The award, now in its 29^th year, is an annual exhibition presenting new drawings by artists from across Australia. Participating artists are invited each year by the Kedumba Trust’s Director Jeffrey Plummer and Curator Marlene Plummer, who carefully select each artist based on artistic merit and commitment to the practice of drawing.

The resulting selection celebrates the diversity of drawing in Australia today and invites us to consider future directions. 

The discerning approach that the Plummers have taken over the last 29 years has ensured that the award remains one of the major drawing events in Australia.

Each year a respected artist is invited to judge the award and select a couple of drawings for acquisition into the Kedumba Collection of Australian Drawings — a significant collection of over 230 works by some of Australia’s most highly regarded artists.

The gallery is the custodian of this collection through an ongoing partnership with the Kedumba Trust.

Join us on December 16 at 3pm as this year’s judge, Dr Derek Whitehead, reflects on the drawings in the exhibition, announces his acquisitions and opens the exhibition.

Dr Whitehead was born in Sydney and has a background in visual arts, classical languages and continental philosophy, having studied in Australia and England and taught at the secondary, tertiary and adult education levels.

He holds a PhD from the University of Sydney and is a practising artist, an independent researcher and writer in aesthetics and has published in Australia, USA and the UK.

He exhibits his art in Sydney and is represented in private collections in Australia and overseas. His work is also included in the Kedumba Collection.

In addition to judging the award, Dr Whitehead has curated an exhibition of figurative works from the Kedumba Collection for our upstairs gallery titled ‘On a Human Scale: Portraying the Figure’. This will open alongside the Kedumba Award.

Dr Whitehead writes in his catalogue essay: “As the title of this exhibition suggests ‘On a Human Scale: Portraying the Figure’ focuses our interest on a significant feature of drawing practice in the Kedumba Collection: the human figure portrayed in its diverse mood and circumstance.

“My choice of works in keeping with this theme highlights those artists whose practice embraces the human form.”

This will be our final exhibition opening for the year. 

Also currently showing until January 21 is the remarkable ‘Elisabeth Cummings: Interior Landscapes’.