A ‘shame’ identity politics is ‘creeping into’ art galleries and competitions

The Australian’s Chief Cartoonist Johannes Leak says it’s a “shame” identity politics is “creeping” into art galleries and competitions, after the 2022 Archibald Prize went to artist Blak Douglas for his painting of an Indigenous woman.

Art critic Christopher Allen wrote in The Australian the artwork was chosen because it was created by a ‘black artist whose subject was a black woman’, and believed a self-portrait by Robert Hannaford was far more deserving.

“It’s just a sort of a lottery where certain judges make their picks along ideological lines,” Mr Leak told Sky News host Chris Kenny.

“And real artists who work hard on their craft barely get a look in, and if they do, it’s just as a token gesture to say, ‘we’ll throw one in just to mix it up’.”