City’s Art Awards inspire and connect community

After she moved to Wanneroo last year, Nithasha entered artworks into the 2025 and 2026 awards, where she was named a finalist in both years. More than 130 finalists were selected from over 330 entries this year, with the works being exhibited at the Wanneroo Regional Gallery.

This year, her piece Twenty-Five was inspired by author Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, created with an Apple Pencil and iPad using software that simulates graphite. Nithasha said she stumbled across the City’s Community Art Awards advertising last year during a visit to the library.

“I’ve become a Wanneroo resident recently, so participating in the Community Arts Award provided me a very valuable opportunity to discover my local art community, and I found the experience really solidified Wanneroo as my home,” she said.

“I would 100 per cent encourage other artists to participate in community driven programs, I think it enriches the local community and gives you a sense of belonging.” Nithasha said her piece was titled Twenty-Five - her age at the time of creation - and this work allowed her to explore themes of identity and self.

“My piece was inspired by the fig tree analogy in The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, the universal experience of being young and overwhelmed by the amount of choice and opportunity life has to offer,” she said.

“At 25 I was faced with a potential of different vocations that I could choose from and I was feeling paralysed. I imagined myself under a low hanging branch of a fig tree, paralysed and reaching out.”

The City has made some changes to the awards this year to better support artists, including the City’s first dedicated First Nations category, a refined Young Artist Award open to ages 16 to 21, and an emerging artist category.

An independent selection panel was formed to review artworks and carefully determine which pieces were selected.

Find out more about the awards and exhibition at wanneroo.wa.gov.au/artawards