business - 2026-05-13

Mackellar Girls student Mia Nethery wins Out Front 2026 People’s Choice award after 1,344 votes at Manly Art Gallery & Museum

Source: www.northernbeaches.nsw.gov.au

Mia Nethery of Mackellar Girls Campus has been named the Out Front 2026 KALOF People’s Choice Award winner for her painting A Sunday Afternoon at Hartley, after 1,344 votes were cast during Manly Art Gallery & Museum’s Out Front 2026 Exhibition. Northern Beaches Council said the People’s Choice award carries a $500 prize sponsored by Council’s KALOF youth social media initiative (Keep A Lookout For) as part of Youth Week NSW. Council described Nethery’s work as drawing inspiration from the Blue Mountains and exploring “both the comfort and isolation of retreat” through layered oil glazes and traditional Flemish techniques. The description provided for the artwork said the piece captures memory and atmosphere, and explores “the blurred boundary between self and landscape”. Council said the voting during the exhibition prompted discussion in the community about the quality of the submissions by young artists. Mayor Sue Heins said the Out Front exhibition reflected the creativity being developed in local schools and acknowledged the role of teachers in supporting students’ work. “It’s wonderful to see our young people expressing themselves so powerfully through art,” Heins said,...