Our home grown young artists take centre stage

Young people on the Northern Beaches have some serious artistic talent and now it’s on display at the Manly Art Gallery & Museum.

In its 26th year, the Express Yourself exhibition showcases incredible work by talented HSC Visual Arts students from the 20 local high schools in the area.

Two awards are granted annually to students featured in the exhibition: Manly Art Gallery & Museum Society presents a $3,000 award and the Theo Batten Youth Art Award of $5,000 is awarded to a student continuing studies in the visual arts field.

The major Theo Batten Youth Art Award, named in honour of former local artist Theo Batten who bequeathed funds for the award, is shared between two fantastic emerging artists.

This year, the Theo Batten Youth Art Award went to Jasmin Pike and George Cox, both from Northern Beaches Christian School.

Jasmin’s artwork Warp & Weft revolved around her childhood home, Pittwater and the glassy bay that borders the Ku-ring-gai National Park:

“I experimented with the moody, abstract styles of Philip Wolfhagen and J.M.W Turner, together with the natural subject of the early Impressionists, representing both temporal and permanent life. I painted subjective, abstract oil paintings inspired by the rustic and raw nature of Wolfhagen’s work,” Jasmin said.

George’s artwork The Philatelist was inspired by his dad’s dusty stamp collection. George said, “I was simultaneously transported to the beautiful Mongolian mountains, to a tempestuous coastal New Zealand and to examine a rare species of illusionary butterflies in Malaysia. And finally, I was transported to a reminiscent vision of my father, who ran his finger down a row of flora and fauna with eager eyes enthralled by every minuscule square artwork.”

The Express Yourself exhibition runs until 29 March at the Manly Art Gallery and Museum.

Jasmin Pike (Northern Beaches Christian School)

George Cox (Northern Beaches Christian School)

MAG&M Society prize, $1,000 each

Kaya Vulevic (Northern Beaches Secondary College – Manly Selective Campus)

Annika Rose Curotta (Stella Maris College)

Charlie Belic (Northern Beaches Secondary College – Mackellar Girls Campus)  

Isabella Rawson (Northern Beaches Christian School)

Neve Denmead (Stella Maris College)

Ella O’Brien (Northern Beaches Christian School)

Murray Gain (Oxford Falls Grammar School)

Elijah Cassidy (Forest High School)

Rebekah Thwaites (Northern Beaches Secondary College – Mackellar Girls Campus)