HOSTED by Miranda Tapsell and Luke McGregor, Portrait Artist of the Year celebrates creativity and extraordinary talent from across Australia.
The joyful and inspiring eight-part series premieres on Sunday, November 2 at 8pm on ABC TV, with all episodes available to stream for free on ABC iView.
The series explores one of the most accessible and provocative forms of art – the portrait. A selection of Australia’s most talented amateur and professional artists will be challenged to capture the likeness and spirit of some of the nation’s most recognisable and intriguing personalities, including Maggie Beer, Costa Georgiadis, Ken Done, Tsehay Hawkins, Courtney Act, Margaret Pomeranz, Celia Pacquola, Myf Warhurst, Mark Coles Smith, Talijah Blackman-Corowa, Rhys Nicholson, Adam Liaw, Amanda Keller, Madison de Rozario, Matt Okine, Frank Finger, Alex Lee, Chloe Hayden, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki and Denise Scott.
The artists are tasked, in front of a live audience, to paint a portrait of the sitter in just four hours, after which their work is judged by a panel of three renowned Australian art authorities; Director of the National Portrait Gallery, Bree Pickering; award- winning, multi-disciplinary artist, Abdul Abdullah; and Associate Professor of Art History at the Australian National University, Robert Wellington.
Each sitter arrives with a personal item, inviting the artist to weave something meaningful into their portrait. Viewers will gain a rare window into the artists’ process and skill – witnessing the magic of blank canvases turning into finished portraits.
At the end of each heat, the sitter will select their favourite portrait to keep. Meanwhile, the judges will choose a Top 3, and one artist advances to the semi-final.
From six semi-finalists plus one wildcard, the field will narrow to three finalists. The winning artist will be awarded a career-defining commission, with their work displayed in the National Portrait Gallery of Australia.
