What if Jervis Bay’s greatest attraction is not its white sand beaches, but the brilliant, creative, engaged, quirky and caring community that calls this stunning corner of Yuin Country home? Between now and 17 May 2026, a visit to the inaugural Jervis Bay Portrait Prize will introduce you to some of the most loved faces in the community, and to an eclectic mix of artists who have captured the region’s spirit for all to see.
If you’re a local, you’ll immediately spot among the works on the walls at Jervis Bay Brewing Co portraits of neighbours, friends and characters you recognise from your favourite beach, café, hairdresser or school.
You may be surprised to discover portraits by talented artists who have been hiding in plain sight around town, and by what you can learn about both artist and subject through these vignettes.
Visitors will gain insights into the people who care deeply for this place and its residents, and walk away wishing more than ever that they could be one of them rather than just passing through.
The crowd of more than 200 people at the opening of the exhibition earlier this month included a who’s who of the Jervis Bay art scene – painters, sculptors, textile artists, printmakers, photographers, musicians, curators, writers, directors, editors, teachers and students.
Several respected visual artists hadn’t entered this year but were inspired to work towards entering in 2028, which means this new competition is going to be even bigger and better.
The co-organisers of this new art prize, Randall Sinnamon and Vanessa Harries, were inspired by a now defunct exhibition that had been a favourite component of the region’s former SeeChange Festival, The Little Archies (named of course in honour of the much loved Archibald Prize for Australian portraiture).
‘‘It was mostly paintings of local people by local people, and it was really good … you’d get to meet all the subjects and the artists on the opening night,’’ Randall says.
‘‘I thought it’d be great to bring it back, and especially at the Brewery.’’
Randall is himself a past Archibald Prize finalist – his portrait of Egyptian-Australian oud virtuoso Joseph Tawadros was selected in 2023, at the Art Gallery of NSW.
You can hear Vanessa on 927FM each Wednesday from 4.30pm-5.30pm. Her program the SLAM profiles local artists, musicians, bands, exhibitions and festivals.
Randall and Vanessa put the word out about the new Portrait Prize in late 2025, and received 34 entries by the closing date in late January, all of which are hanging in the show.
The works had to portray a Shoalhaven resident, but the artist could be from anywhere. They had to be a standard size, 12’’ by 12’’ (30.5cm x 30.5cm), and could not be framed. While many are paintings, there are portraits that are hand-drawn using charcoal or graphite, and others that feature hand-stitched embroidery or wire-sculpted and print-making elements.
Randall was struck as the works began to arrive for judging and hanging by how many featured people he had never heard of, and by some of the biographical detail he picked up in preparing the labels to hang with each work. ‘‘There are so many different people in the community I didn’t know had done such wonderful things,’’ he says.
Among the works are:
- vivid depictions of grandfathers by their primary school-aged grandchildren (Alfie and Marlon, of the talented Campion family);
- a powerful portrait of Wreck Bay woman Mel Williams, ‘‘a driving force to educate and empower Koori women toward self-determination within a culturally sensitive environment’’;
- two works featuring Stan, a drummer who was reportedly once a porn star and has more recently been spotted around town wearing a prawn costume – hence the name of one of the works, ‘The Prawn Star’;
- a work that fills its subject’s spectacles with shell mosaics in a nod to his use of shells in his own creations; and
- another which shows an opal specialist, Harv, by painting his face on an opal-shaped stone held between a thumb and two fingers.
There are portraits of brewers, gardeners, hairdressers, environmental and human rights activists and, as is often the case with the Archibald Prize, of other artists and great supporters of the arts.
Among those is a work by Olivia Cooke of Randall himself, in which she captures a remarkable likeness, as well as his vivaciousness, creativity and quirky side. In the blurb, she dubs him, ‘‘The man. The myth. The legend.’’
There are works that make you laugh, and others that bring a tear to the eye, like Jill Talbot’s ethereal and gorgeous “Last Drinks”, which is informed by a 2024 photograph of Jill at her niece’s wedding, at the bar with her late sister, the mother of the bride. It would be the last occasion the sisters would celebrate together in public, as Jill’s sister died in 2025 after battling multiple cancers.
Everyone had a favourite, and it seemed no two favourites were the same, so it was impossible to guess who the Dutch judges might select to take out the main prizes.
So the crowd immediately hushed when the band, The Side Project, took a break to allow the announcement of the winners to take place on opening night.
Randall stood high on a ladder near the main bar at the Brewery to welcome everyone and then directed their attention to a huge screen on the wall, where the judges would read out their selections live from the Netherlands.
Annette de Vlieger and Robert Klaassen had met Randall when his work appeared in an exhibition in Rotterdam 30 years ago, and kindly agreed to judge the Jervis Bay Portrait Prize after he visited them recently.
Robert is a former gallery director in the arts sector council from the City of Rotterdam and was the founder of the Io Gallery in Rotterdam. He is often to be heard saying, ‘‘The answer is art.’’
Annette studied sculpture at the then Rotterdam Art School and works with a wide range of media, including painting and drawing, with a particular interest in portraiture.
