The imaginative minds of Cooktown will unveil their interpretation of this year’s Annual Art Award theme, My Country, on Thursday night. Photo: Supplied.
Whether on canvas, paper, or medium in between, imaginations of Country will come alive at the 2025 Cooktown Annual Art Award when the exhibition opens on Thursday night.
The 46th rendition of the event, themed My Country, is set to showcase creations in various categories, including painting, works on paper, mixed media, Indigenous, sculpture, and the Endeavour Lions Youth Awards.
Cooktown School of Art Society president Jane Dennis said she was looking forward to seeing the creative flair of local artists, adding the theme was merely for inspiration and open to interpretation.
“My Country is not necessarily Cooktown – it could be a story about a spiritual Country,” she said.
“It’s up to anyone’s interpretation what My Country means; it doesn’t literally have to be a landscape.
“We have a few abstract artists in our group, so they obviously wouldn’t do anything literal; it could just be a moment in time for them in their brain.”
Ms Dennis said the open and welcoming atmosphere of the art scene in Cooktown was perfect for not only the seasoned creatives, but also new faces looking to join the fun.
“We had such a great response again from the RAW exhibition; people who’d never made art just felt like, ‘oh, I could do this’, so it got all these creative juices running,” she said.
“It just encourages new creatives, which is the main thing; it’s a little bit of encouragement to be a bit fearless, because you never know who’s going to win.”
The 46th Cooktown Annual Art Award will open on 19 June with a live jazz performance by Art Soul, followed by an announcement of category prize winners.
Works will be available for viewing at the Elizabeth Guzsely Gallery during the Cooktown Discovery Festival and until 5 July.
