Live Well, Die Well Art Prize winners across six categories have been announced overnight on the eve of the Oceanic Palliative Care Conference (OPCC) in Brisbane.
The national art prize, which attracted 109 entries across Australia, is a Palliative Care Australia initiative supported by Arcare, designed to foster public engagement with palliative care through the transformative power of visual art.
Over the next three days (10-12 September), works by 33 Live Well, Die Well Art Prize finalists will be on display at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre as part of OPCC – one of the key events in the palliative care sector’s calendar.
Palliative Care Australia CEO, Camilla Rowland said the art prize invited Australians of all ages and backgrounds to explore the deeply human experiences of living, dying, and grieving in their art prize submissions.
“This initiative is one of the many ways we can spark and support meaningful conversations about palliative care,” Ms Rowland said.
“Art has the unique ability to help us confront and normalise conversations around death and dying, while also celebrating the importance of people living as well as they can, for as long as they can.”
The overall winner was Vicki White of NSW for her ‘Tethered To Earth’ photopolymer photogravure etching on paper.
Winners across other categories were:
- First Nations Artist – Leeann Pedersen (WA) – ‘Going Back to Our First Home’
- Emerging Artist – Claire B Cusack (ACT) – ‘Matthew’
- Artist Living with a Disability – Jean Kelly (QLD) – ‘Patches and Memories’
- Primary School Student – Genevieve Sebastian (QLD) – ‘Defying Ageism: Living Life with Flair and Laughter’
- Secondary School Student – Sarah Polkinghorne (NSW) – ‘Letters from Joan’
Vicki White, overall winner of the Live Well, Die Well Art Prize said that she knew she had captured a special, peaceful moment on film as her family sat with her Dad before his death.
“When I saw the art prize come up, I just felt like it was something that needed to be put out there,” Vicki said.
This is the story Vicki submitted with her award-winning artwork:
“My father died at home the day after this image was taken. He had been under the care of the community palliative care team of my hometown, where my siblings and I had returned to help our mother care for him over the last few months of his life. Even with this support, nothing had really prepared us for the night we were about to go through with our Dad on his final journey. But I guess nothing can prepare you to let go of a significant person in your life until it happens. We had this moment of peace on his final evening. One sister whispered that Dad’s feet tangled in the sheet reminded her of my paintings. I took a photo. As a painter and printmaker this image reminded me of the classical images from Renaissance paintings. Another sister gave this image the title. My father was tethered to earth for one more night. Thank God for the beautiful palliative care nurses who shared this journey with us.“
With a prize pool of over $10,000, the Live Well, Die Well Art Prize has recognised excellence across multiple categories, reflecting a commitment to equity, accessibility, and the celebration of lived experience.
A ‘People’s Choice’ award will be chosen by about 1,600 Oceanic Palliative Care Conference delegates in Brisbane this week and announced at the conference closing ceremony at 4.45pm on Friday.
A full list of finalist’s artworks is available on the Palliative Care Australia website: https://palliativecare.org.au/2025-national-palliative-care-live-well-die-well-art-prize-finalists-2025/.
The full gallery of Live Well Die Well Art entries can be viewed on the event website and gallery at https://palc.evexus.net/au.
