2025 CHARTS WINNERS
Winners were announced at an award ceremony held on
Thursday December 4th at the Mill in Adelaide.
Artist Living with a Disability – Ingrid De Ruyter
First Nations Artist – Kelly Louise Parker
3D/Sculpture/Art/Textiles/Craft – Emerging Artist - River
3D/Sculpture/Art/Textiles/Craft – Alycia Bennett
2D/Painting/Drawing - Emerging Artist – Jordanah P Liston
2D/Painting/Drawing - Daryl Austin
2D/Painting/Drawing - Youth Artist – Aaliaa Khezri Afrawi
Photography/Digital - Emerging Artist – Marie Clarke
Photography/Digital – Emiko Artemis
Photography/Digital – Youth Artist – Jasper Marz
Poetry and Literature – Emerging Artist – Megan Ellis
Poetry and Literature – Denise Marron
Community Housing Provider Award – Mrs. Olive Lee
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2025 CHARTS Finalists
Mrs Olive Lee
Nelson in Victoria, 2018
Acrylic on canvas
Artist Statement:
For me, being an artist means always being on the lookout for inspiration. One day, while travelling to Nelson with my grandchildren, I arrived and was struck by the scenery—it felt as though it was speaking to me, saying, “Please paint me.” It was a magical moment. The day was filled with wildlife, including two beautiful pelicans, a jetty, and the warmth of people enjoying the scene. I took many photographs to capture the moment, carrying with me the joy of children sharing the experience. Later, I painted from those photos, bringing to life the bright colours and the sense of wonder I felt that day. For me, this is what art is about—capturing not only an image, but also the emotion and spirit of a moment.
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Melinda Rackham
Not With a Bang but a Bloom, 2025
Written text, illustrated with images form Nicole Drummond's artist book "Bloom"
Artist Statement:
I love the ocean - to walk beaches alone, with friends or a dog; to paddle, swim and snorkel; to catch the awe of sunset; to chill, read and reset. It feels like home to me, but often the seas thriving ecosystem, regulating the health of water and life on our planet is unrecognised. Until it goes out of balance. With no end in sight for the Harmful Algal Bloom, seeing vast species of sea creatures dying, I felt helpless. But witnessing communities coming together - surfers, school kids, scientists and citizen scientists, artists, writers, conservationists, fishers, seaside businesses and residents is inspiring. Reaching others across the internet by writing about this tragedy, and its glimmers of hope, illustrates that change is possible.
Aaliaa Khezri Afrawi
Jellycat by Aaliaa, 2024
Water colours on canvas
Artist Statement:
I painted a jellycat at a painting program I attended because I love cats
Jayah Chand
Natures Way, 2024
Watercolour or Acrylic paints
Artist Statement:
Created in primary school art lesson for my mum
Kate Pressler
Embers Of Us, 2025
Human Hair on Raku Clay, Naked Raku Firing Method
Artist Statement:
This vessel was created using naked raku firing, a process that embraces fire, smoke, and unpredictability. Into its surface I burned strands of my own hair alongside my mother’s, fusing our physical presence into the clay. Hair carries memory, identity, and lineage; by burning it into the pot, I honour our connection and the resilience we share. Like the raku process itself, our lives have carried fire, fracture, and transformation, yet what emerges is marked by strength and beauty. The vessel bears scars, smoke, and traces that cannot be replicated, just as our bond has been shaped through adversity. This work is both personal and universal: a story of mother and daughter, survival and connection, and the enduring strength that arises when we are tested by fire.
Emiko Artemis
Suspended Fall, 2025
Photomedia
Nicole Smith
There is No Common Sense When Private Dollars Rule, 2025
Acrylic and aerosol in canvas
Artist Statement:
What is money really and why, in a world with enough resources for everyone, do we let people be denied health care, food, housing, a decent life, for the lack of it while others have so much money that after all their needs are met and many luxuries bought, it would still last them many lifetimes? The decision would seem like a simple one for our society- do we want this to continue and those with money getting to make completely unreasonable decisions for all of us or do we want to be able to use our common sense and do what's best for everyone?
Phyllis Lester
Home, 2021
Oil on canvas, metallic paint, acrylic
Artist Statement:
This painting is my way of expressing what home truly means to me. As an Aboriginal woman, I’m deeply connected to the coastline of Goolwa, where the whales return each year—it’s a powerful reminder that I too always come back home. The dot patterns and flowing waves reflect the dreaming stories passed down through generations, stories that live in the land and sea. Creating this artwork helped me feel grounded. I don’t feel lost anymore. I feel settled, held by history, nature, and spirit. This place is close to my heart; it’s where I belong.
Poppi Narelle Faye
Pillow (after Albrecht), 2025
HB pencil on cartridge paper
Artist Statement:
Whilst drawing one of my bed pillows, I had Albrecht Dürer’s ‘Pillow Studies’ (1493) in mind. At first glance, it is a simple work, yet it drew my attention back to the beauty of small, familiar things. On a more personal level, a pillow as an object is loaded with meaning—dreams, anxieties, frustrations, security, support. I have a love-hate relationship with sleep and have chosen my three current bed pillows over years of trial and error. This drawing is an ode to one of those pillows.
