Du Rietz Art Awards

The Du Rietz Art Awards are the premier art competition for the Gympie region, named in honor of the architect of the historic School of Arts building that is home to the gallery.

With a prize pool of over $15,000, the Awards showcase exceptional 2D and 3D artworks by artists from across Australia.

Finalists are displayed throughout the Gallery, showcasing a stunning array of talent.

Thank you to all who joined us for the launch weekend of events from 16 - 18 October.

Finalists on View: 11 October – 21 November 2025.

Voting in person for People's Choice Winner until 14 November 2025.

2025 Award Winners

Locals Award

Ian Gunn, ‘there is always beauty’

Acrylic and ink on polycotton, 122cm x 122cm

This piece is an exploration of nature's quiet resilience. Created in response to the ugliness that has escalated since January 2025 the work serves as a visual reminder that darkness does not define the whole. Beauty remains persistent. Often overlooked but always present for those who are willing to see it. Through this piece, I invite viewers to pause, choose perspective and reconnect with the enduring grace that surrounds us.

Sponsored by SoMa SoMa Espresso Bar.

2D Acquisitive Award

Kellie O’Dempsey, ‘Bathroom Scene and Amber Glass Door (with wood panelling)’

Photographic installation, 155cm x 155cm

Bathroom Scene and Amber Glass Door (with wood panelling) is a photographic installation that inhabits the liminal space between loss and grieving. In this work, the artist confuses care routines once performed in her fathers house, captured tenderly by photographer Jorge Serra a week before his passing. Blurring performance, ritual and documentation, the work honours the slow, repetitive labour of caregiving; often invisible and gendered. The amber light and intimate gestures, this work reflects on the fragility, the weight of memory and the quiet strength embedded in acts of care. It asks: what is the value of time spent tending to another.

Sponsored by Countrywide Metals Pty Ltd.

2D Highly Commended Award

Rosie Lloyd-Giblett, ‘Mistletoe and Honey’

Acrylic and charcoal on canvas, 152cm x 152cm

This large abstract painting began in the field on a farm near Goondiwindi, QLD. I have been visiting this site regularly over the last two years, recording seasonal changes that are occurring through regenerative farming practices. Before starting this painting onsite, I walked, sketched and found a connection to a specific farm location. I sketched the initial visual impressions of the early summer rain and its impact on the buzzing floral landscape. I regularly changed my brushes, continually adding layers of luminous blue and green and tracing the Painted Honey Eater canopy dance.

Sponsored by Budget Steel.

2D Finalists(PDF, 114KB)

3D Finalists(PDF, 92KB)

2025 Award Sponsors

Gympie Regional Council would like to thank this year's Du Rietz Art Awards sponsors. Your generous support is essential to making this art prize possible.

2D Acquisitive Award $6,500, Sponsored by Countrywide Metals

2D Highly Commended $1,500, Sponsored by CAA Consulting

3D Acquisitive Award $3,500, Sponsored by Budget Steel

Local’s Award $3,000, Sponsored by SoMa SoMa Espresso Bar

People’s Choice Award $1,000, Sponsored by: