Local Yarra Ranges community member, Sharyne Doensen has taken out the Not the Archies Audience Choice Award for 2019.
Over 2000 votes for 97 different artworks were received by the community for the Audience Choice Award, with Ms Doensen’s painting ‘Yvié’, taking the crown.
Ms Dorensen wrote the following about her winning submission:
“Meet Yvié. From the resilient farmer to the patient winemaker, Yvié is a blend of all things Yarra Valley. Yvié embraces both whimsy and solemnity; she is a patchwork collage of our vibrant community.”
Not the Archies is a participatory visual arts project run by council to celebrate the faces of the diverse and wonderful Yarra Ranges community.
The project saw nearly 250 portraits created by the community of someone who they think is great, from September to mid-November. For her efforts, Ms Doensen won a $300 food and accommodation package from Healesville Hotel.
Yarra Ranges Mayor Richard Higgins congratulated the winner and thanked everyone in the community who took part.
“Not the Archies is a wonderful opportunity for our community to get creative, express themselves through art and also pay tribute to someone who they think is great within their community,” he said.
“Thank you to everyone who participated and submitted works of art for this year’s event.
“However, there can only be one winner for the Not the Archies Audience Choice Award, so we offer a big congratulations to Sharyne for her impressive submission.”
Yarra Ranges Council created a video highlighting the submissions for the Not the Archies 2019. To view the video, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRX1V4LWsiE.