Ingrid De Ruyter
The Singing Seagulls, 2017
Digital artworks
Artist Statement:
This piece was created just for fun, imagining a disco trio of seagulls singing together.
Kelly Louise Parker
The Legend of the Seven Ancients and the Great White Whale, 2025
Acrylic on canvas
Artist Statement:
The Legend of the Seven Ancients and the Great White Whale explores the relationship between myth, memory, and survival. This painting was born from a story I wrote of guardians who protect humanity from the rage of the sea, aided by a Great White Whale woven from the songs of creation. The Whale represents both fragility and strength — a being scarred by storms, yet glowing brighter with each strike. Through the stormy skies, fractured lightning, and the Whale’s immense form, the work reflects themes of resilience, guardianship, and the enduring power of hope in the face of destruction. By weaving story and image together, I seek to create a living legend — one that reminds us that protection, balance, and reverence for the natural world are as vital now as in ancient times
Aariyah Chand
Underwater World, 2024
Acrylic or watercolour painting
Artist Statement:
School art lesson, made for mum
Pearl Thorsen
Birdz, 2024
Charcoal and pastels
Artist Statement:
I like creating my own unique creations that there's only one of.
Marie Clark
Fragments of Nature, 2021
Three photographs in a row in different colours
Artist Statement:
I like to centre my artwork around nature and natural forms rather than portraits. With photography, I often find myself drawn to textures, shapes, and small details that others might pass by without noticing. I captured this striking image of the roots of a tree standing in a dry dam in a horse paddock, using nothing more than my mobile phone. It’s these overlooked moments in the environment—the textures, patterns, and quiet beauty—that inspire me and feed into my creative work.
Jordanah P Liston
A Classic - Volvo240GL, 2025
Acrylic on canvas
Artist Statement:
This artwork is made with acrylic and is a reflection on my first car. It's old, weathered, and perhaps seen by others as unreliable. Yet to me, it holds a sense of freedom, memory, and identity. With South Australia’s wide open roads and quiet towns, I want to carry on more miles and hopefully more stories. What some might dismiss as a relic, I see as a classic.
Daryl Austin
Virginia Barratt, 2023
Oil on Linen
Artist Statement:
This portrait of Virginia is a celebration of an individual but also of fellowship between artists and neighbours in a community of care.
Luke Hooker
Fish Trap Esplanade, 2025
Acrylic on canvas
Artist Statement:
Thank you for viewing my piece.
This was inspired by little bits of
different parts of Australia.
Annette Cassano
The Tree on Grote St., 2025
Oil on piece of board
Artist Statement:
I have an anxiety disorder so leaving my home can be difficult. This tree on Grote st always calms me when I walk past it and look up into its canopy. I tried painting it in a Van Gogh style after watching Eternity's Gate.
Coral Strempel
Mist Over the Hills, 2025
Oil
Artist Statement:
I love gum trees & misty mornings. I took a photo on a day out & painted it when I returned home.
Deann Platt
Pine Forest, 2025
Acrylic on canvas
Artist Statement:
My passion is for spending time on land, photographing it and then painting the results. In this instance moving the camera as I took the shot giving it movement and light.
Amanda Morony
Chainmaille Bodice, 2023
Jump rings
Artist Statement:
My chainmaille pieces evolve over time. They are shaped by my constant learning process. This piece was my first bodice and started as a simple, long bodice. It was borrowed for a performance by a friend. When I received it back it seemed too plain and simple. I pulled it apart and added the extra weaves and chains of it's current form. It is now a display piece.
River
Rupert's Favourite Treats… Don’t Tell Him I forgot the Liquorice, 2025
Ceramic Jug
Artist Statement:
This ceramic piece is an expression of Rivers’s love of horses and the quirky parts of life. The jug thrown on a potters wheel and River has used a ‘sgraffito’ technique to achieve a Lino print affect. This involves scratching away parts of the coloured slip to reveal the clay underneath.
Lora Altintas
Lizards, 2023
Wood table, painted in acrylic and varnished with marine varnish
Artist Statement:
When I saw this table, I thought it was plain and unattractive. The wood seemed rough and unremarkable, but I saw an opportunity to transform it. I wanted to do something different—to take what was considered “bad wood” and make it beautiful. The process of decorating the table became a creative challenge and a joyful transformation, turning the ordinary into something unique and pleasing to the eye.
Valerie Heel
Jump Into Spring With Green, 2024
Fabric, hand made outfit including buttons
Artist Statement:
Jump into spring with green if you dare to be seen. I see you in green!
