Meet our TWO Professional Judges for the Somerset Bendigo Bank Art Awards 2017
Yes, you read that right, we have not one but TWO professional judges this year! It's very exciting to have judges of this calibre with decades of experience in the arts industry between them. So here's a little about them.....
Claire Sourgnes
CEO – Artisan, Fortitude Valley
Claire Sourgnes is the newly appointed CEO of Artisan in Fortitude Valley. Claire has 20 years’ experience working in commercial, government and artist-run galleries in Australia and Germany. Prior to this appointment, Claire was the Network Coordinator of the Art Gallery Network of the Moreton Bay Regional Council for 5 years. Managing three galleries, in geographically and culturally diverse areas, has provided her with the challenge and satisfaction of creating places of regional significance within South East Queensland, as well as delivering diverse, quality, and innovative programs to local residents and visitors.
Claire is passionate about her job and believes in the transformative power of art. She is committed to the demystification of the art gallery for communities that may not have had access to art previously, in addition to offering fresh perspectives to seasoned gallery visitors.
Kay Kane

Visual Artist: DFA (Lon) BFA (Lon) DVA (QCA, Griffith University) FRQAS
Kay completed a fine art undergraduate Degree at Central School of Art, London. She continued practicing as an artist in London, exhibiting in several major galleries which included solo exhibitions. In 1990 she returned home to Australia continuing to practice while raising her family. She taught life drawing at the Queensland college of Art for eighteen years gaining her Doctorate of Visual Arts, painting there. Her work entitled “The Restoration of Venus” (unfashionably) aimed at retrieving an idea of beauty largely eclipsed in contemporary art.
Kay continued to teach at the Queensland College of Art, retiring in 2015, as well as pursuing her practice which encompasses a broad range of motif, though for her, the never ending fascination with exploration of the deep visual resonances between human and environmental forms embodied in the ‘Restoration’ series.
Kay is active in the Queensland art world conducting many workshops and judging Art Awards. She was a Founder member of the Beenleigh Art Society and Salisbury Studios as well as having recently completed three years as President of the Royal Queensland Art Society. Kay now practices full time as an artist at home in her new studio in Marburg Queensland.
www.kaykane.com
Happy creating!
The SBBAA Team :-)