Overview

• Cape’s winning canvas, Thunder shifts the shivering sands, uses rust, charcoal and soil gathered on the NSW south coast after 2024 floods and landslides.
• Hadley’s Art Prize, established in 2017 as one of Australia’s richest landscape awards, selected the work for acquisition and display in the Orient Hotel.
• Cape, a former elite skier and sprint cyclist who retired after severe injuries, described the prize as a lifeline for sustaining her art practice.
• Organisers mitigate artist costs by subsidising finalists’ shipping and travel and offering free accommodation during the exhibition.
• The 29-finalist exhibition is open in Hobart through September 21, with the $1,000 packing-room prize awarded to Victoria Peel and the residency and people’s choice prizes pending.