It is the nations most prestigious portrait award, The Archibald Prize. Each year, the packing room staff at the Art Gallery of New South Wales pick a work they think should win the title. Today the packing room prize has gone to a painting that joins 56 other finalists for the main prize worth $100,000.
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00:00 The winner of the Packing Room Prize for 2024 is Matt Adnate and his portrait of Baker Boy.
00:09 From the alleyways of Melbourne to the country's most prestigious portraiture competition,
00:15 Matt Adnate blends graffiti and hip-hop in his vision of rapper Baker Boy.
00:21 As a graffiti artist I never dreamt of being able to even hang one of my artworks in a
00:25 place like the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
00:27 So to be a finalist two years in a row and then to win the Packing Room Prize, it's something
00:31 I've never dreamt of.
00:33 Baker's Yongu roots in Arnhem Land reflected in his stare caught the eye of the judges.
00:40 He was able to capture Baker Boy's power through his gaze and really encapsulate the colour
00:47 and life and spirit that Baker Boy brings.
00:49 Fifty-seven pieces have been selected as finalists in this year's Archibald, with the gallery
00:54 receiving more than 2,300 entries across the Wynn, Sulman and Archibald competitions.
01:01 As a rule, all portraits must begin with a live sitting, meaning the artist behind this
01:07 work had to find particularly creative ways to sketch Julian Assange.
01:13 He couldn't take any artist materials into the prison, but he could take £25 in cash
01:19 to spend in the canteen.
01:21 He bought chocolate with the notes left over, and when he met with Julian, he sketched with
01:26 his fingernail and chocolate on those notes, and that was the basis for the portrait.
01:31 Another man who knows confinement is Mustafa Azimutabar, a refugee who was detained in
01:36 Melbourne's hotels for 14 months.
01:39 It reminds me of the moments I started painting with toothbrush when I was in detention, but
01:46 now there is no fence between you and I.
01:51 Artists a step closer to the $100,000 prize to be announced next month.
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