Canterbury’s Vee Jei Choi, 15, has reached a spot in the grand final for her ‘Wonders of Potential’, a portrait of her much loved grandmother.
A Year Nine student at Dulwich Hill Visual Arts and Design High School, Vee Jei was very quiet when told of her finalist win, according to mother Tae.
“But her eyes grew very big and we could tell she was very excited,” Tae added.
“She has told us since she was very young that when she grows up, she would like to hang her paintings in her own coffee shop because she loves tea – and I don’t think that will change.”
As part of the Archibald Prize competition, The Young Archie invites budding artists aged between five and 18 to submit a portrait of themselves or someone who is special to them.
This year of 2,100 Young Archies entries, 40 entrants now appear as finalists on the walls of the AGNSW, many with talent and skill beyond their years.
Beginning in 2013, this annual competition is judged on merit and originality, by the Gallery’s community engagement manager and a guest judge, artist Marikit Santiago, herself an Archibald Prize finalist in 2016 and 2019.
Young Archies winners will be announced on August 10; for more info, visit
https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/young-archie/2019/