6th August, 2026.
The Archibald Prize is Australia's premier art prize, drawing entrants from Australia wide. This year, the 2026 exhibition featured two Wollondilly artists. Congratulations to Zoe Young, Archibald Finalist Art Prize 2026 finalist, for her portrait "Phoebe Tonkin at The Chelsea". Zoe travelled to New York to paint the Australian actress, who was selected as a subject by Zoe's own ten-year-old daughter. Zoe acknowledges the similarities between the two forms of creative expression, noting "how an actor builds a character, and how that mirrors the process of painting a portrait." The painting beautifully captures the actor in the transition between self and character. Congratulations also to Matilda Males for being a finalist in the Young Archie Art Prize. Matilda, aged 6, submitted a colourful and expressive portrait of her mum in the category of 5–8-year-olds. The love shines through in the portrait, and Matilda says of her portrait "I wanted to paint her because she is my favourite person". Well done, Zoe and Matilda.
