October 19th, 2026Garry Bish wins Clunes Ceramic Award
Founded in 2010, the Clunes Ceramic Award is a major, national, acquisitive and biennial award presented in Clunes.
An initiative of Creative Clunes, the award was established in partnership with the Art Gallery of Ballarat and Castlemaine Art Museum. The major award of $10,000 is provided by the Hugh D.T. Williamson Foundation.
As the award is acquisitive, the winning artists’ work is acquired, in alternative years, by the Art Gallery of Ballarat and Castlemaine Art Museum, building and strengthening the representation of contemporary Australian ceramics within these major institutions’ permanent collections. In 2026, the winning artist, Garry Bish, will have his work, The Wake of Departure, 2026, acquired by the Art Gallery of Ballarat.
Building a strong reputation on a regional, state and national level, exhibiting the work of significant ceramicists from across the country, in 2026, 56 artists were selected from over 200 entries from around Australia.
This year, in memory of Clunes resident Graeme Johnstone, who passionately managed the Clunes Ceramic Award from its inception until his passing in 2022, the Johnstone Family has created a unique Award for Excellence.
Other major awards include the Mark & Carolyn Guirguis Commendation Award, the Alluvial Property Group Commendation Award and the Criss Canning & David Glenn People’s Choice Award.
The 2026 finalists are: Alice Adler, Meredith Baillie, Robert Barron, Garry Bish, Katrina Bodey, Felicity Bodycoat, Mollie Bosworth, Bianca Brzezek, Sarit Cohen, Jennifer Conroy-Smith, Malcolm Cooke, Johanna De Maine/Tatsuya Tsutsui, Kate Dorrough, Jan Downes, Ann Ferguson, John Ferguson, Simone Fraser, Minna Graham, Karen Gray, Fiona Hiscock, Koji Hoashi, Sharon Horvat Danilovic, Phoebe Jamieson, Janetta Kerr-Grant, Jann Kesby, Goosullae Kim, Ann Knights, Billy Law, Minaal Lawn, Steve Lees, Sandy Lockwood, Darren McGinn, Moraig McKenna, Pauline Meade, Belinda Michael, Pamela Miller, Martin Moore, Ellis Moseley, Marlize Myburgh, Julie Nash, Serena Owen, Yoko Ozawa, Emma J V Parker, Julie Pennington, Kim Power, Anna Read, Fran Romano, Jane Sawyer, Fleur Schell, Danielle Segal, Arun Sharma, Philippa Taylor, John Tuckwell, Dawn Vachon and Ri Van Veen.
The winning artists for 2026 are: Clunes Ceramic Award Winner – Garry Bish The Wake of Departure, 2026, Graeme Johnston Family Award of Excellent – Ann Knights Cathedral Ridges, 2026, Mark & Carolyn Guirguis Commendation Award -Karen Gray Melt, 2026, Alluvial Property Group Commendation Award – Kim Power Mud Builder, 2026 and honourable mentions – Danielle Segal Unconformity, 2026 and Phoebe Jamieson Untitled (Figure 1), 2025.
The Criss Canning & David Glenn People’s Choice Award will be announced at the conclusion of the exhibition on Sunday, November 1.
The exhibition is presented at Esmond Gallery, The Warehouse Clunes, until Sunday, November 1. Link: www.clunesceramicaward.org.au Words & images: Contributed Above, from left, Kim Power, Karen Gray, Garry Bish, Ann Knights and Danielle Segal
