Flinders graduates were awarded several major prizes during the recent opening of the Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition at ACE.

The showcase event provided a fantastic opportunity for graduates to exhibit their works, with many pieces sold prior and at the Vernissage event.

Flinders University graduate Erin Renfrey was recipient of the $5000 Hill Smith Art Advisory Award for an artist working in the traditions of painting, drawing or print. Erin also received the $5000 Square Holes Award and her work will become a part of the Square Holes art collection.

Erin, an illustrator currently based in Adelaide, works traditionally in watercolour and gouache, and focuses heavily on magic realism, exploring the mixing of material reality with imagination, thus imparting the fantastical as a normal aspect of everyday life. She creates paintings through a meticulous layering process on thick, textured paper.

Flinders graduate Beck Johns received the $5000 Lang Family Foundation/McKee Award and also the $2500 JamFactory Award, which is presented to an artist working in ceramics, glass or jewellery. It includes a mentorship and opportunity to have work on consignment in JamFactory’s retail store for 12 months.

Flinders graduate Sally Christian received the $3000 McHugh Award.

The Awards judging panel included Vincent Alessi, CEO + Director, Linden New Art; Gillian Brown, Curator, Samstag Museum of Art; and Brian Parkes, CEO, JamFactory.