Olive Cotton Award
Congratulations to Tace Stevens for being awarded the 2025 Olive Cotton Award with her portrait Uncle Bill 2023, and Shea Kirk for being selected as the Director’s Choice for his portrait Jack Mannix (right view) 2024. Guest judges Sally McInerney, Glenn Iseger-Pilkington, Angela Connor and Shaune Lakin also awarded High Commendations to Shea Kirk, Ayman Kaake, and Simon Harsent.
Visitors to the Olive Cotton Award exhibition can cast their own vote in the People's Choice Award. The eligible finalist with the most votes will receive $1500. The winner will be announced following the close of the exhibition.
Winners
Tace Stevens (b.1992) Uncle Bill 2023, giclée print. Acquired as the Winner of the 2025 Olive Cotton Award. Courtesy the artist © the artist.
Shea Kirk (b.1985) Jack Mannix (right view) 2024, pigment print. Acquired as the Director's Choice for the 2025 Olive Cotton Award. Courtesy the artist © the artist. Also 'Highly Commended'.
Highly Commended
Ayman Kaake
Malak, mother of 12, Lebanon 2024
inkjet print on cotton rag
Image courtesy the artist © the artist.
Simon Harsent
Andrew Hazewinkel 2024
archival inkjet print
Image courtesy the artist © the artist.
People's Choice
Dane Beesley
I’m on Smoko 2025
archival pigment print
Image courtesy the artist © the artist.
Finalists for the Olive Cotton Award 2025
The Olive Cotton Award is a $20,000 biennial national award for excellence in photographic portraiture in memory of photographer Olive Cotton. In 2025 the Gallery will celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the award.
The finalist exhibition has been selected from entrants across Australia and is a significant opportunity for established and emerging photographers. The winning work is acquired for the Gallery’s collection.
Congratulations to this year’s finalist!
- Effy Alexakis
- Riste Andrievski
- Caleb Arcifa
- Narelle Autio
- Andrew Babarczy
- Adam Bailey
- T W Baker
- Ramak Bamzar
- Chris Barry
- Roger Bartlett
- Dane Beesley
- Chris Bekos
- Joel Benguigui
- Simon Bernhardt
- Paul Blackmore
- Ben Brink
- Chris Budgeon
- Jane Burton
- Aletheia Casey
- Ryley Clarke
- Renato Colangelo
- Aubrey Comben
- Michael Corridore
- Teva Cosic
- Tamara Dean
- Elise Derwin
- Yask Desai
- Ciara Di Florio
- Brett Leigh Dicks
- Jeremy Drape
- Ella Dreyfus
- Chris Duczynski
- Glenda Fell Jones
- Alex Frayne
- Juno Gemes
- Simon Harsent
- Prue Hazelgrove
- Naomi Hobson
- Kalyanii Holden
- Jodie Hutchinson-Grillmeier
- Ayman Kaake
- Ingvar Kenne
- Shea Kirk
- Cathy Laudenbach
- Paula Mahoney
- Fiona Morris
- Tajette O'Halloran
- Kojiro Oishi
- Rob Palmer
- Viki Petherbridge
- Riley Purcell
- Leonie Reisberg
- Jessica Schwientek
- Peter Solness
- Lisa Sorgini
- Lauren Starr
- Tace Stevens
- Ali Tahayori
- Michael Torres
- Craig Tuffin
- Hilary Wardhaugh
- Duncan Wright
- Meng-Yu Yan
- Anne Zahalka
- Sherry Zheng
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2025 OCA campaign image credits(PDF, 2MB)
2025 Olive Cotton Award catalogue(PDF, 6MB)
About the award Past awards
About the award
The Olive Cotton Award was launched in 2005 and is funded by Olive Cotton’s family and dedicated to her memory as one of Australia’s leading twentieth century photographers. The Award has grown and gained national recognition attracting entries from well-known and emerging photographers across Australia.
The award boasts a major acquisitive biennial prize of $20,000, selected by the Award judge. In addition, the Friends of the Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre Inc. fund $4000 for the acquisition of portraits from the exhibition entries to be chosen by the Gallery Director. Visitors to the exhibition may also vote for their 'people’s choice', which awards $1,500 to the most popular finalist.
The Gallery thanks art dealer Josef Lebovic and photographer Sally McInerney, Olive Cotton’s daughter, for their ongoing support of the Award and also the Friends of the Gallery committee for their contributions, both financial and practical, to the Award and public program events.
A short biography of Olive Cotton
Olive Cotton (1911–2003) discovered the art of photography in childhood and stayed committed to it all her life. Her mother was a talented painter who died young; her father, a geologist, had learnt the elements of photography for his journey to the Antarctic in 1907 and later taught it to his children.
Having graduated with an Arts degree, Olive Cotton worked successfully as a photographer at the Dupain studios in Sydney until the end of World War II, then moved with her new husband Ross McInerney, to the bush near Koorawatha, NSW. For 20 years she had no access to darkroom facilities but kept taking photographs.
In 1964 Cotton opened a small studio in Cowra and took local portraits, weddings and commissions. After a 40-year absence from the city art scene she re-emerged in 1985 with her first solo show at the Australian Centre for Photography in Sydney, she then concentrated on rediscovering and printing her life's work. A major exhibition of Cotton's works was shown at the Art Gallery of NSW in 2000.
Adapted from information provided by Sally McInerney, May 2005.
Past awards