Every artist has abandoned their work at one point or another. Whether it be lack of time, inspiration, or simply procrastination, there’s more than likely a canvas somewhere waiting to be worked on again.
This is where Chelinay Gates comes in – an Indigenous playwright, director, and 2025 Lester Prize finalist.
As part of this year’s Lester Prize exhibition season, Chelinay invites artists across Perth to ‘bring out their dead,’ or in other words, revive their forgotten portraits.
Chelinay’s painting ‘Wednesday’ was selected from thousands of submissions for this year’s Lester Prize for Portraiture, becoming one of 40 finalists competing for the chance to share in the nation’s largest art prize pool.
The paintings will be on display at WA Museum until November 16. Don’t miss out on seeing the master works of this year’s awards before the exhibition closes.
The workshop, taking place this Thursday at WA Museum, will see Chelinay guide each participant with a full consultation, focusing on feeling, mark making, extending the pallet and emotive intent.
Chelinay will offer the master’s touch to each participants work, introducing colour and life into works through suggestions of recomposition and demonstrations of colour-mixing.
Your only task – bring your medium and artwork, brushes and palette.
This workshop is to be the last of the 2025 exhibition season, with workshops held throughout the season hosted by Lester Prize finalists, focused on techniques such as painting en brunaille, and capturing life through colour and oil.
Artist Talks
Before the exhibition closes, don’t miss the perfect opportunity to hear from the artists themselves.
On Saturday, November 15, you’ll be able to experience firsthand from the finalists in a series of artist talks, the schedule as follows:
- 12pm: Chelinay Gates
- 12:15pm: Sarah McBride
- 12:30pm: Morgan Stokes
- 12:45pm: Jessica Logan
- 1pm: Sue Eva
- 1:15pm: Joan Peters
About the Lester Prize
Renowned for spotlighting emerging talent, the Lester Prize’s blind judging process ensures that the art—not the artist’s background—takes centre stage. Established in 2007, the Lester Prize has become a cornerstone for Australian artists looking to make their mark.
The Lester Prize main awards exhibition is about to close, but the Youth Awards season is just getting started, with submissions open now and closing March 2026.
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