Four First Nations artists have been recognised for their work at one of South West Sydney’s longest-running celebrations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture.
The winners of the 34th Annual Mil-Pra Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Exhibition & Art Prize were announced at Liverpool Powerhouse, with four very different works taking out this year’s major awards.
Michael Fardon received the $3,000 Mayor’s Choice Award for The Didge Player, Bernadette Hardy won the $2,000 Maria Lock Award for Bodies of Water that Hold Us, Peta Link took home the $1,500 Mil-Pra AECG Award for Big Mob Celebrations and Hayley Clarke received the $1,500 Liverpool Powerhouse Aboriginal Scholarship Prize for Grounded, Gathered, Renewed.
And while the works span acrylic painting, photography and collage, they share a much bigger role within the exhibition: telling stories of culture, identity, community and connection to Country through contemporary First Nations artistic practice.
Meet The 2026 Winners
Michael Fardon – The Didge Player
Fardon’s The Didge Player, an acrylic on canvas work, received the Mayor’s Choice Award, a $3,000 acquisitive prize sponsored by Liverpool City Council and Liverpool Powerhouse.
The award means the work will become part of Liverpool’s permanent collection, adding another First Nations voice to the city’s cultural story.
Bernadette Hardy – Bodies of Water that Hold Us
Hardy’s Bodies of Water that Hold Us received the Maria Lock Award, which honours Maria Lock, an Aboriginal woman who was granted land by the colonial administration in 1831.
Hardy’s work uses photography projection and white pen over a photographic collage, printed on A3 matte paper.
The $2,000 acquisitive award recognises Lock’s resilience, leadership and contribution to Liverpool’s history, while ensuring Hardy’s contemporary interpretation becomes part of the city’s collection.
Peta Link – Big Mob Celebrations
Link’s vibrant acrylic work Big Mob Celebrations took out the Mil-Pra AECG Award, receiving $1,500 sponsored by Liverpool City Council, Mil-Pra AECG and KARI.
The award recognises Link’s contribution to an exhibition that has spent more than three decades creating space for First Nations artists and students to share their work.
Hayley Clarke – Grounded, Gathered, Renewed
Clarke received the Liverpool Powerhouse Aboriginal Scholarship Prize 2026 for Grounded, Gathered, Renewed, an acrylic painting on canvas.
The $1,500 prize supports First Nations artistic development, with sponsorship from Dharug Strategic Management Group, David Harding, Dr Nabila Ansari and Liverpool Powerhouse.
More Than An Art Prize
The Mil-Pra AECG Exhibition has been running for 34 years, making it one of South West Sydney’s longest-running celebrations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture.
It also extends beyond the gallery walls. The exhibition gives students and schools opportunities to explore First Nations culture through art, creating a space where emerging artists can sit alongside established creative voices.
That intergenerational element is part of what makes the exhibition particularly significant. Alongside celebrating the artists already making their mark, it creates opportunities for young people to engage with culture, creativity and storytelling.
The 2026 exhibition also highlights the role Liverpool continues to play as a place where different cultural stories intersect, with First Nations artists bringing their own perspectives, histories and experiences into the city’s contemporary cultural life.
This year’s four winning works now join that ongoing story – with Fardon’s and Hardy’s acquisitive prize-winning pieces becoming part of Liverpool’s permanent collection.
The 34th Annual Mil-Pra AECG Exhibition & Art Prize is on display at Liverpool Powerhouse until November 1.
Where: Liverpool Powerhouse
When: Until November 1, 2026
What: The 34th Annual Mil-Pra AECG Exhibition & Art Prize
