm x 76cm
• Rafael Butron – “The Final Over” – acrylic on canvas – 76cm x 112cm
• Grant Stevens – “Singles” – acrylic on canvas – 61cm x 107cm
• Ian Swift – “Yabbalines” – acrylic & cotton on canvas – 165cm x 216cm
• Joseph Rolella – “New Years Test” – oil on board – 114cm x 114cm
• John Skillington – “The Selector” – pigmented ink on paper – 90cm x 60cm
• Willy Sheather – “Marvellous” – acrylic on canvas -152cm x 198cm
• Joni Dennis – “Changi Cotton” – acrylic & mixed media – 183cm x 183cm
• Brendan Lakin – “Wayne Stopped Play” – oil on canvas – 122cm x 122cm
• Kirsten T. Smith – “Rooftop Cricket” – oil on canvas – 92cm x 92cm
• Adam Hill – “Unfair Dismissal” – synthetic polymer on canvas – 150cm x 250cm
• James P Gilmour – “When The Wicket Fell” – wax on Belgiam linen (encaustic) – 120cm x 90cm
• Ryan Wilson – “The Crusaders At Strath Creek” – acrylic on canvas – 122cm x 91cm
• Dianne Fogwell – “I Remember That Today” – oil on gesso board – 120cm x 150cm
• Alan Young – “Fun At The BCG (Backyard Cricket Ground)” – acrylic – 61cm x 61cm
• Darren Mitchelson – “Bodyline – Jardine’s Revenge (An Illustration Of Leg Theory)” – oil on canvas – 122cm x 152cm
• Gillian Lodge – “Dog-Watch” – oil on canvas – 91cm x 152
• David Woodford – “I Made A Hundred In The Backyard At Mum’s” – oil on m.d.f. – 70cm x 70cm
• Lizzy Newcomb – “Saturday Cricket” – acrylic on canvas – 92cm x 92cm
• Merryn Trevethan – “The Collapse” – acrylic on canvas – 137cm x 167cm
• Andrew Ireland – “Southerley Buster” – oil on canvas – 150cm x 200cm
• Eli Turier – “It’s Too Hot To Hit A Six” – mixed media on board (wire) – 23cm x 88cm
• Lewis W. Miller – “The Obscure Art Of Cricket” – oil on Belgian linen – 122cm x 102cm
• Eris Fleming – “Tense Final Overs On A Crumbling Pitch” – oil on canvas – 107cm x 122cm
• Catherine Stringer – “Matt’s Catch – Beach Cricket Lake Rhona” – oil on canvas – 92cm X 122cm

We’d also like to thank the judges – John McDonald, Anneke van der Pal, John Windus and Stuart MacGill for their time, energy and patience yesterday on what was a very challenging day when deliberating all entries and having to make some very hard decisions.

The Winner and the Highly Commended will be announced on Thursday 8^th Oct at the opening.

We would like to thank the 106 poets who submitted entries in the inaugural Cricket Poetry Award 2009.  The judges mentioned that the selected poems “…spoke about how cricket was interwoven with life in an unforced and natural manner…”

The ‘Live Readings’ night will consist of 20 poems and those finalists are listed below in no particular order:

• “The Siblings” by Maree Peterson
• “The Last Test” by John Gordon
• “The Catch” by Andy Kissane
• “Fantasy for White” by Rachael Treasure
• “Dream Catcher” by Kane Murphy
• “Mind Games” by Megan Jordan
• “Junior Tragics” by Jo Burnell
• “Different Strokes” by Brian Sam Hallewell
• “Ashes To Ashes (a cricket emergency)” by Joan Ross
• “A Rich, Rewarding Innings” by David Campbell
• “Camphor Laurel” by Maggie Shapley
• “Listening to the ABC” by Ian Billows
• “No Rockets” by Lydia Burke
• “Social Cricket, the Universe, and Everything” by Graeme Philipson
• “D.I.Y.” by Penelope Cottier
• “The Beautiful Game” by Louise McKenna
• “Cradle to the Grave – a Five Test Series” by Tim Slade
• “Cricket At Seaforth” by Kassandra Ellison
• “Back Then” by Jenny Collins
• “For Six” by Ron Moss

The organisers would also like to thank the judges – Adam Gibson and Jessica Halloran for their time, energy and patience on what was a very challenging weekend when reading and re-reading all poems and having to make some very hard decisions.

The top 20 poems will be read ‘live’ this Thursday by 4 actors / orators:

• Hamish Briggs
• Nicole Campbell
• Luke Carson
• Robert Edwards

These young actors will randomly select 4 poems each, contact the particular poet, rehearse the reading and prepare to ‘read & perform’ the poem in the best possible way at:

The Rugby Club,

Rugby Place

off 31 Pitt St Sydney

6:00pm – Thursday 1^st Oct (this Thursday)

Based on the reading and crowd response, the winning poem will be announced the following week on Thursday 8th Oct at the Cricket Art Prize opening and re-read to the exhibition Members Pavilion guests.

Entries for the Cricket Art Prize and the Cricket Poetry Award have officially CLOSED for 2009.

The organisers would like to thank the 218 artists and 106 poets who submitted entries.

Judging is now in progress and finalists for both Cricket Art Prize and Cricket Poetry Award will be contacted by Wednesday 30^th September 2009.

Peoples’ Choice Award to be announced at the end of the exhibition tour.

Due to the fact that the Bradman Foundation has agreed to accommodate the 2009 Cricket Art Prize exhibition at the Bradman Museum from mid-January 2010, the Peoples’ Choice Award will be announced while exhibiting there.

After completing 2 weeks at the SCG, 6 weeks in Queensland and 2 weeks at the MCG, the Cricket Art Prize exhibition will be on display at the Bradman Museum for a month.

Art buffs and cricket enthusiasts of Australia will be able to see the Cricket Art Prize exhibition first hand and the Peoples’ Choice Award votes will be collected from all around the country after exhibiting in 3 states and 4 locations via e-mail / internet vote.

Exhibition Dates and Tour:

• Members Pavilion, Sydney Cricket Ground, NSW – 8th to 25th Oct 2009
• Harrup Park, Mackay, QLD – 29th Oct to 18th Dec 2009
• Olympic Atrium, Melbourne Cricket Ground, VIC – 22nd Dec 2009 to 7th Jan 2010
• Bradman Museum, Bowral, NSW – 10th Jan to 7th Feb 2010