Alycia Bennett
RIPE, 2025
Hand tufted carpet, wool and polypropylene fibre. Felt backing, 100% recycled P.E.T plastic bottles, over-locked edges. Wall hung, wood insert. Size: 168cm x 120cm. 2025
Artist Statement:
Ideas surrounding the work, investigates self; the gaze, Madonna and the monstrous female. The image portrays a current self-portrait of the artist, pregnant, growing. A taboo nude, the pregnant body is investigated, focusing on the ripeness and fullness of the Durian fruits. Leathery, pungent fruit, the Durian have their own spiked defence mechanisms. The self portrait portrays the artist with long-sharp finger nails, holding the body to the in-between moment before the birth. The Madonna is juxtaposed with the fertile mother, subverted by the gaze. The work hopes to frame the complexities with the evolution of the self and motherhood.
Samuel Shobowale Oshodi
GONDUANA, 2016
Protective skin is 'Brumbie, wild horse', middle skin is Goat, top skin is Kangaroo (originally goat), wood is Pine
Artist Statement:
The drum is unusual because it's a Stand-Up so you can stand and move around while drumming. The combination of the skins on the drum and the time span from its first inception to now inspired me to call it Gonduana.
Jasper Marz
Possibly Magic, 2025
Procreate and an Ipad
Artist Statement:
I'd like to share an art work I took much pride in, magical.
Linda Fribbins
Wildflowers, 2025
Scrap electronic waste, components, electrical cables, copper, circuit boards
Artist Statement:
This project is not only about making art, but also about making space for conversations—about waste, responsibility, and hope. By choosing e-waste as my medium, I am asking viewers to confront the material realities of our digital age. Where do our devices go when we’re done with them? Who bears the cost of our convenience? What might we salvage if we looked differently? I see my practice as part of a broader community of artists, educators, and activists working to reclaim agency through creative reuse.
Caleb Kemp
Digital Beings, 2025
Digitally created on computer
Artist Statement:
I have been creating characters and drawing since very young. I’m hoping to be accepted into a vet course at AIE next year alongside year 11.
Krystyna Sawicki
The Nature of Trees, 2025
Using my Samsung A05 Mobile phone Camera
Clare Collins
Temperate Lights, 2025
Mixed media, Canvas
Artist Statement:
This photograph was inspired by a social fishing trip by the Port Adelaide River.
Zach Thomas
Tranquillity, 2024
Photograph
Artist Statement:
I started my blog to share stories, and now I also add photos I take while travelling around the country. Taking photos has become a relaxing hobby for me. Living with a disability, I like that it’s something I can do at my own pace. It helps me enjoy the places I visit and share what I see with others.
Amanda Roberts
Photography, 2025
Canon Powershot sx70HS
Artist Statement:
I was exploring with my new camera a canon power shot sx70. I love taking photos of lorikeets with the air.
Candice Railton
Sanctuary Within, 2025
Digital collage
Artist Statement:
The fragile dance between shelter and isolation.
Tina Gillett
Red Opal, 2025
Photograph
Artist Statement:
Since I was a very young child I have had a deep fascination and love of all creatures including animals, birds, reptiles and insects. Several years ago this interest developed into a hobby in macro photography. Recently I have been working with a wildlife conservation and education group which has introduced me to many creatures including this stunning and gentle Albino python.
Megan Ellis
Reclaiming Her Voice - Her Memoir, 2025
Word and pdf
Artist Statement:
Reclaiming Her Voice is my story of moving from silence to selfhood. For years, trauma taught me to shrink, to mistake fear for love, and to carry shame that was never mine. Writing this piece was my way of breaking that silence, of naming wounds so I could finally heal, and of transforming pain into something purposeful. What inspired me was both personal and universal: a need to reclaim my own narrative, and a hope to offer others proof that healing is possible. I wrote, too, for my son—so he inherits not my silence, but my strength, tenderness, and truth. This memoir is my reminder: we are not what was done to us; we are who we choose to become.
Tracey Phillips
When Time Draws Near,
Written Word
Artist Statement:
Loss of beloved pet.
Genie Pappas
Spinning, 2024
Poetry originally scratched a few verses on paper, then typed on laptop
Artist Statement:
These short verses poured onto a scrap piece of paper one night. I was reflecting on how I was feeling and the real anxiety of homelessness after a series of traumatic events. Being on the brink of homelessness is an unimaginable situation. Its something we think can happen to 'others'. It can lead to such despair. To write and reflect on the panic, and eventual feeling of stability to breath again and feel safe, deserves to be declared and written as a form of poetry. For those of us who are dealing with so many conflicting emotions, the rawness of poetry releases those pleasant, and not so pleasant thoughts and experiences.
Denise Marron
Whispers to Words: A Journey of Silence and Strength, 2025
Poetry composed and formatted digitally in Microsoft Word
Artist Statement:
Whispers to Words marks the 30th anniversary of my journey from silence to self-expression. As someone who lived with Selective Mutism for many years, this piece is both a reflection and a reclamation—a quiet testimony to the strength found in stillness and the courage it takes to speak. I offer this piece as a beacon for others who have walked through silence, grief or invisibility. It is a celebration of voice reclaimed—not through performance, but through presence. I submit this work with gratitude, honouring the sacredness of the journey and the quiet strength of those who continue to rise.
Trevor Turner
Nature's Window, 2025
Phone
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Artist Statement:
Photo taken while on holidays in Western Australia visiting Kalbarri national park.
