2025 CLANCY RELIGIOUS ART PRIZE
2025 CLANCY RELIGIOUS ART PRIZE OPENING NIGHT
Friday 5 th September McGlade Gallery ACU Strathfield
The Clancy Prize was launched in1999 by the former Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Edward Clancy, to celebrate Religious Art as a powerful force in the service of humanity.
The theme of this year’s 2025 exhibition was Saints Anchored in Hope.
This is in alignment with the overarching theme of the Jubilee Year, Pilgrims of Hope. This theme serves as a call to delve deeper into our spiritual knowledge, seeking inspiration from the saints of the Catholic Church and translating these insights into powerful, captivating works of art.
This was the 26tth of the competition and the 26th year Holy Cross has entered The Clancy Prize. Two creative works were entered into the exhibition.
This exhibition provided a platform for our students to explore the lives of the saints in a unique way, while also developing a deeper understanding of the theological virtue of hope that sustains them through every moment of our lives. Their artworks not only contributed to the beauty of their faith but will also served as a reflection of the hope they carry as pilgrims in this world.
Ruari Frawley of Year 10 entered a large charcoal drawing of Saint Anges.
“Anges Saint of Hope Beauty and Flames”.
“Her journey in life was an inspiration to Christians of her time and now. Born in 291 AD. She was very beautiful and belonged to a wealthy Christian family. According to a persistent legend, one of her suitors was named Symphronious, the son of a prefect. His desire drove him to distraction. When the prefect learned of this, he brought Agnes in and pleaded with her to marry his son. She refused, revealing that she was a Christian. Agnes was remarkably steadfast in her commitment, faith and service to Christ. She was arrested and sentenced to death by burning. Tradition says that the flames did not consume Saint Agnes, so she was beheaded. Her example gave strength and Hope to other Christians. I have depicted Angus in charcoal as a symbol of her burning.”
Sam Nancarrow of Year 9 created a series of digital works based on the Stations of the Cross
“Via Crucis: A Digital Pilgrimage”
"This Collection aims to modernise the stations of the Cross and represent them in a medium that the new “Digital” generation will associate with. The story of the stations of the Cross shows many people that Jesus brought hope through his words and his actions before his last pilgrimage. My belief is if the Young learn this story it will give them a strand of hope to show them the world gets better. The original Images were created in roblox studio before being run through microsoft copilot to invoke that biblical feeling that we associate with the early works made for the church. I decided to modernise the stations of the cross in a means that would resonate with my generation of tech literate and digital engaged Christians. My hope with this art work is to engage the youth with the stories of the bible. In my eyes Jesus is the ultimate symbol of hope.”
