Entries have closed for Colac Area Health’s Corangamarah Art Prize, with the finalists’ paintings going on show in July.

The $5000 art prize, in its seventh year, encourages artists to draw inspiration from current events.

Corangamarah Art Prize committee chairman Richard Riordan said the theme “conceit” allowed artists to explore a wide range of social issues.

“We’ll be really pushing that theme again this year and I expect the paintings will touch on a whole range of topics,” Mr Riordan said.

“We’ve received entries from all over Australia this year, so it’ll be a tough call for the judges,” he said.

The previous winning entries hang on the walls of Corangamarah aged care centre.

Mr Riordan said the art collection was for everyone to enjoy.

“It’s all about having a public art collection not only for the people at Corangamarah but for the wider community, and these contemporary works will be around for future generations to enjoy,” he said.

Colac schoolchildren will also have the chance to exhibit their art as part of the competition.

Primary and secondary school students can enter their artwork, with the winning entries going on display alongside the Corangamarah Art Prize top entries.

The exhibition will be at Barongarook’s Otway Estate from July 7.

This story is courtesy of The Colac Herald