Fisher's Ghost Art Award 2017

Overview

'Tis the season for art awards, with the Fisher's Ghost Art Award opening this month at Campbelltown Arts Centre. Spanning various prize categories including sculpture, contemporary, photography and traditional, it's another great chance to see a diverse collection of artists in the one space. And unlike the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes, it's free entry.

The 'open' section of the award is the biggie: there's a $20k prize and it's acquisitive to the permanent collection at C-A-C. In the past contemporary artists like Elisabeth Cummings, Khaled Sabsabi and Raquel Ormella (whose work you'd have seen if you visited The Great Strike: 1917 at Carriageworks) have been awarded the prize. You'll have until December 14 to check it out.

Trivia: the prize takes its name from the Campbelltown tradition it coincides with: the annual 'Festival of Fisher's Ghost'. Going strong since 1956, it's named after local farmer Fred Fisher, who was murdered by his neighbour in 1826 and is — apparently — Australia's "most famous" ghost. Held over ten days, this year there's a street fair, a carnival and fireworks alongside the art exhibition. Plus at least one person dressed up in a massive Casper-style ghost costume.

Image: Fisher's Ghost Art Award 2016, photo by Document Photography.