Colin Pennock has been announced as a finalist in the Sunshine Coast National Art Prize for his incredible work Our Quiet Languages.
It’s a very fulfilling moment when you realise you have a connection to a culture so different from your own. Whilst on a residency in Fowlers Gap outback NSW I met an Artist Badger Bates and we instantly clicked. I listened to his stories and he seemed to recognise the Irish story telling culture in me. We weren’t competitive. It was a moment to share. I began to see connections and answers I’d been looking for and I was flattered that he could see something about my work which connected and triggered something in him also. — Colin Pennock, Artist Statement 2026
The national acquisitive Sunshine Coast National Art Prize is a dynamic visual arts award reflecting outstanding contemporary and new media arts practice in Australia. The artwork awarded with the major prize will be acquired into the Sunshine Coast Art Collection.
The exhibition of finalists will be on display at Caloundra Regional Gallery from Friday 21 August until Sunday 11 October 2026.
