The Alice Art Gallery in Ruimsig, hosted a gala event on December 4. The gala was to close off the National art competition and announce the coveted winner.

Curator, Susan Allin said, “The top ten artists were selected by four judges and they were invited to display their artworks in order to choose the top three winners,” she said. “It was a very close run but the first place was awarded to Frances van Vuuren with ‘Break Through’. Anita Mostert was awarded second place for her work titled ‘SunKissed Lily Pond’ and Kim Paxton came in third with ‘Unconditional Love.”

The winners received cash prizes as well as vouchers from the Italian Art Shop and Craft-Up. Frances will have the opportunity to exhibit her in the Purple Heart Gallery for two weeks and will be featured in the South African Artist Magazine. The theme of the competition was ‘Candescence’ and it was open to artists across the country.