FACETS
Fairholme Open Art Prize
CONNECTING COMMUNITY THROUGH ART
In 2017 Fairholme College, celebrated ‘100 Years At Fairholme’ and as a part of the festivities to mark this exciting milestone, an inaugural Art Exhibition, the ‘Facets of Fairholme’, was held at the College.
Now in its 10th year, ‘FACETS - Fairholme Open Art Prize’, presents a carefully selected and thoughtfully curated presentation by our Curatorial Team that invites a shared conversation, artistic expression, and audience engagement; and it is this, the celebration of Art, Education and Community that have become the focus of this exhibition.
The exhibition provides local, regional, national, and international artists an exciting opportunity to exhibit their works in a refined, boutique setting. Up to 200 works will be exhibited and these works will vie for a number of acquisitive awards.
FAIRHOLME OPEN ART PRIZE (ACQUISITIVE) - $5,500
FACETS INSPIRING CREATIVITY ART PRIZE (ACQUISITIVE) - $2,500
THE JOHN SESSARAGO PHOTOGRAPHY PRIZE (ACQUISITIVE) - $2,000
THE MARY SNOW MEMORIAL EMERGING ARTIST PRIZE (NON-ACQUISITIVE) - $1,000
THE HANGERS' PRIZE (NON-ACQUISITIVE) - $1,000
Guest Judge
Our Fairholme Open Art Prize | FACETS Art Exhibition Guest Judge for 2026 is Henri van Noordenberg, Project Officer: Regional Services for the Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art.
Henri van Noordenburg is a Meanjin-based artist, curator and artsworker with cultural connections to Amersfoort, The Netherlands. He has a Visual Arts and a Creative Writing degree from Griffith University and a Master’s in Photography and Theatre at Queensland University of Technology.
In addition to his work at QAGOMA, Henri has worked as a lecturer in Photography at QUT, Visual Arts Coordinator at the Brisbane Powerhouse and a Board Member for Queensland Centre for Photography.
For the last decade he has developed a new technique of hand carving inkjet prints a technique similar to the sgraffito process. This unique technique in combination with photography marked a significant change in his art practice. Furthermore, Henri has received numerous awards, including The Jeff Spann Award 2016, Australian Pacific LNG Award 2014 and the Clayton UTZ in 2012 and 2020 and selected in the top ten of emerging focus folio review at Photo LA 13 (Los Angeles, USA).
Guest Panelists
Artists-in-Conversation Guest Panelist - Michael Zavros
Michael Zavros is a leading Australian artist. He has exhibited widely within Australia and internationally and his work is held in the collections of most major museums within Australia.
Zavros won the 2016 Mosman Art Prize , the 2012 Bulgari Art Award through the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the 2010 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, the 2002 Jacaranda Acquisitive Drawing Award, the 2005 Robert Jacks Drawing Prize, the 2004 MCA Primavera/Collex award, and the 2007 Kedumba Drawing Award and has been a multiple Archibald Prize finalist.
Zavros has also been the recipient of several international residencies including the Australia Council Greene Street Studio, New York (2014), Milan studio residency in 2001, and the Barcelona studio in both 2005 and 2010. In 2003 he was awarded a Cite International des Arts Residency in Paris through the Power Institute, University of Sydney. In 2004 he was awarded a studio residency at the Gunnery Studios, Sydney, from the NSW Ministry for the Arts.
Between 2007 and 2011, he served on the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts. He served on the board of The National Association for Visual Art (Nava) from 2014 - 2019. He is currently a member of the Griffith University QCA advisory board.
In 2023 Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA) staged a solo survey of Zavros’ work The Favourite, and in 2025 Dunedin Public Art Gallery staged a solo survey Meet The Zavros’s.
Artists-in-Conversation Guest Panelist - Lachlan Hogan
Head Designer for Hogan's Jewellers.
Artists-in-Conversation Guest Panelist - Cara-Ann Simpson
Cara-Ann Simpson is an artist, curator, author, educator, and consultant. Her background encompasses the arts, culture, tourism, festival, and land management sectors.
Simpson lives and works on the lands of the Wakka Wakka nation in southern Queensland. As an interdisciplinary artist, Simpson’s practice engages with sensory perception, deep listening, and environmental interaction. She often draws upon the sonic environment and its visualisation to create sensory connections to land, plants, and place.
Simpson won the 2022 Heysen Prize for Landscape, 2017 UniSQ Young Alumnus of the Year, 2012 University of Ballarat Emerging Artist Prize, and the 2007 Hobday and Hingston Bursary (Queensland Art Gallery). She has received funding from Creative Australia, Arts Queensland, Arts Victoria, Regional Arts Fund, and the Australian Cultural Fund. This funding has supported projects including exhibitions and presentations in Türkiye, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Her multisensory exhibition, Furari Flores, is currently touring Australia, supported by Arts Queensland’s Touring Queensland Fund.
Simpson’s lived experience of disability informs her practice, and she is currently on the Implementation Advisory Group for Equity: the Arts and Disability Associated Plan for the Australian Government. She has led organisations, provided leadership, and curatorial expertise in Queensland and Victoria. Simpson is committed to regional Australia and supporting artists through professional development and mentoring.
Public and private collections in Australia and internationally hold her work, including Hahndorf Academy, Darebin City Council, Toowoomba Regional Council, Albury City Council, and Alroe Solicitors.
Artists-in-Conversation Guest Panelist - Michelle Black
Printmaker and Graphic Designer.
Curator
Fairholme Open Art Prize is pleased to have Tiffany Shaffran as our 2026 FACETS Curator.
Tiffany is the Coordinator Exhibitions and Public Programs for Toowoomba Region Art Galleries.
Tiffany along with the Fairholme Open Art Prize committee will select the exhibiting finalists for 2026. The Exhibition dates are 9-10 May 2026 at Fairholme College.
Portrait Competition
Facets | Portrait Competition Guest Sitter - Rowena Hogan
Hogan's Jewellers Owner and FACETS 2026 Sponsor.
Facets | Portrait Competition Artist - Donna Mitchell
Over four decades, Donna Mitchell has nurtured her gift for portraiture into a celebrated art form. A Toowoomba-based artist, she masterfully captures not only the likeness but also the very soul of her subjects.
Facets | Portrait Competition Artist - Cindy MacDonald
Cindy MacDonald is an accomplished and versatile artist, based in Queensland, Australia. Her paintings and drawings use vibrant colour and intricate detail to expertly capture emotion and movement.
Facets | Portrait Competition Artist - Alana Wilkie
Alana Wilkie is a Queensland-born artist who embraces traditional techniques in her artwork. Her focus lies in capturing the surreal beauty that exists beyond reality. Continuously refining traditional techniques, Alana aims to push the boundaries of creativity.
Facets | Portrait Competition Artist - Ruben Fitton
Ruben Fitton is a Melbourne based artist completing tertiary studies in classical voice. His portrait practice has seen him paint numerous sitters for the Archibald Prize, including publisher and author Emma Mactaggart. His awards include the Mary Snow Emerging Artist Award, the Live Portrait Painting Award at Facets of Fairholme (2024), the Future Visions Visual Art Exhibition (2022), Brunswick Street Gallery Fifty Squared Art Prize (2024) and the Eggleston Art Prize at Queens College (2025).
Facets | Portrait Competition Artist - Des Verdon
