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Todd Simpson has won the 2026 Wyndham Art Prize People’s Choice Award for his work Waters of Life, with visitors backing the painting during the exhibition’s seven-week run.
People's Art Prize Winner Announced
Todd Simpson has won the People’s Choice Award in the 2026 Wyndham Art Prize, taking home $2,500 for his work Waters of Life.
The acrylic on aluminium piece drew the most support from visitors during the exhibition’s seven-week run, with 255 votes cast across the competition.
Wyndham City said Simpson’s work stood out with its realistic style and strong environmental theme.
The People’s Choice Award is the final prize announced as part of this year’s Wyndham Art Prize, which is the signature annual exhibition in Wyndham Art Gallery’s visual arts program.
A total of 79 artworks were displayed in the exhibition, spanning painting, sculpture, photography, textiles, drawing and installation.
More than 5,500 people visited the gallery during the exhibition, after the prize attracted more than 700 entries this year.
Several other works also proved popular with audiences, including local artist Jenny Rutsch’s Wearing the Stories: Following the Threads, Gina Kalabishis’ Lost Paths and the Silence of Birds, and Duain Kelaart’s Oceanic Dragon.
Simpson is a Melbourne-based contemporary realist artist who studied at the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney and works across sculpture, portraiture and painting.
He has been a finalist in a string of Australian and New Zealand art awards, including the Glover Prize, Clayton Utz Art Award, Calleen Art Award and Lethbridge Landscape Prize. In 2025, he was also named among Australia’s top 100 artists by top100artists.com.
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