Picturing Footscray is a free open-entry photography prize that has been celebrating Melbourne's unique inner-west suburb of Footscray since 2016, documenting a period of significant change. In 2020, this is particularly poignant.

Against the backdrop of home-isolation and a global pandemic, life as we know it has changed and we’re adapting with it. Welcome to Picturing Footscray, virtually!

The Prize invites photographers of all capabilities to capture the essence of this great location during this tumultuous time, with the added challenge of respecting physical distancing and self-isolation requirements.  

Picturing Footscray 2020 logo

Prizes

  • First prize: $3000 + $300 Ernest Studio voucher
  • Second prize: $1000 + $250 Prism Imaging voucher
  • Third prize: $500
  • People’s Choice Award: $500
  • Student Prize sponsored by VU's Library Services: $500

Prizes will be awarded at the virtual exhibition opening on 13 August. The People's Choice award will be awarded at the conclusion of the voting period.

Picturing Footscray exhibition opening at VU at MetroWest in 2018 | Photographer: Shuttermain

Picturing Footscray is proudly sponsored by:

  • Ernest Studio
  • Prism Imaging
  • VU's Library Services
  • Two Birds Brewing

Exhibition & People's Choice Award

View 150 photographs that celebrate and explore Footscray in unique ways. 

Ranging from landscapes and portraits that are quintessentially "Footscray" to creative interpretations from the confines of isolation, Picturing Footscray 2020 documents a moment in time that juxtaposes the vibrancy of this inner west suburb with the loneliness of a pandemic. 

The online exhibition will be available to view after the Prize announcements. 

Key dates

  • Online exhibition opening and prize announcements: 7pm Thursday 13 August on Facebook
  • Online exhibition: 13 August - 11 September

People's Choice Award

All valid entries displayed in the Picturing Footscray Photography Prize online exhibition are eligible to win the People’s Choice Award.

The people’s choice award will be selected at the end of the exhibition based on votes through the online gallery. The work that receives the most votes will be the People’s Choice Award winner.

  • Voting opens at 9am on Friday 14 August 2020. The winner of the $500 People’s Choice Award will be announced on Wednesday 16 September 2020.
  • To cast an eligible vote in the People’s Choice prize category, visit the online exhibition and vote for your favourite photograph. 
  • Only one vote per person is permitted.

Online Exhibition and People's Choice Award

All eligible photographs entered into Picturing Footscray will be displayed in an online exhibition from 14 August. This is where you can also vote for your favourite photograph!

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Judges

Cameron Cope

Cameron James Cope is an image burglar, frequent stowaway and fine art printer based in Narrm (Melbourne). He has an extensive background in travel editorial and holds a Master of Fine Art at RMIT University - where he also runs photography workshops. His personal projects and photobooks explore how the past is embedded in the present through visual allegory and conceptual documentary.

Megan Evans

Megan Evans is an interdisciplinary artist, working in video, photography, sculpture and installation. Her work is informed by social issues. It examines the nature of belonging and the impact of colonisation on identity, both self and nation. Megan's career spans several decades and practices; her creative life began by doing large political murals in the 1980s. Over the last seven years she has exhibited both nationally and internationally, been published widely in books and journals and awarded international residencies.

Past winners


Test Shot at Westgay by Matto Lucas
  • First Prize: Test Shot at Westgay by Matto Lucas
  • Second Prize: Franco Cozzo by Oli Sansom
  • Third-prize: Footscray Drag Race by Xavier Smerdon
  • Student Prize: Barkly Street intersection by Mishka Winters


Footscray Embrace by Nathan Stolz

 

  • First prize: Footscray Embrace by Nathan Stolz
  • Second prize: Advance by Pier Carthew
  • Third prize: Caleb by the Bunbury Street Bridge by Shannon McDonald
  • People's choice: Giraffes on the Serengetti aka Sunset over the Dock by Elwyn Davies


Untitled by Christian Lukasik

 

  • Untitled by Christian Lukasik
  • Second prize: Roaming, Confident and Tall as the Sun by John Umina
  • Third prize: You are My Sunshine by Julia Wong
  • People's choice: Holiday in the West by Mikaela Foster


Local Footscray Music Icon by Wirut Khemnak

 

  • First prize: Local Footscray Music Icon by Wirut Khemnak
  • Second prize: Bunbury Blueprint by Rosie Howell
  • Third prize: The Heavenly Queen by Jaye Heraud
  • People's choice: Maribyrnong Reflections by Claudia Gonzalez Diaz

Winner of Picturing Footscray 2019, Matto Lucas, with Judges Adam Harding and Jody Haines. Photographer: Brent Edwards. 

Terms & conditions

Read the Terms & Conditions before entering. 

Picturing Footscray is an initiative of Victoria University and Footscray University Town.