In March 2020, Peter Ciemitis celebrated winning the second prize in the 2020 Collie Art Prize; a $5,000 prize including an exhibition at the Collie Art Gallery in 2021.

The prize was recently created by the Shire of Collie, after investing in building one the State’s most recent A-Class galleries; the Collie Art Gallery.  To match the vision of building a National standard gallery, the Shire went on to create a National Art Prize to go with it. The 2020 Collie Art Prize attracted approximately 400 entries from around Australia, and appointed the highest calibre of national judges to select the winners.

There is no greater honour than to be selected as a prize recipient by an erudite and eminent panel of judges: Carl Altmann MA, Emeritus Professor Sasha Grishin AM, and Ted Snell, AM, CitWA.

The Award winners were: 1^st Prize ($50,000) Mary-Lynne Stratton for her work ”Ranges around Ross River NT”, equal 2nd Prize (each $5000 plus complementary exhibitions at the Gallery) WA artist Peteris Ciemitis for his work ‘ES+ID’ and Queensland artist Brian Robinson for his lino print  ‘Bedhan Lag: Land of the Kalwalagal’, and 3rd Prize ($4,000) Olga Cironis for her work ‘Breath’

Congratulations to fellow award and highly commended recipients, and all finalists shortlisted in this major Regionally based and Nationally significant art prize.