That’s a Wrap! Calleen Art Award 2025 and People’s Choice Award.

Published on 13 October 2025

Melbourne-based artist Todd Simpson has been voted the winner of the 2025 People’s Choice Award from a field of 53 finalists in the Calleen Art Award 2025 exhibition. This year’s exhibition drew a record 1,300 visitors to Cowra Regional Art Gallery between 31 August and 5 October.

The $1,000 non-acquisitive award is funded by the Cowra Regional Art Gallery Trust and supported by the Gallery Advisory Committee.

Simpson’s captivating painting of a wet streetscape captures a solitary figure seen from behind, seemingly absorbed by their phone while awaiting late-night transport. The work’s vibrant colour palette, technical mastery, and blend of fine brushwork and airbrush technique left an impression on many viewers.

“On cold, rainy nights after a long day in the city, there's a moment—waiting for the bus or tram—when all you want is to be home. Heading Home II captures that feeling: the weariness, the blur of neon lights through wet glass, the quiet longing for warmth and comfort. I used a soft focus for the background, inspired by the bokeh effect in photography, to echo how city lights can feel distant and abstract—like the day itself, already fading into memory.”

The $30,000 acquisitive Calleen Art Award was won by Byron Bay-based artist Konstantina (Kate Constantine) with her painting Nangamay Ngura. The painting captivated the judge Kent Buchannan (Curator, Western Plains Cultural Centre) with its cultural depth, colour and technical precision. Konstantina’s work will be the fiftieth work to join the Calleen Collection housed at the Cowra Regional Art Gallery.

Three finalists were Highly Commended by Mr Buchannan; Graham Lupp (NSW), Joel Tonks (NSW) and Luke Wagner (Tasmania).

The 2025 Calleen Art Award attracted 397 entries from artists across every state and territory in Australia, reflecting the national reach and prestige of the prize. Notably, ten artists from the Central West of New South Wales were represented among the finalists.

The exhibition was further enriched by a public program event titled The Context and History of the Calleen Art Award, presented by esteemed art historian Peter Haynes. His insightful talk explored the award’s evolution and its role in nurturing contemporary Australian painting, offering participants a deeper appreciation of the legacy behind the prize.

The Calleen Art Award was founded in 1977 by Cowra Art Patron Mrs Patricia Fagan OAM to encourage originality, creativity and excellence in the visual arts. The Award continues with the ongoing generous support of the Calleen Trust. The exhibition is an annual flagship within Cowra Regional Art Gallery’s changing exhibition program.

_{IMAGE: People’s Choice Award 2025 winning artwork; Todd Simpson, Heading Home II, 2025, acrylic on aluminium, 61 x 61 cm. Image courtesy© the artist.}

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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