And the Winners Are…
Annette and Robert awarded third prize, donated by Arthouse in Nowra, to Catherine Wood, for her painting in oil, ‘‘Laura’’.
Catherine says she first met Laura in her café – Laura provided delicious food and space for art exhibitions.
‘‘Laura is of Italian heritage and enjoys teaching the Italian language … [she] is community minded and has a love of conservation and the natural world.’’
Second place, provided by Shoalhaven Picture Framing, went to Sarah Yee for ‘‘Cuteness Aggression’’, a painting of her son Theodore, or Teddy, who she says is ‘‘the sweetest seven-year-old in the world’’ and is ‘‘always ready to give a cuddle or an interesting fact (about space or the ocean)’’. Teddy is smiling as his mum pinches his cheeks in the portrait.
The Brewers’ Prize had to be amended somewhat, because its recipient, Alfie Campion, is several years away from being able to drink beer. A vintage Matchbox car and some sparkly star stickers were procured on the night, and an appropriate exchange for the beer would be negotiated with family members afterwards.
In ‘‘Pop’’, Alfie had created a remarkable likeness of his grandfather, who was on hand as proof. Alfie described his Pop as ‘‘strong and hard-working, he can pull apart a car motor and put it back together with some remaining pieces, but somehow it still works.’’
First prize, $1000, was awarded to textile artist Alana Valentine, who had already wowed the crowd (and taken our unofficial award for best dressed) with her stunning hand-pieced and sewn outfit.
Who is Alana Valentine?
Alana stood out in the crowd visually, but was utterly understated in her interview afterwards, describing herself as a playwright as well as a textile artist.
She’s in fact one of Australia’s most respected playwrights and dramatists, and a librettist and director, who works in theatre, film, opera and television.
A past Churchill Fellow and International Writing Fellow at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, she has received accolades including multiple Australian Writers Guild awards, a Queensland Premier’s Literary Award, a David Williamson Prize and two Helpmann Awards. Her 2007 play Parramatta Girls is on the NSW HSC Drama syllabus, and her 2018 book, Bowerbird: the arts of making theatre drawn from life, was published by Currency Press.
Who knew this literary legend had been living between Sydney and just around the corner in Jervis Bay for two decades?
Alana says she entered the prize because she’s interested in stories that happen ‘‘in our own communities’’.
‘‘I think often we think that art happens ‘over there’, or ‘somewhere else’, or that life happens somewhere else, and one of the reasons I wanted to enter this – I cannot believe I’ve won! – was just because I love anybody who’s trying to promote that idea that excellence can happen right under our noses … that you can say, ‘that’s the best stuff that I’ve seen in ages’, and it’s by someone you’ve met here tonight.
‘‘If we always think that things happen in Sydney or Europe, we just live our lives on borrowed time, you know?”
She is keen to promote those who are investing in people in the Jervis Bay community.
Cecilia, the subject of her work, and her artist partner live in Alana’s street.
Alana and her partner were thrilled when the pair moved in, that other artists had joined their street, and wanted to recognise Cecilia’s contribution to the local arts scene.
‘‘Cecilia has these big parties in her backyard, with 20 or 30 artists, so I’ve met a lot of local artists because of Cecilia,” Alana says.
‘‘I also knew that she’d be up for being interpreted … people who are writers or artists know that you’re putting your spin on things.”
Alana’s work is made on silk organza, with poplin underneath. She used wool, silk and cotton threads as well as watercolours. There is gold thread for dreadlocks in Cecilia’s hair, and some green around her eyes and purple around her mouth ‘‘because I know she’s a feminist’’.
Will this latest recognition lead to Alana focusing more on her work with textiles?
‘‘Well yeah,” Alana says. ‘‘Maybe [I’ll enter] the Portia Geach next, maybe I’ll enter other things.”
Recognition from external judges has made her feel very encouraged, ‘‘to be bold and just embrace this”.
Speaking of encouragement, Randall encourages everyone to come on down to Jervis Bay Brewing Co in Woollamia while the exhibition continues, to learn more about their creative community.
‘‘It’s a great place to kick back and relax, you can take your dog, there’s a playground, and you can peruse 34 paintings of locals,” he says.
Missed the opening and your chance to mingle with and meet the creatives behind it? Some of the artists and subjects will be back to mark the closing of the exhibition and catch some live music during Sunday Sessions on May 17.
Jervis Bay Brewing Co is at 3 Duranbah Drive Huskisson, and open noon till 9pm Thursday through Saturday, and from noon till 8pm Wednesdays and Sundays. The 5 Little Pigs food truck operates on site. Sunday Sessions live music is typically from 4pm to 7pm.
Jervis Bay Weekend Magazine’s founder Samantha Tannous’s felt (merino wool and silk) portrait, “The Story Hunter” is among the works hanging in the Jervis Bay Portrait Prize exhibition. In it, Sam compares Narrell Tabone’s ability to uncover the inside scoop on Jervis Bay with the way Indiana Jones digs up artefacts.
