The Blake Prize, formerly the Blake Prize for Religious Art, is an Australian art prize awarded for art that explores spirituality. Since the inaugural prize in 1951, the prize was awarded annually from 1951 to 2015. Since 2016 it has been awarded biennially.

, the non-acquisitive prize, awarded since 2016 by the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre (CPAC), is worth . In addition, CPAC awards the Blake Emerging Artist Prize, an acquisitive prize of (formerly the John Coburn Emerging Artist Award), and the Blake Established Artist Residency, which includes a residency and solo exhibition hosted by CPAC.

History The prize was established in Sydney in 1949 as an incentive to raise the standard of religious art and to find suitable work to decorate churches. It was founded by Jewish businessman Richard Morley, the Reverend Michael Scott SJ, a headmaster of Campion Hall, Point Piper, and subsequently rector of Aquinas College (a Catholic residential college for university students in North Adelaide), and lawyer M. Tenison. The Blake Prize is named after the artist and poet, William Blake. The inaugural Blake Prize was awarded by the Blake Society in 1951 to Justin O'Brien.

The Blake exhibitions have been a regular travelling exhibition around Australia, visiting various major cities and provincial galleries.

The award of the Blake Prize to Charles Bannon in 1954 for his Judas Iscariot was one of the most controversial in its history; this opened controversy over what constituted religious art and over "abstract expressionism" which threatened to overwhelm the exhibition.

In 2000, the prize shifted its focus from strictly religious art to an exploration of spirituality, and some of the entries proved controversial. In 2007, former prime minister John Howard and former Catholic archbishop of Sydney George Pell expressed disapproval of art works showing the Virgin Mary in a burqa, and a hologram of Christ morphing with Osama bin Laden. In 2008, The Australian's art critic Christopher Allen resigned from the judging panel over an entry by Adam Cullen showing the crucifixion of Christ.

The prize was known as the Blake Prize for Religious Art until its 56th edition in 2007, and was based at the National Art School in Darlinghurst at this time. For its 57th edition in 2008, it was rebranded the Blake Prize, subtitled "Exploring the spiritual and religious in art".

In 2008 the Blake Society, in collaboration with the New South Wales Writers' Centre (now Writing NSW), established the Blake Poetry Prize to link art and literature and to give Australian poets new possibilities to explore the nature of spirituality in the 21st century.

In 2011, Australian art historian, educator and exhibition curator Rosemary Crumlin authored a book documenting 60 years of the Blake Prize.

In 2012, the National Art School was replaced as exhibition partner by the National Trust's S. H. Ervin Gallery in Observatory Park, in Sydney's city centre, for the 61st edition of the awards.

In 2014 there were new commercial sponsors, and the venue partner became UNSW College of Fine Arts (now UNSW School of Art & Design).

The prize was administered by the Blake Society up till and including 2015. After the 63rd edition of the prize in January, chair Rod Pattenden said that it would not be able to continue owing to lack of sponsorship, suggesting that the prize was seen as "too open-minded" by religious organisations and "too religious" by secular people. In July, the Casula Powerhouse Art Centre (CPAC) and Liverpool City Council announced that they would be funding and managing the prize, with the exhibition and awards moving to Casula in Western Sydney. They promised that would be available in perpetuity.

In 2016 CPAC took over the prize for the 64th Blake Prize, and it became a biennial award. It now focuses on the broader spiritual arts rather than religious art. The Casula Powerhouse took over the Blake Poetry Prize in the same year.

Blake Prize for Human Justice

From 2009 until 2014, the Blake Prize for Human Justice, worth , was sponsored by the Maritime Union of Australia. The winners were: 2009: Dianne Coulter 2010: Fiona White 2011: Abdul Abdullah 2012: Saif Almurayati, a former refugee 2013: Franz Kempf 2014: Hedy Ritterman

Current prizes

, there are three prizes awarded by Casula Powerhouse: The Blake Prize, a non-acquisitive prize of The Blake Emerging Artist Prize, an acquisitive prize of (formerly the John Coburn Emerging Artist Award) The Blake Established Artist Residency, a residency and solo exhibition, hosted by Casula Powerhouse

