PRINTMAKER Sheida Sabetraftar won the emerging artists’ prize from the Capital Arts Patrons’ Organisation last night (July 31) at the ANU School of Art & Design.

CAPO’s patron, artist Patricia Piccinini, made the announcement of Sabetraftar’s win, who was selected after judges Lucy Irvine and Virginia Rigney were impressed by the tension created between her seemingly simple imagery and an in-depth personal observation of the complex spaces people occupy.

“These works have lasting impact: by pairing the ubiquitous city bird and CCTV cameras, we are given an opportunity to look at the city afresh and to re-evaluate the spatial determination of predator and prey in the era of surveillance,” said the judges.

Sabetraftar’s work features alongside the of work by Belle Palmer, Chayla Ueckert-Smith, Shags, Joanne Leong and Kendall Manz in the Emerging Artists’ exhibition curated by Francis Kenna.

At the gala event last night, the judges also congratulated Kenna for his professional and creative approach in organising both the exhibition and the judging process.

The event, which featured a stirring speech by Piccinini, also served to launch the organisation’s 2019 season, with applications for fellowships and grants now open at capo.org.au

The CAPO Auction is also coming up and will take place at the East Space Gallery on the lakefront on October 26, when Canberra region’s leading established and emerging visual and craft artists will exhibit work and Piccinini will announce the winners of the CAPO Fellowship and the Rosalie Gascoigne Memorial Award.

The Emerging Artists’ Prize exhibition, at the ANU School of Art & Design’s foyer gallery until 5pm tomorrow, August 2, 10.30am-5pm. All artwork and an exhibition catalogue is for sale via the School of Art & Design office.