Alumni and teacher both finalists in the 2024 Archibald Prize

The Ravenswood School community celebrates Visual Arts teacher Tim Owers and Alumni Whitney Duan (2012) who have both been announced as finalists in the 2024 Archibald Prize.

Generally recognised as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia, the Archibald Prize is judged by the trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW, and finalists are displayed in an exhibition at the Gallery.
‘I feel incredibly honoured to be selected as a finalist in the 2024 Archibald Prize and to be hung in the Art Gallery of NSW alongside many of my art heroes,’ Mr Owers said.
His portrait depicts Matilda’s star Cortnee Vine sitting on a bench, soccer ball between her feet.
‘Cortnee Vine is a humble, generous and talented woman whom I admire greatly, and it was an enormous privilege to be entrusted by her to paint this portrait,’ Mr Owers said.

Many Australians will remember that it was Cortnee who secured the Matilda’s quarterfinal victory against France in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup by scoring the winning goal in a gruelling penalty shoot-out.
‘She has contributed greatly to women’s sport on a national and international level and deserves to be celebrated,’ he said.

Ms Duan’s portrait titled ‘Fluffy (Jordan Gogos)’ captures the multidisciplinary artist and designer best known for his fashion label lordanes Spyridon Gogos.
Jordan is captured not only against a backdrop of his own art but wearing it too. In painting him, Ms Duan wove elements of his artistic style into her own techniques.
Ms Duan studied art at Ravenswood and has continued her work through her Bachelor of Arts (Art History) at the University of Sydney and beyond.
‘The Ravenswood Art department was an early supporter of my creativity, providing access to various materials and resources that allowed me to explore different avenues of art practice, cultivating my interest and honing my skills,’ said Whitney.
‘It was my Head of Visual Arts at the time Ms Edwina Palmer’s pedagogy that truly shaped my mind behind the brush. In the classroom, Ms. Palmer’s passion for modern and contemporary Australian art, especially that made by women, empowered my peers and me to think beyond the materiality of art. She empowered us to interact with our world as global citizens, philosophers and custodians.’

The School congratulates both artists for this exciting and well-deserved recognition.