List of winners Ordinal Year Winner(s) Name of work(s) Notes 1951 Justin O'Brien The Virgin Enthroned 1952 Frank Hinder Flight into Egypt In the collection of the Art Gallery of Western Australia 1953 Michael Kmit The Evangelist John Mark 1954 Charles Bannon Judas Iscariot 1955 Donald Friend St John and Scenes from the Apocalypse 1956 Eric Smith The Scourged Christ 1957 Elwyn Lynn Betrayal 1958 Eric Smith The Moment Christ Died 1959 Eric Smith Christ is Risen 1960 John Coburn Triptych of the Passion 1961 Stanislaus Rapotec Meditating on Good Friday 1962 Eric Smith Eucharistic Landscape 1963 Leonard French Ancient Fragments 1964 Michael Kitching Last Supper-Premonition 1965 Asher Bilu I Form Light and Create Darkness-Isaiah 45:7 1966 Rodney Milgate Ascension 1967 Desiderius Orban Hosanna 1968 Roger Kemp The Cross 1969 Eric Smith The Assassin's Creed 1970 Roger Kemp Denial Eric Smith Christ's Flesh: Living, Suffering and Resurrected 1971 Desiderius Orban Transition to Christianity 1972 Joseph Szabo Black Friday 1973 Keith Looby Your Motel Calvary Still Life Flowers 1974 Stuart Maxwell Christ at Emmaus Ken Whisson Tobias and the Angel 1975 Rodney Milgate Thoughts on Holy Thursday 1976 David Voigt Blue Requiem 1977 John Coburn Hozanna Rodney Milgate Tree 1978 Noel Tunks The First Friday Retreat 1979 Roadside Altar Piece Comas 1980 Leonard French Instruments for a Drama Meditation 1981 David Voigt Meditation 1982 Mary Anne Coutts In Mockery of Christ Suzie Marston Sunday School Work Books 1983 The Offering 1984 Mary Hall The Spirit of God hovered brooding over the face of the waters 1985 John Gould Votives to Passion 1986 Roger Akinin The Day of Atonement, Scapegoat and Apostate 1987 Ian Grant The Monks Cloak Alan Oldfield A High and perpetual shewing of Christ's mother according to Julian of Norwich 1988 Lise Floistad This sign is a hidden treasure which desires to be known 1989 Warren Breninger Hail Mary 1990 Gillian Mann The Chest 1991 Alan Oldfield Raft III Rosemary Valadon Before the Fall 1992 George Gittoes Ancient Prayer 1993 John Davis Some Thoughts on a Miracle 1994 Hilarie Mais Veiling Silence 1995 George Gittoes The Preacher – Kibeho Massacre Series, Rwanda 1996 Rachel Ellis Woman at Jesus' feet 1997 Thomas Spence Christmas Day 1914 (God's Truce) 1998 John Adair One Dark Night (from St John of the Cross Poem Dark Night of the Soul) 1999 not awarded 2000 Frances Belle Parker The Journey 2001 Lachlan Warner Vitrine of lightweight (Sunyata), disposable (annica) Buddhas, in a range of festive colours, postures and mudras 2002 Hilton McCormick The Harvest 2003 Shoufay Derz Linking Back (Part 1) 2004 AñA Wojak Pieta (Dafur) 2005 James Powditch God is in the Details (Intelligent Design) Louise Rippert Dance 2006 Euan Macleod Untitled Landscape with Figure 2007 Shirley Purdie Stations of the Cross 2008 David Tucker A Local Girl Comes Home 2009 Angelica Mesiti Rapture (silent anthem) 2010 Leonard Brown If you put your ear close, you’ll hear it breathing 2011 Khaled Sabsabi Naqshbandi Greenacre Engagement (3 channel video) 2012 Fabian Astore The Threshold Eveline Kotai Writing on air 2013 Trevor Nickolls Metamorphosis 2014 Richard Lewer Worse Luck I'm Still Here Changed to biennial award 2016 Yardena Kurulkar Kenosis 2015 2018 Tina Havelock Stevens Giant Rock 2020 (2021) Leyla Stevens Kidung, a 3-channel video work Awarded 13 February 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2022 SJ Norman Cicatrix 2024Shireen TaweelShoe Bathers692026Tarik AhlipOn Her Return (Facial Burns and a Garland of Flowers)

See also Phoenix Prize for spiritual art Art of Australia

References

Further reading