One of Newcastle's living icons, Daniel Johns, is a featured finalist work in the 2023 Archibald Prize at the Art Gallery of NSW.
The image, titled Echoes of a teenage superstar, was painted by renown Melbourne street artist Matt Adnate.
Adnate's work is familiar to Newcastle, as he's been a participant in past events such as The Big Picture Festival here.
Revitalising Newcastle commissioned Adnate to create a mural on the corner of Stewart Avenue and Hunter Street five years ago.
The 25-metre wind wall forms part of the ongoing Newcastle Bus and Coach Interchange development.
The artwork features Aunty June Rose and her great-granddaughter.
By the numbers
There were 57 finalists named for the 2023 Archibald Prize this week. The winner will be announced on May 5. The exhibit goes on display at the Art Gallery of NSW on May 6.
This year, the Art Gallery of NSW received 2348 entries across the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes, which is the second highest number of entries received in the history of the prizes, following the record year in 2020.
The Art Gallery also received the highest ever total number of entries by Aboriginal artists across the three prizes.
The Archibald Prize received 949 entries, the Wynne Prize received 726 entries, and the Sulman Prize received 673 entries.
In total, 143 works have been selected as finalists across the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes: 57 finalists in the Archibald, 41 in the Wynne and 45 in the Sulman.
2023 marks the first time there are more finalist works by women than men in the Archibald Prize.
It is also another record-breaking year for the increasingly popular Young Archie competition, with more than 3400 entries received from budding young artists aged five to 18, from across the country.
This is the highest number of entries in the 11-year history of the competition. 70 finalists from across the four age categories have been selected to be exhibited at the Art Gallery and displayed online.
