Q&A: Jaq Gantford on winning a $75K portrait prize

Why portrait prizes are important and how to win one.
painting of Jaq Ganford with hands as mask

Jaq Grantford has just won the 2022 Darling Portrait Prize, a $75,000 prize that rethinks portraiture in our times.

It is the third richest portrait prize in Australia, behind the $150,000 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize and the $100,000 Archibald Prize, and is presented by the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra.

The Darling Portrait Prize was announced this past week, as ‘portrait season’ takes hold over the country. We counted close to a dozen major portrait exhibitions currently showing across Australia.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina