Bourke artists honoured in Aboriginal art prize
- thewesternherald
- Jul 23
- 2 min read
Two Bourke artists have been awarded prizes in the CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes Aboriginal Art Competition.
The works of artists Beverley Moore of Bourke and Maddison Hull of Parkes equally impressed the judges, and both entrants have been awarded a $2000 first prize. Bourke artist Sheldon Smith was awarded second prize for his work, ‘Corroboree’.
The winning paintings, one about domestic violence and the other depicting families and western NSW have jointly won the 2025 CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes Aboriginal Art Competition.
The competition was judged during NAIDOC Week by Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green, CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes chief executive officer Anne-Marie Mioche and CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes director cultural engagement Jane Kemp.
Ms Mioche said the winning artworks were powerful creative works.
Beverley Moore painted the visually striking ‘CatholicCare – Families’.
“Writing about her artwork, Ms Moore says the tree represents strength, its green leaves representing the families our organisation has worked with to support them to flourish,” Ms Mioche said.
“It also references the families across the vast Wilcannia-Forbes diocese, and the landscape in which they live, including the rivers that have sustained her people for thousands of years.
“Ms Moore says the painting’s white and black dots are ‘white and black peoples working together’.”
The judges awarded second prize to two paintings – Corroboree by Sheldon Smith and Connecting to Country, also by Maddison Hull, and they will each receive a $1500 second prize.
Third prize of $500 was won by Mark Curry of Wilcannia with Frog Ponds.
Running for its fourth time, the CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes Aboriginal Art Competition attracted 14 entries from across western NSW in 2025.
The social support organisation established the competition in 2019 to generate opportunities and recognition for emerging Aboriginal artists.
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