End of an era: Warwick Thornton's Untitled 2013 is a finalist in this year's Blake Prize. <\/p>\n
The end is nigh for one of Australia's top prizes for religious art. The Blake Prize will be awarded for the last time on Saturday if a sponsor cannot be found. <\/p>\n
The chairman of the Blake Society, Rod Pattenden, said the organisation had been unable to find a major sponsor for the $25,000 prize, and it was likely the 63rdBlake Prize would be the last. <\/p>\n
\"Without a major sponsor the prize will have to close,\" Mr Pattenden said. \"In approaching sponsors, many of them recognise that spirituality is a difficult, if not prickly, subject for consideration in Australia. <\/p>\n
\"Sponsors prefer their art to be popular and safe.\" <\/p>\n
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Mr Pattenden said the Blake Prize was viewed as \"too open-minded\" by religious organisations and \"too religious\" by people with secular views. <\/p>\n
The Blake Prize was first awarded in 1951 and was originally designed to find artworks to decorate churches. <\/p>\n
Since 2000 it has shifted focus from traditional religion to exploring spirituality and has frequently been caught up in controversy. <\/p>\n
In 2007, former prime minister John Howard and former Catholic archbishop of Sydney George Pell criticised entries that showed a statue of the Virgin Mary in a burqa and a hologram of Christ morphing with Osama bin Laden. <\/p>\n
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Blake Prize for religious art under threat<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" End of an era: Warwick Thornton's Untitled 2013 is a finalist in this year's Blake Prize. Continue reading