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Joblink Plus First Nations Art Competition
The Joblink Plus First Nations Art Competition (formerly known as the Joblink Plus Indigenous Art Competition) is a bi-yearly art competition and exhibition run by Joblink Plus and open to NSW artists who identify as First Nations of Australia or New Zealand.
The competition has been held in 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2024, with the fifth competition upcoming in 2026. Scroll down to discover the history of the competition and view past winners!
Past Competitions
The Joblink Plus First Nations Art Competition first began in 2017, with the First Nations community across Joblink Plus’ NSW footprint encouraged to participate. The competition quickly gained attention and received an impressive volume of entries, with an exhibition held locally in Tamworth. Terrence Allen won the competition with his piece “The Wallaby Trap” (pictured upper left), which we printed onto the back of our work shirts for all staff.
The second advent of the Joblink Plus First Nations Art Competition spanned over 2019-2020, with artists encouraged to paint over the summer holidays. Again we saw a wonderful range of entries come from across NSW, using a variety of techniques and subjects. In total we received 83 entries from 46 individual artists, from 20 different locations across our footprint of operation within NSW.
Unfortunately, COVID-19 changed our exhibition plans – we were unable to exhibit the paintings in a traditional gallery as planned due to health and safety restrictions, so we instead moved the exhibition online. Despite this change, the exhibition was even more popular than the first. The grand prize went to David Ferris for his piece “The Roo of Life” (pictured lower left). We were also delighted to have been able to add a junior category, with first place going to “Turtles in the Night” by Jessi Fotheringham.
The 2022 Joblink Plus First Nations Art Competition grew even further, with a 3D/Weaving category added after popular demand. Receiving 149 total entries from 76 individual artists across NSW, we returned to a traditional in-person exhibition but also reinstated the online gallery and sales site based on positive responses from those who were unable to attend in person or wanted to revisit the exhibition. The grand prize went to "Mating Season" by Pamela Bugmy (pictured upper right), with first place prizes going to "Blue Wren Dreaming" by Nicholas Levy (Painting & Drawing category), "Untitled Collection" by Kevin Moran (Weaving & 3D category), and "Baayangali" by Violet Nicholson (Junior category).
In 2024 the Joblink Plus First Nations Art Competition expanded once more, with entries almost doubling to a total of 297 entries by 159 artists! Once again the exhibition was displayed in person and online. "Goanna Dream" by Sylvester Cook (pictured lower right) was awarded the grand prize, with prizes for first place going to "Celebrating Pirrita Island" by Jodie Reynolds (Painting & Drawing category), "Wambinyabu Marungidyal" by Karana Harris (Weaving & 3D category), "Warrabah Dreaming" by Alexis Slater (Youth 11-17 yrs category), and "Yarning Under the Stars" by Bethany Worth (Children Under 11 yrs category).
2024 Joblink Plus First Nations Art Competition Winners
