Young artist wins Lester Youth Prize Award

A young and talented Visual Arts student has been recognised on a national level, winning the prestigious Lester Prize for her exceptional portrait.

Hannah Abdul Hadi, from John Curtin College of the Arts, won the Youth Award in the Years 7-8 category.

Competing against more than 200 entries nationwide, Hannah’s incredible portrait secured the top honor.

Her winning artwork will be on display at the Lester Prize Youth Award exhibition, at Boola Bardip, WA Museum, until 14 July.

The Lester Prize, renowned for celebrating excellence in portraiture, offers a platform for young artists to showcase their creativity and technical skill.

Reflecting on her inspiration, Hannah shared, "I wanted to show my quiet personality through a direct but gentle gaze."

She found the process difficult, but had help learning from her teachers in the visual art class.

“It helped a lot, especially my teachers, since they would explain the methods of oil paint well, and I would be able to catch on fairly quick,” she said.

“If they didn’t show me all these details of how to use oil paint, I probably would’ve used it like acrylics.”

Hannah's school and her Visual Arts Teacher, Anne McCaughey, are very proud.

"It has been a wonderful thing to see this hard-working and delightful student achieve at the highest level, so early in her art career," Ms McCaughey said.

"In John Curtin, we are no stranger at having our students selected as exhibitors in this prestigious award, but it is a significant achievement against some really worthy contenders to have been able to take away first prize."