Konstantina wins the Calleen Art Award 2025
Published on 03 September 2025
Byron Bay based artist Konstantina (Kate Constantine) has won the Calleen Art Award 2025 and $30,000 for her painting Nangamay Ngura.
Cowra Regional Art Gallery is proud to present the best of contemporary Australian painting with the Calleen Art Award 2025 acquisitive national painting prize worth $30,000. The Calleen Art Award encourages originality, creativity and excellence in the visual arts.
The winner was announced at the launch of the Calleen Art Award exhibition of finalists on Saturday 30 August with many of the 53 finalists in attendance. The exhibition was opened by Mr. Peter Fagan, Calleen Trustee, Cr Paul Smith Mayor of Cowra after a Welcome to Country by respected Wiradjuri elder, Aunty Esther Cutmore. The Calleen Art Award 2025 winner was announced by this year’s Award Judge Kent Buchanan, Curator, Western Plains Cultural Centre.
The Calleen Art Award was founded in 1977 by Cowra Art Patron Mrs Patricia Fagan OAM and is made possible with the generous support of the Calleen Trust. The Calleen Art Award finalists’ exhibition at Cowra Regional Art Gallery is a signature art event in the Central West region of New South Wales.
This year the Gallery received 397 entries with 53 paintings selected as finalists by the selection panel of art professionals comprised of: Natalie Wilson, Curator Archie 100 and Australian Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales; Jane Watters Director S.H. Irvin Gallery and Director, Galleries National Trust Australia (NSW); and Kent Buchanan, Curator, Western Plains Cultural Centre.
The selected artworks consist of a diverse range of visually compelling, thoughtful and challenging paintings. A first-time Calleen Art Award finalist, Konstantina’s winning work will be the fiftieth work to join the Calleen Collection housed at the Cowra Regional Art Gallery.
Artist Statement- Calleen Art Award Winner 2025
“Nangamay means to fly like a bird or a spear through the sky into dreaming (‘nanga’ – sleep, ‘may’ – eye). Our connection to Country is both physical and spiritual. Growing up in the city, I struggled to grasp this deep knowledge, but life in regional Australia has allowed me to lean into it. This work is from a series inspired by the songline connecting Gadigal Country to Kati Thanda (Lake Eyre) and the Garanga (Pelican) that journeys between them. It’s a meditation on water, spirit, and Country—seen from above, like a bird in flight, dreaming our vast, arid lands into being.” – Konstantina
Three finalists were Highly Commended:
Graham Lupp (NSW)
Joel Tonks (NSW)
Luke Wagner (TAS)
Judge’s comments – Highly Commended Calleen Art Award 2025 Finalists
Graham Lupp – “A work that I would gladly be entangled in every day. Lupp’s mastery with paint is evident in this complex, and detailed work.”
Joel Tonks – “a crisp and glorious painting describing Wambuul/Macquarie River in Bathurst. Tonks’ use of paint is joyous and confident, and the image speaks to the beauty of the regional landscape.”
Luke Wagner – “an exquisite and beguiling work that is sensitively executed in oils. Wagner’s image of the Tasmanian landscape evokes time, place, and atmosphere, via a photographic attention to detail.”
Judge’s comment – Winner of the Calleen Art Award 2025
Konstantina – "This work vibrates with colour, technical precision, and deep cultural knowledge. The painting gives and gives with every viewing, and I encourage all to see it in the flesh. A beautiful and worthy winner." - Calleen Art Award 2025 Judge, Kent Buchanan, Curator Western Plains Cultural Centre.
CALLEEN ART AWARD 2025 – LIST OF FINALISTS
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Tim Allen (NSW)
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Bryella Garmanjan Farrell (NT)
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Todd Simpson (VIC)
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Sally Anderson (NSW)
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Lynne Flemons (ACT)
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Kate Stevens (NSW)
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Min-Woo Bang (NSW)
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Tanya Green (NSW)
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Jodi Stewart (NSW)
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Deirdre Bean (NSW)
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Tim Gregory (NSW)
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Sally Stokes (NSW)
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Jenny Bell (NSW)
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Jane Guthleben (NSW)
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Ruth Stone (NSW)
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Stephen Bird (NSW)
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Konstantina (NSW)
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Adriane Strampp (VIC)
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Joe Blundell (VIC)
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Christine Lanham (NSW)
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Jeremy Swales (NSW)
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Rene Bolten (NSW)
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Belem Lett (NSW)
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Mary Tonkin (VIC)
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Johnathon World Peace Bush (NT)
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Genevieve Kemarr Loy (NT)
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Joel Tonks (NSW)
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Spencer Calveley (NSW)
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Graham Lupp (NSW)
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Datsun Tran (SA)
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Genevieve Carroll (NSW)
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Marie Mansfield (NSW)
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Marika Varady (NSW)
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Brenda Stace Chat (NSW)
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Nicola Mason (NSW)
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Troy Wade (NSW)
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Donovan Christie (SA)
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Helen Tylamuty McCarthy (NT)
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Luke Wagner (TAS)
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Samuel Condon (VIC)
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Peta Minnici (NSW)
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John R Walker (NSW)
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Inel Date (NSW)
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Lucy O'Doherty (NSW)
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Heath Minjin Wilson (NSW)
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Dianne Day (NSW)
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Lori Pensini (WA)
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Christine Wrest-Smith (VIC)
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Mark Dober (VIC)
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Freddy Purla (NT)
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Lyra Zhu (NSW)
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Agneta Ekholm (VIC)
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Matthew Quick (VIC)
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Visitors are encouraged to vote for their favourite painting in the Calleen People’s Choice Award 2025 (non-acquisitive). The winning artist will be announced at the close of the exhibition and will be awarded $1,000 in prize money supported by the Art Gallery Trust.
Public Program: Context and History of the Calleen Art Award with Peter Haynes
Saturday 27 September 3pm to 5.30pm. Bookings via Eventbrite
Exhibition Dates: 31 August to 5 October 2025
Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 10am – 4pm and Sun 10am – 2pm. Admission free.
IMAGE: Mr Peter Fagan, Calleen Trustee and Konstantina after the Calleen Art Award 2025 winner announcement on opening night at CRAG 30 August 2025. Photo Lawrance Ryan. Artwork: Winner Calleen Art Award 2025 acquisitive prize for painting, Konstantina, Nangamay Ngura, 2024, acrylic on linen 120 x 90 cm, courtesy © the artist, Art Leven and Cowra Regional Art Gallery.
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Media contact:
Cassandra Hard Lawrie
Gallery Director
0428 779 408
cassandra.hard.lawrie@cowra.nsw.gov.au
Cowra Regional Art Gallery, 77 Darling Street, Cowra NSW 2794