A multi-award-winning local artist who dedicated more than three decades to sharing her talent and passion for painting has received Sunraysia’s highest arts accolade, the Elliott Award.
Mary Briggs was posthumously announced as the 2023 Elliott Award recipient on Saturday in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the arts in our community over more than 30 years.
Mary’s artistic journey started on her 50th birthday when her children gave her oil paints, brushes and other art materials as her birthday present.
It sparked a love of painting that saw her become a much-loved member of the Mildura Riverfront Art Group for more than 30 years, during which time she was granted a Life Membership for her outstanding contribution to the group.
In addition to her time with the Mildura Riverfront Art Group, Mary supported adult learners at MADEC as well as exhibiting her own paintings both within the Sunraysia region and further afield, winning numerous exhibitions.
In previous years the Elliott Award has been awarded to Des Tobin, 2006; Tom McCullough, 2007; Vaughan Stirrat, 2008; Neil Noyce, 2009; Mollie Kalms, 2010; Shirley Bowie, 2011; Neil Fettling, 2012; Kay Sylvester, 2013; Peta Lynne Buchanan and Janine Kerr, 2014; Len Krause, 2015; Yvonne Hedley, 2016; Henry Tankard, 2017; Mavis Francis, 2018; David Searle 2019, Megan Sullivan 2020; Willie Hannah-Rodgers 2021; and most recently Libby Kennedy in 2022.
Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/brushes-paint-color-painting-4226688/
